Do I include all jobs on my CV?

Creating a dazzling resume takes time and effort, but it will pay off if that resume helps you land the job of your dreams. Yet many people find it difficult to cope with the task, especially when it comes to deciding how much information to include. While there are no hard and fast rules about your previous job, the following tips should help give you a better idea of ​​whether to mention all of your previous jobs.

Add information relevant to the job you are applying for

Even if you don’t create a new document for every job posting, you should at least make an effort to tailor your CV to each job offer. This means that if you have many years of experience in other unrelated fields, you can choose to focus only on those that relate directly to the position or field you want. In this case, you can decide to ignore these other positions or mention them in a separate section. This way, the HR manager can easily gain insight into your related experience without getting bogged down in non-essential information.

On the other hand, if you have just graduated or do not have a lot of professional experience,
you will want to mention any experience you have. This goes for any work you did while in high school, internships, volunteer jobs, and even summer jobs. Your future employer will want to have proof that you have already worked to some extent, regardless of the volume or the connection to the position to be filled.

Don’t feel obligated to mention small jobs

If your last job didn’t quite as rewarding as you would have hoped, there is no need to mention it on your resume, especially if you were only there for a few months. Of course, if you are applying for a job that requires a security clearance, it should show up on your background. Otherwise, it is highly unlikely that a human resources department will have the time or resources to inquire about all of your old jobs. In fact, they will only call your references and possibly the human resources department of some of your former employers to verify that you actually worked the way you claim. Which leads directly to the next point.

Limit yourself to the last 10 to 15 years

If you’ve been on the job for more than a decade, it’s usually a good idea to limit the points you put on your resume to the past 10 to 15 years. Of course, this rule does not necessarily apply when changing jobs or sectors, because in this case, it is more important to focus on the most relevant experience rather than the most recent. Nonetheless, industries change quite quickly, which means there is probably no reason to mention this programmer position.

Show a good track record without resorting to the lie

While there is no reason for you to have to mention all of your former employers, especially if you left under difficult circumstances, that does not give you carte blanche to lie. In fact, if you lie on your CV and your employer finds out, it is usually grounds for immediate termination even if you have been in this position for years. Most employers will ask you to sign a document stating that everything stated on your CV and during the interview is true, which means that honesty is always the best policy.

Some employers may also ask you to provide a detailed list of each job you have held in the past 5 or 10 years. In this case, you must mention absolutely everything, as it is likely that the company will check with the appropriate bodies, which means that you could be disqualified if you decide to do nothing.

Make sure you don’t leave huge gaps in your professional experience

At the end of the day, it’s up to you to determine how much information to include on your resume. The good rule of thumb is to try to keep the CV as short as possible without forgetting anything relevant, but this is usually easier said than done.

As long as you try to focus on the most relevant information in detail, you can feel free to be brief on the less important things or to leave them completely. Nonetheless, be prepared to answer any questions regarding longer periods not counted, because unless there is a good reason most employers don’t like to see a candidate who has been out of work for a long time. While this may mean that it is necessary to mention less relevant jobs, it will also prevent the potential employer from thinking that you have been unemployed for several years.