In general, how far back would you go on your resume? I’ve heard anything from 10 years to “just whatever’s relevant”. Well, 10 years ago I was working in a kitchen up until 2007, then I left that for an office job. The jobs I’m currently applying for are all office jobs. Should I bother putting the kitchen job from 2001-2007? Make passing reference to it?
It depends on what fits. 2 pages total is probably what you should be aiming for. It would make a good talking point come the interview - why you switched. Kitchen jobs can be used to demonstrate working to deadlines, organisation skills, and other stuff that I can’t think of right now. It sounds like you had that job for a while and rather too recently to not mention it.
I’m only just coming to the point where I’m considering getting rid of the gold foil printing job I had 12 years ago from mine - there’s room for an awful lot of employment history at varying levels of detail even on two pages - it’s been reduced to a line saying I had the job now.
It depends on the context. Generally, relevant experience goes on, but then omitting a job on a resume is not (at least in the US) considered dishonest afaik as long as you don’t try to falsify the resume by e.g. omitting a fast food job and claiming instead that you worked for Lockheed designing missile guidance systems.
Background check forms are a different matter. For example, for a US security clearance, you have to list all jobs during the period that they specify. If a guy who wants to design missile systems for the Air Force got fired from a retail sales job at Best Buy for assaulting a customer, they want to know.
The absence of information is going to provoke at least as much of a response as the actual information. If I’m reviewing resumes, I’m going to think “oh, he was working a kitchen job and then got a degree/connection/experience that let him switch into his current industry”… or, “what was he doing from 2001-2007?”. We’ve been hiring quite a bit recently and it’s very common to see a year or two of unemployment over the last few years, but nothing from 01-07 would definitely raise an eyebrow.
I don’t think I’d give it more than one line, but I’d include it on there, simply because it’s too conspicuous in its absence.
Ok, thanks for the tips!