Traditional Resume Design
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Resume Employment Dates
Because hiring managers are bombarded with dozens, perhaps even
hundreds, of resumes on a daily basis, the key in writing an effective
resume is to make your information as easily accessible and readable
as possible.
When presenting employment dates:
- Make certain that your years of employment are in reverse chronological
order. That is, present your most recent job first, followed
by the next most recent, and so on.
- If you've worked more than one position at the same company,
indicate the beginning and ending dates of each position.
- Format your resume so that dates are easily seen by the reader,
rather than hidden within other data.
There's no need to type months in employment dates, except on
your resumes for Federal
government jobs that require such data, and those you're sending
to graduate schools as part of the application process.
Employment Dates in Reverse Chronological Order
If you worked for ABC Company from 1999 to the present and at
XYZ Company from 1989 to 1999, you'd write it something like this:
| ABC COMPANY, City, State |
1999 - Present |
| XYZ COMPANY, City, State |
1989 - 1999 |
More than One Position with a Company
If you worked at ABC Company from 1989 to the present and held
three positions of increasing responsibility, a good way to present
it would be something like this:
ABC COMPANY, City, State
Controller (1999-Present)
Chief Accountant (1994-1999)
Accountant (1989-1994) |
1989
- Present |
The above provides specific information about your dates of employment
in each position, with your total employment at the company provided
in the first line.
Formatting Employment Dates
Because a hiring manager will most often scan rather than read
your resume, it's best to provide dates of employment immediately
after the company's name and location, preferably with the dates
positioned flush-right as shown above. This separation avoids the
dates getting lost in the other data, yet still showcases them
for potential employers.
Years of Employment vs. Months and Years
By excluding months except when required (as indicated above),
you can improve the readability of the data, while also downplaying
brief periods of employment. For example, indicating that
you worked during the year 2000 is certainly more positive than
indicating that you only worked January - February 2000.
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