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Job Search Myths to Ignore, Part I: You Must Use a Landline For a Phone Interview
Job Search Myths to Ignore Part II: Your Resume Can Only Be One Page
In the third part of this series focusing on 10 outdated career myths that may be hurting you, we’re focusing on the myth that every job you have ever had should go on your resume. In an article by career writer Alison Green, she pointed out 10 outdated career myths that, if now followed, may actually be hurting you, not helping you.
Here is the third scenario:
Every job has to go on your resume to present a complete account of your professional history
Your resume is a marketing document, designed to present your candidacy in the strongest possible light. It doesn’t need to be an exhaustive accounting of every job you’ve held, says Green.
Get a Job Fast Analysis
Green points out what the majority of job seekers miss when it comes to writing a resume. The resume is not a career biography, it is, as Green points out, a marketing tool that quickly tells the employer you have the skills, experience and background that would be a fit for the position you are applying for. I recommend going back only 15 years worth of experience on a resume – maybe 20. Whatever it is, make the experience you list relevant to the job you are applying for.
If your first job 20+ years ago was working as a disc jockey at the local radio station but you now work in IT for a Fortune 500 company, don’t list it. Save the fact that you worked as a disc jockey for office talk, if it’s ever brought up.
Analysis
The reason is this – employers scan your resume – and those of sometimes hundreds of others. If they like it, they’ll read it. Don’t waste their time by using up valuable space listing jobs that have no relevance to the position you are applying for. Get right to the point and you’ll get what you’re hoping for – an interview to prove you are the right person for the job.
Related Resources
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Resume Resources
Get a job Fast recommends resume writer Matt Krumrie
