Are you experienced?

I am continually asked by my clients, "How far do I go back in listing my experience".

The answer is not an automatic one. If you ask others about how many years, you will always get different answers. Some experts say 10 years. Others say 20 years. Some say to list your last 3 jobs, while others say to list every worthy experience. The truth is, there are not too many experts that can agree on a specific time frame. There is no hard and fast answer as to how far back into your past you should go on your resume. Every one has a different story to tell and every individual is unique.

As a general chronological rule, I try to limit years listed under experience to no more than 20. Although it is illegal, it is hard to prove that sometimes, going back further can result in age discrimination. Age discrimination is one red flag that we come across, but most of the time it is the simple fact that a hiring manager will most likely, only read the last 2-3 job descriptions that you put on your resume. It is not because they do not care about your other experiences. It has more to do with the stark reality that they will not spend more than 10-15 seconds looking over the entire resume.

Think of your resume as an appetizer. Enough information that packs a punch, engages the reader and provides enough information to get you an interview. You do not have to include your part-time stock job in High School or the 6 month stint you did at a start up, more than 4 jobs and or 15 years ago.

I generally believe that unless there is a key experience prior to say 10-20 years, an experience which is a key selling point in your candidacy, you should be very careful about listing older positions on your resume. Remember, there are no hard and fast rules about this, and your background may necessitate going back a little further that you'd like in order to give yourself the best opportunity to get the position.