Adding Your Work History, Education And Training To Your Résumé

A wise man will hear and increase in learning, And a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel.” – Proverbs 1:5

Adding Your Work History:

The companies you previously worked for are important also. Your résumé should include a section that lists your work history, whether it’s one employer or several.

It’s not necessary to list all your experience if you’ve worked for more than fifteen years. Prospective employers will only want to see the last 12-15 years since it’s the most relevant.

Not listing employers you worked for more than fifteen years ago will also help protect you against the biased practice of age discrimination.

If your work history goes back more than 15 years, you can include a statement like one of the following:

• Prior to 1996; Progressively responsible positions for a variety of other aerospace companies.
• Prior to 1996; Equally responsible positions in various industries.
• Prior to 1996; Responsible positions with prestigious organizations including; Bell Labs, AT&T, General Telephone.
• Prior to 1996; Rapid advancement with industry leading organization.
• Prior to 1996; Recognized achievements with industry leading organizations.

If you worked for one organization for 12 to 15 years or more, then list the positions you held within that organization, the number of years you held each, and a brief description of your responsibilities for each.

In listing your work history, include the years you worked for each employer, the name of the organization, your most recent title, and a brief description of your responsibilities.

If the organization is not well known, include a line or two describing it. Information such as:

• “a Fortune 500 company”
• “$16 billion, industry-leading organization”
• “a company with more than 1200 employees”
• “an organization ranking third in their industry”

Or a similar description will put the organization in context for your reader.

List your work history in reverse chronological order, starting with your most recent employer and working back to the 12 to 15-year mark.

Adding your Education/Training:

Your educational background tells something about how you’ve prepared for your career. Prospective employers will be interested in learning that about you as well. Include a section on education only for post-high school academic work.

Your education is more than formal schooling, however. It should also include technical classes, training workshops, and professional and personal development seminars.

If you don’t have formal post-high school credentials to list, don’t be intimidated by this section. I’ve worked with clients who have literally hundreds of hours of informal training that’s just as relevant to the work they’re pursuing.

This subject came up during workshops I was conducting for employees being downsized. As we discussed education, I discovered that most didn’t have much formal academic training beyond high school. To stay on the cutting edge of technology in their field however, many had more than 250 hours of training workshops, national conferences, and technical classes. When compared to formal education, they had hours equivalent to a Master’s degree. But they didn’t think they had any education to list.

You may be able to get a list of training workshops you’ve attended from your most recent employer. Also, review those old certificates of achievement you received to help you remember the training you’ve attended over the years.

Be sure to list all training you participated in, whether it was presented by your organization, a professional training organization, or a community college. We’ll work on summarizing your list, but first just write it all down.

My book, “The Christian Job Search Manual” offers worksheets and examples to help you create your best résumé.

This is an excerpt from my book “The Christian Job Search Manual,” click on this link to purchase the book.

If you would like to explore working with a Christian centered Career Coach, Contact me for a no-obligation 60-90 minute job search consultation with America’s Job Searching Coach, or text me at 425-220-0707  and we can discuss your situation, your résumé, what you would like to achieve, and structure your job search to fit your uniqueness.

I am also available to speak to groups.