On a regular basis, my team and I have a roundtable discussion on what some of the most common resume questions have been over the last week. Here are a few questions that are trending this week…
1. If you are an established professional or executive with several years of experience under your belt, do you need to provide details on your college internships?
When you reach a certain point in your career and you have several achievements under your belt, internships become irrelevant. Think about it–when you participated in the internships, you were learning basic skills that were entry level. That is not what you want to focus on with hiring managers. It is better they see what your more advanced skills are because those will more closely match your career goals and skill requirements now.
2. Even though my experience is in supply chain management, can I add in my website design business and related experience to the resume?
If your career trajectory is solely in one field and you don’t want to deviate from that career path, it is not a good idea to showcase two competing skill sets. It could leave hiring managers wondering what your career goals are. In this case, they could question your ability to perform the supply chain job and select a different candidate that is 100% focused on supply chain skills and supply chain career goals. If you are looking to make a career change or take part in the gig economy, then it would be okay to integrate an alternate skill set. But in this case, focusing on personal branding, keyword optimization, and a solid PVP in supply chain would be the best strategy if you want to maximize the number of interviews you receive.
3. Is there a specific amount of information that should be included with each job?
In terms of the content and achievements listed under each job, there is no set amount of information that you need to include. The information listed on your resume under each corresponding job should balance brevity with detail while showcasing your expertise. You don’t want to go overboard and give away the farm in terms of detail, but less is better than too much. Your goal is to create a call to action in hiring managers to want to interview you, which is where you will get into more specifics about your achievements and how they relate to the job you are interviewing for.
4. When does too many years of work experience become a drawback on a resume?
After you pass the 20-25 year mark in terms of jobs, you should cut back anything that goes back further including details and footnoted jobs without details. You want to adequately position yourself without creating a screen out factor of having too much experience. You will only need to detail a specific timeline on your resume since you will not be providing details for jobs that go back 20-25 years. But there comes a point when providing too many years of experience will be a detriment to you rather than an asset.