I am currently mentoring students that are in college or just recently graduated and a question has come up about how much work experience should I put on my resume. This is a hard question to answer because it depends on your age.
Just starting your career 0 – 5 years
• Include volunteer work
• Co-op programs
• After school activities and groups
• Any part time jobs you have had (past 5 years max)
Have been working 5 – 10 years
• List the jobs that you have had through that time (5 – 10 years)
• Also volunteer work
Having worked 15 years
• Include jobs you have had in the last 15 years
• Include any volunteer board’s you have been on
In a lot of cases, it depends on the job that you are looking for, but it is important to show that you have experience. Why I am writing this is because I was chatting with a college student who is a mature student, and the college was telling them to only include the last 5 years of experience because employees don’t want to see anything past that. I have some to realize why the colleges are saying this is because a lot of students have just recently finished high school, so they don’t have a lot of work experience.
It was almost mentioned by another international student who I was mentoring that they shouldn’t put experience from back home on their resume. Only experience in Canada is what you should include, and I totally disagree with this because if you have experience no matter where it is from, it’s experience.
It is so interesting listening to what is being taught because your resume can either get you a job/interview or be the issue of why you aren’t getting an interview. Of course, if the resume is being marked as part of a course, then I would follow the instructions that are given. Now, when it comes to applying for jobs, I would include past experience even if it is from another country because experience matters.
Your resume is what helps get you an interview so making sure that you are providing the necessary information to show you are qualified for the job you are applying for. If the job descriptions asks for 3 – 5 years work experience and you have been in school that long but you worked prior to going back to school, make sure you add that experience from before going back to school.
So, how much work experience should you put on your resume, it really depends how long you have been working.
