Work History

As discussed in the first article in this series, creating a strong resume sets you apart as a candidate. Last time we talked about branding yourself with your Professional Summary. In this article, we will be talking about the Work History portion of the resume.

Your resume work history is one of the most important sections on your resume because it details your previous accomplishments and provides a description of your skills and experience.

Tips for creating your Work History Billboard

1. 1. How much work history to include? The most important things to keep in mind when you are deciding how much work history to include are 1) knowing your audience and 2) knowing the role. A resume is not the same as an application form where you list every job you ever had. The resume is an opportunity to highlight the experiences salient to the position. Most employers are only interested in your most recent and relevant work – which tends to be the last 10 years or so. For this reason, it is important to consider crafting different versions of your resume for different types roles, depending on the expertise required. Mirror the job posting. Remember that this is a billboard – an ad! It’s not the full story, which is given in the interview. However, it should include keywords and skills/technologies the employer is seeking.
   2. Reverse chronological order. Employers want to see what you’ve been doing most recently. Most resumes should be chronological resumes vs. functional or skills-based resumes which place the focus on your skills and areas of expertise, rather than on the details of your work history. Recruiters and hiring managers are interested in assessing your work history to see your career progression and where there are gaps in your employment, which cannot be seen in a functional resume. Also, recruiters will not be able take in the needed information in a typical 7 second scan. The chronological format provides hiring officials with the information most relevant to them in the most readable format.
   3. First person implied. Resumes are appropriately written in first person implied. This means you should not use “I” or other pronouns such as me, my, our, etc. This enhances readability and demonstrates professionalism.
   4. Section headers. Begin each item by stating the name of the organization, location, job title and length of service. It’s not necessary to provide the day, month and year for your employment dates. Listing the month and year or just year is acceptable. Avoid providing information about the organization unless necessary for understanding of your role.
   5. Work responsibilities. Describe your responsibilities in concise statements led by strong verbs. Focus on those skills and strengths that you possess and that you have identified as being important to your field. Try to incorporate industry specific key words. Use present tense for those activities which are ongoing and past tense for those with which you are no longer involved. Use bullets for each responsibility for ease of reading, and be concise. The number of bullets should be 4-6.
   6. Quantify your results. In this step you will describe your results. In addition to your branding statement, this is the single most important aspect of your resume – setting yourself apart by demonstrating what results you have achieved vs. just providing a list of responsibilities. Be sure to describe results quantitatively using numbers, percentages, dollars, and other specific results. Spell out numbers under 10 and use numeric symbols for numbers 10 and over.

Keep in mind that in the Work History section of your Billboard, you want to show hiring managers why you are right for the position. Be as targeted as you can and avoid extraneous information. Talk about results. Showing what you’ve accomplished in a previous job is the information hiring managers want.

Be sure to check out the next installment of this series regarding skills, certifications, and education.