Omitting jobs from a resume
A recruiter suggested I omit a job I had for four months from my resume to make my work history look a little more stable. Like this...
Company A 12/90 - 11/03
Company B 05/04 - 08/04
Company C 12/04 - 12/05
Company D 12/05 - Present
Would be changed to......
Company A 1990-2003
Company C 2004-2005
Company D 2005- Present
Do employers have a comprehensive way of determining all your prior employers? How short a time period should you have worked for someone for it to be omitted, generally speaking?
Job B can be discovered in a background check, and then you' ll have some explaining to do (if given the chance). I would lean towards including the experience and focusing on the positive aspects of the job -- skills developed and accomplishments. Also, if you' re asked to fill out a job application that asks for a complete career history, you will need to include the position. A resume is more of a marketing piece where you can be somewhat creative, but an application form is a signed, legal document.
Just wanted to echo the previous question. I have several temp jobs that lasted only a few days and were unrelated to my field. Why bother mentioning them?
Seeker, it' s a combination of time you worked and relevance to your desired position that determines whether your prior job should be listed or not.
Keep in mind that a resume and an application are two different pieces of paper with two different purposes. A resume is like a sales brochure and an application is like the product spec sheet - much more detailed and factual. The resume deliberately emphasizes things that make you look like a good fit.
The ONLY things I have seen people get in trouble for in their resumes are fudging a degree (stating that it was an Engineering degree instead of an Engineering Technology degree), taking credit for a degree when there were some unfinished courses, claiming a higher level position than was the case, and trumpeting a "degree" from a diploma mill.
HR will be the ones to track down your application info. If there' s a discrepancy between the app and your resume, unless it' s something really egregious, HR will not rule you out but will defer the matter to the hiring manager. If the HM wants you, he or she will call you up and ask for an explanation. If you have a reasonable explanation (I only worked there four months and didn' t have any strong accomplishments there, so I left it off to avoid cluttering my resume), you should be okay.
Thanks, Steve. Seems to me you and Kim are taking a common sense approach to the issue.
If someone wanted to get picky, I probably excluded jobs even on job applications. There was a six month position right after college (25+ years ago) and a survival job in the same time frame that I probably just didn' t think to include.
Still, my question remains - is there a background check employers can run that would reveal all prior employment? Or even turn up employers not included on a resume or job application? I' m hard pressed to think of one.
Yes, many company' s hire PI' s to do background investigations for employment purposes. If they have your SS#, they can find just about whatever they want about you; including past employment and even your criminal background.
I am ALWAYS tripped up by job applications!!! I never realized that they serve a separate purpose from the resume....I always thought they were the same thing
I have been including my two MSW practicums and my most recent paid employment on both materials, all covering from 2001 to 2006. However, I also had a job from 1997-1999, but haven' t included it in ages because I didn' t think it was relevant to my current pursuits (it was data entry and secretarial work; the job I have listed isn' t really related either, but I figured it shows that I HAVE worked lol). Should I be including this too???
If company B is unrelated, I agree with the recruiter. Depends on what happen at company B. Such as the employer was using you like a contract worker on their payroll. Terminated you before you had benefits. Before agencies were so common, many employers used this tactic. Keep you only for 89 days and make up some stupid excuse to get rid of you.
Remember employers are not giving references like they used to. Depends on how you are hired. I have been hired on a resume only for permanent and temporary positions. Then filed out an employment application, once hired. Some employers are picky about the month, that is becoming less of an issue.