Is your lengthy job history stressing you out? If your resume seems to be growing longer and longer, you’re not alone.
We live in a fast-paced world where disruption can happen at any moment. And our global work economy is undergoing a massive shift from 20-year tenures to frequent job changes.
According to the US Bureau of Labor Stats, the average employee seeks a new job every 4.2 years. Plus, we’ve seen a shift towards short-term freelance or contract positions, thanks to the WFH boom.
So, how many jobs is too many on a resume? Let’s break down the mission behind your CV and how to go from “too many” to “just enough.”
Your Resume Has a Mission
This resume tip is golden, and we’re not trying to brag.
How many jobs you list on your resume has nothing to do with “showing your history” and everything to do with showing your relevancy.
Contrary to popular belief, your resume isn’t meant to be this encyclopedia of every job you’ve had. Rather, it’s meant to be a targeted marketing document.
And its entire mission is to demonstrate how & why you’re the best candidate for the job.
Good marketing and resume writing go together like chocolate and ice cream.
How Many Jobs Is Too Many on Your Resume?
Now, to answer the question you’ve been waiting for: how many jobs is too many on your resume?
The general rule of thumb is three. If you are a stickler for the one-page resume layout, three will be your best bet to save space.
However, it’s also ok to include more than three positions as long as they are (again) relevant. We do not recommend going past seven positions, as that can be exhausting to look through.
Your job history should also not go back longer than 15 years. But that rule is a bit flexible depending on the situation.
The Truth About Job Hopping
Don’t feel discouraged by the number of jobs you’ve had. We live in a day and age where job-hopping isn’t as bad as you think. It’s good to gather experience, whether it be relevant to your field or not. How else will you know what you enjoy doing?
However, there is this fine line that hiring managers look at when you have an inconsistent work history.
Young professionals are almost expected to have an inconsistent work history. After all, they are still trying to figure out their career path. So, if you have had three or four jobs as a college student within the past few years, that’s understandable.
However, too much movement later in your career might be read as instability. For example, if you’ve been rapidly moving between industries for the last five years, that’s pushing the line.
Eventually, you’ll be expected to settle into your career and create reliability. In other words, your employer simply wants to feel reassured that you’re not going to leave after six months.
Minimize the Number of Jobs on Your Resume
Let’s say you have surpassed the rule of three, and your beautiful resume features eight different positions.
How can you minimize the number of jobs on your CV from “too many” to perfect? The first step is to analyze the information.
- What is completely irrelevant to the career path you want to take?
- Does your work history surpass 10 or 15 years?
- Can you combine work history for any of the roles?
- Can you break down an irrelevant job into skills or achievements instead?
It’s all about relevancy and precision. Listing too many jobs that are irrelevant to the position at hand will kill your chance for an interview.
Instead of focusing on adding your entire work history, focus on expanding upon your achievements from the last three jobs you’ve held.
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