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Pros & Cons of limiting resume experience to 10-12 years?
I am currently applying for jobs that represent a small pivot in my career focus - from B2B Marketing and Sales/Mktg Ops to 100% Business Ops/Salesforce Admin. I've had some of these responsibilities as part of my current and previous roles but never had it be my full job. I'm applying to Salesforce/CRM Admin roles. I'm also earning an Admin certification to validate my Salesforce expertise. My question relates to resumes. Many of the articles and sites that address ageism recommend putting only the last 10-12 years of work experience on your resume to avoid assumptions or bias.
I am 52 years old with nearly 30 years of professional work experience. The jobs I'm applying to generally require 2-7 years of Salesforce/CRM experience; overall work experience doesn't really matter. So I've cut my resume to the roles I've had for the past 10 years, even though I've used Salesforce most of my career (I just haven't ever been the admin/manager). While I understand cutting out all my previous experience it also feels a bit disingenuous. I've also updated my LinkedIn profile to match my resume.
I just had a phone interview with a company that is hiring for a manager-level position. The interview went well and they want to bring me in for in-person meetings. I confirmed that their salary range includes my range. But I feel weird downplaying my experience! Also, the hiring manager is literally half my age (or more). He probably thinks I'm in my 30s.
Would love to hear your thoughts/experiences/suggestions on how to handle this and future potential job situations. Thanks!
Lynne CoganCareer Coach for Realizing Professional Dreams
871
02/22/20 at 3:48PM UTC
Today's resumes only include the last 10-15 years, not 10-12 years of experience. Not a huge difference and adding another 5 years to your experience section might make you feel better.
The best known reason for this practice is age discrimination. However, there are two others. First, employers only care what you did lately. They want to know how you can be of service to them today.
The other is not talked about but makes sense. If resumes included all of a person's work history, they would go on for pages and pages and... That is because people have more jobs than they once did. Having more than one to two pages (or occasionally three) is unnecessary and off-putting--especially when you've been doing basically the same type of work for your entire career.
If an employer wants to know all your work history, it will be asked for in the application.
Many people list all their experience on their LinkedIn profile. If you want, you can do so. You also can group work from before 10-15 years together in some fashion, so your profile doesn't get overly long. (How this is done, depends on a person's background and the type of employer/clients they are looking to attract.)
Alisa GoldschmidtEnthusiastic Sales Ops and Marketing Pro
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02/22/20 at 9:09PM UTC
Thanks Lynn. I wondered about LinkedIn compared to resume. If they don't match will potential employer think I'm hiding something by not putting on resume? Also ur seems if I go back further than 15 years on LinkedIn the same ageism will rear it's head. I also did one version of my resume where I put lady 10 years in detail then had a sentence that said "additional marketing roles at company x, y and z" without dates or other specifics. What is your thought on that?
Lynne CoganCareer Coach for Realizing Professional Dreams
871
02/22/20 at 9:30PM UTC
A LinkedIn profile is not a resume and should not be treated as one. However, you do not want one to contradict the other. You can put the same jobs on on both. If you desire, you can be more inclusive on the profile; that is your choice. And you can be much more creative on your profile.
Additionally, a resume is a marketing document. You are not under any obligation to include every job. If you show that you have had 15 years' experience in marketing that is sufficient. If it show a steady progression in promotions, so much the better.
(If you want to include information about the positions prior to 15 years ago, because those are the only ones that show promotions, I would still leave them off because it could bring up a very interesting question: Why you don't have any more recent promotions.)
Anonymous
02/20/20 at 12:40PM UTC
If your resume is getting you invites to job interviews, then don’t change it. What you can do, is present a lengthier version, that includes your prior experience that you omitted, during the in person interview. Just an idea, I’m not writing from experience. Also in response to above poster, I’m not sure I like the idea of uttering the words “age discrimination” during the interview
Alisa GoldschmidtEnthusiastic Sales Ops and Marketing Pro
104
02/20/20 at 4:34PM UTC
Thanks. Agreed that I don't think I'd specifically say age discrimination. Might depend on the situation.
Lisa Lewis MillerAuthor, podcaster, coach @ GetCareerClarity.com
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02/19/20 at 5:58PM UTC
Hey Alisa - great Q. Generally, if you're curating your resume to be the most relevant experiences, it's okay to drop sections/years off your resume. (And omitting your graduation year from your education section is great!) However, I'm a big proponent of being upfront about who you are and what you bring to the table -- which you'll probably get to do in the interview. You can address it directly: "I know I'd be great at this role and the salary meets my needs, so I curated my resume to the most recent and relevant experiences so you'd see my capabilities and protect myself from potential age discrimination." However, don't be surprised if the hiring manager seems confused for a moment when they meet you! If they make a big deal of it, or *you* feel uncomfortable in the interview, it's probably not a corporate culture that's going to feel good for you. (And you deserve to feel good!) So also approaching the job search to target companies that value and retain a more diverse workforce could be important for you, too. Good luck!
