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Trying to build a MT resume and have three quick questions:

1)  10 years at one company and 6 different jobs with increasing responsibilities.  How do I list them?  Do I list them all separate? 

2) Do you put speaking engagements and other relevant industry activities?   I think they help me stand out, but could fill up several lines.  Choose a select few or leave off entirely? 

3)  For jobs from over a decade ago, is it OK just to list them out, one line each without details other than dates, title, and company?  When I read resumes I tend to not read the long ago stuff other than to note years of experience.  

Thanks! 

 

 

marknnelson's picture

1) If you were to treat them as six distinct entries, how does that affect fitting the whole res on one page? And related to item 3, does separating them all out force you to leave off some of the older jobs that might have something good (even if only a couple of lines) to say about you?

2) If there's still room, I'd list them, but perhaps in sentence form, comma-separated.

3) Again if there's room, I would try to at least include a sentence or two. Bulleted accomplishments from back then may not hold a lot of weight. But the older entries accomplish a couple of things:

  • They don't mislead the reader into thinking there's a big gap between college and the first listed job.
  • Depending upon your time in each one, they demonstrate loyalty to a company and/or success at the job. If they're all 6-month or 1-year stints, I'd lean towards leaving them out.
ken_wills's picture

Are you applying to jobs where networking or subject matter expertise are important contributors to success?  "Speaking engagements and other relevant industry activities" are worth including *IF* there's a straight-line relationship between doing them and succeeding in the job the hiring manager is trying to fill.

bflynn's picture

For question #1, this is what I like to see and what I recommend.  List each position as a "sub-job" under the main one.  Make the headings in bold and it's obvious what you're saying.
 
Jan 2005-Present, MyCurrentTitle, MyCurrentCompany, City, State
  May 2010-Present MyCurrentTitle, Company, City State
  description for current job
·         bullet items for MyCurrentTitle
·         bullet items for MyCurrentTitle
  Jan 2009-May2010 Previous Title, Company, City State
  description for previous title
·         bullet Items for previous title
·         bullet Items for previous title
  Jan 2005-Jan 2009 Previous Title2, Company, City State
  description for previous title
·         bullet Items for previous title2
·         bullet Items for previous title2
          
 Jan 2000-Jan 2005 Old Job Title,Old Company, City, State
 description for old job

·         bullet Items for old job
·         bullet Items for old job

 

 

Mark's picture
Admin Role Badge

All of the above guidance is misleading.

1.  6 different jobs ARE six different entities.  There's no 'treating them as.'  List each separately.  Have each one indicate which company it was for.  If they're all the same company, we'll figure that out.  DO NOT WASTE A LINE TO INDICATE WHAT CAN BE DONE INDIVIDUALLY ("all of these are at the same company) IN EACH INDIVIDUAL LISTING TAKING UP LESS THAN A LINE.

2. Do not put speaking activities if you're thinking about slighting jobs from over a decade ago.  Unless speaking was a core part of your job, don't include it when you're worried about space.  When space is an issue, list only those accomplishments which are core to the key responsibilities of the job.

3.  No.  Include more than that.  Note that on our sample resume, it's all on one page, and that's a 20 year career.

Mark