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In my job hunting support group a friend in the group had an interesting question and no one could agree what to do. Here is the situation:
My friend graduated in 1980 with a degree in Accounting and worked for 19 years in a number of highly paid and complex jobs in that field. In 1999, she left the corporate world to be a full time mother. Up to recently she has not done anything in related to Accounting. Nor was she involved in any consulting, volunteer work or education. She was a stay at home mom.
Last year she went back to school to relearn the accounting field after being out of it for almost 15 years. She completed a 200 hour certificate in Accounting and learned all the accounting related software packages. Now she is ready to go back to work.
Her question is this: Should she put her three old jobs in Accounting on her resume? One was from 1980-1991, the second one was from 1991-1996 and the last one was from 1996-1999.
If she put those jobs on her resume potential employers will see she has experience in Accounting, but they will also see that she was a high level person back in the day but has not done anything for 15 years.
Maybe she should just leave the dates out. Or just indicate that she worked at each job for X number of years.
Your advice? (No one in the group or the instructor could agree what she should do!)
YES she should include her work history. It is completely relevant given the number of years she worked. Experience in a professional setting is very valuable.
Thousands of women return to the workforce and have to deal with this. I am surprised the group leader didn't know how to address it.
To avoid highlighting the gap in years, she could list her relevant skills first in a SKILLS section, then include a "Training" or "Qualifications/Certifications" section that shows her new certifications, THEN list employment history last. Including the dates is fine.
Honestly, given some of the past things you've written, OP, I have serious concerns about the capability of the person leading your support group.
The Instructor of the group says it is a dammed if you do and dammed if you don't situation. He agrees, use a hybrid functional resume and start with your skills and accomplishments at first and don't bring up employment until the end.
But he says the following is going to go through the head of the hiring manager or recruiter when they see her resume:
Employment goes back to 1980. SHE IS OLD!
Hasn't worked for 15 years, out of date
Too qualified for an entry level job but out of date and touch for a mid level or management job.
She was nothing but a stay at home mother for 15 years. No consulting, no volunteer work, no education (except for the last year)
She is old news, she had her day in the sun in Accounting. We are looking for someone on their way up, not down.
But he says the following is going to go through the head of the hiring manager or recruiter when they see her resume:
Employment goes back to 1980. SHE IS OLD!
Hasn't worked for 15 years, out of date
Too qualified for an entry level job but out of date and touch for a mid level or management job.
She was nothing but a stay at home mother for 15 years. No consulting, no volunteer work, no education (except for the last year)
She is old news, she had her day in the sun in Accounting. We are looking for someone on their way up, not down.
Wow, what a way to "support" her.
She just went back for continuing ed, right?
It is unfortunate that she did not do anything outside the home in all that time. But if she can get a job in a small office or firm, she can rebuild her experience.
Do you put jobs more than 15 years old in your resume?
If you worked in a career field 15-30 years ago, then left the world of paid work, and now want to return to the workforce, do you put your very old jobs (from 15-30 years ago) on your resume?
Putting these old jobs has pros and cons. On one hand it shows potential employers that you have work experience in a career field. But it also shows you are no longer working in your old career field and are well over 50 years old, opening you up to age discrimination.
That other thread was closed, Thread material must be running low.
I decided to try again. It's an honest question!
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Do you put jobs more than 15 years old in your resume?
