Job seeker probably should not condense 27-year career into one-page resume
Dear Sam: After
27 years with my employer, I was informed they will be going out of business at the end of the year.
I am almost 60 years old and need to find another job. I have a lot of experience in manufacturing, but I do not have any formal education post-high school.
I went to an employment agency, and the consultant told me that employers are only interested in the past five years of one’s career. In addition to my full-time job, I had two part-time jobs listed, and she told me to omit them. I did so; then she told me to cut out my education section and include my references. I started with a three-page resume but trimmed it to two pages, then to one page.
My wife told me it looks like the consultant is having me tailor the resume for her own personal gain and that she is not really looking out for my welfare. I need your professional opinion. I want a full-time job and am getting desperate. — Claude
D ear Claude: I am sorry to hear of your employer’s news. I am sure this is a challenging time for you. I think it’s great that you were proactive and reached out to an employment agency for support, as these experts should be able to help guide you through this transition.
However, in terms of the decisions you and the employment consultant made on the presentation of your candidacy, I have a few comments.
First of all, with a 27-year career, no one would ever expect you to be able to convey your experience on one page. With that much experience, I would expect you to need two pages to communicate the value you offer to potential employers. The “onepage rule” is antiquated; it hasn’t been in existence for more than a decade.
Hiring managers typically like to see 10 to 15 years of work history. I have never heard of a hiring manager only caring about the past five years — and if you only presented five years of experience in your resume, it would be a very misleading presentation of your candidacy. I am not sure how positioning you at a junior level in your career could bring personal gain to your consultant.
Did your job title or role change during your 27-year tenure with this employer?
I am assuming that it did, based on your initial ability to have enough content to fill a three-page resume. If necessary, to present a 10- to 15-year picture, present your various titles and accomplishments, along with the years you held the roles.
For instance, if you joined the company as an associate and spent the first 10 years in that role, you can omit this from your resume. You could start listing your experience from your first or second promotion, allowing you to strategically present that optimum 10- to 15-year range.
If you held the same position the entire time, with no changes in responsibilities or accomplishments, then your resume would certainly be shorter.
If your part-time roles were prior to your current full-time job, I agree that you should omit them. However, if they were concurrent and add value to your candidacy, you could certainly present them — perhaps include them in an “Interim Experience” section to avoid confusion.
As far as presenting your education, I agree with the consultant. There is rarely any need to present a high school diploma, as it is assumed a candidate with a professional resume possesses that minimum qualification. In fact, if you present your diploma, all it really communicates is that you do not possess a college degree.
Regarding references: Never place references on a resume. It is not even standard protocol anymore to include a line saying that references are available on request. In today’s job market, it is assumed that references will be provided when requested.
I hope my advice helps point you in the right direction for a swift and successful job search. I do have many resume samples on my website that will provide you with confirmation of best-practices-based approaches for a 21st-century job search. Best of luck. — Samantha Nolan is an advanced personal-branding strategist and career expert and is the founder and CEO of Nolan Branding. Do you have a resume, career or job-search question for Dear Sam? Reach Samantha at dearsam@nolanbranding.com. For more information about Nolan Branding’s services, visit www.nolanbranding.com, or call 888-9-MY-BRAND or 614-570-3442.