Many job searchers often grapple with the question of how far back a resume should go. When you build your document you should take care to give this some thought before getting started. Detailing every job in your career could have significant effects on how your resume turns out.
To help you design a better resume and give you some guidance if you get stuck, this article looks closely at how far back to go on your application documents. It details:
- What you should do if you have had a lengthy career
- How many years of experience you should include
- Why it can be beneficial to have a cut off point to your career history
How Many Years of Experience Should You Include on a Resume?
General Rule: Don’t go back more than 10 years of work experience on a resume.
In the US job market, one of the most common resume questions is how many years of experience you should include. In most cases, 7-10 years of relevant experience is enough to demonstrate your qualifications without making your resume too long or outdated. This approach helps recruiters quickly understand your current skill set while keeping the focus on the roles most relevant to the position you’re applying for.
- Entry-level candidates: Include recent roles, internships, and relevant training.
- Mid-level professionals: Focus on up to 10 years of relevant experience.
- Senior professionals: Selectively include older roles only if they add clear value.
Why Shouldn’t You Include All Your Work Experience on a Resume?
Including your entire career history on a resume can make it harder for recruiters to quickly focus on your most relevant work experience.
There are many reasons why you shouldn’t add every single job you’ve had to your resume. If you are over 10 years into your career, you should consider cutting out older jobs to help you improve your resume in the following ways.
It Won’t Be Too Long
Long resumes normally lose out on positions. Recruiters often won’t have the time to read them through fully and may even simply skip past them. The best length is about 1 – 2 letter pages (8.5” x 11”).
By ensuring your resume never goes back further than 10 years (or less if you’ve had a lot of jobs in that time), you’ll be able to keep the length well proportioned.That way the recruiter will be able to skim read it quickly and can rapidly pick out some of your most hirable features.
It Will Stay Relevant
Recruiters are most interested in learning about your recent experience. They will, of course, glance their eye over your longer-term work history but your latest accolades always get the most attention.
Resumes need to be relevant. Older jobs or jobs that don’t match your current career path may be detrimental rather than helpful. By always focusing instead on fitting the job description perfectly you’ll be more likely to appeal to the hiring manager.
You Won’t Open Yourself up to Age Discrimination
The longer you’ve been working the more you open yourself up to possible age discrimination. This is an unfortunate fact of the job searching process and whilst lawmakers and hiring managers are finding new ways to prevent this it still happens sometimes.
Employers may find that resumes with a longer work history extending decades back into the past less appealing than those for fresher candidates. This is because recruiters often take a long term approach to new hires. If you look like your career is coming to an end you may not fit the bill as well.
When Can You Go Beyond 10 Years of Experience?
If you want to add information on a job that extends more than a decade back into your career, there are situations where you can do so, for example if you’ve worked in a job for more than 10 years. You should consider carefully whether to add in an older job if it fits one of the following criteria.
It’s Relevant to the Position You’re Targeting
When a previous role is relevant to the job you’re setting your sights on you could consider adding it. If your career has been varied and your career has taken many different avenues then you will be in a position to consider adding an older job.
You had an Eyecatching Job Title
When you’ve had a prestigious job title or worked for an important company, it may be able to help your chances. Companies will look upon this kind of experience with interest and if it could boost your chances it may warrant inclusion.
A longer career can often be advantageous. However, there are some ways that representing this on your resume could harm or help your document. As always, make sure your resume plays to your biggest strengths by selecting the information you include carefully.
ResumeCoach can help you design a job-winning document in minutes. Our resume editor will guide you step-by-step through each of the core ingredients of an effective application that lets you get hired in style.
Common Resume Experience Questions
Not usually. For most candidates, listing up to 10 years of relevant experience is appropriate. Going beyond that can make your resume longer and harder to scan, so it’s best to focus on roles that clearly support your current career goals.
Only if they add value. Older roles should be included when they are directly relevant, show career progression, or strengthen your profile. If they no longer reflect your current skills, it’s better to leave them out.
Senior professionals should focus on recent, high-impact roles. Experience older than 10 years can be included selectively if it highlights leadership, long-term expertise, or key achievements relevant to the position.
If you have little or no work experience, focus on internships, volunteer work, part-time jobs, and relevant coursework. The goal is to show transferable skills and recent experience that supports the role you’re applying for, even if it’s not a traditional job.
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