The Old Joel on Software Forum: Part 3 (of 5) - Listing Employment History on Resume

Listing Employment History on Resume

Hi all,

I just have a question on what all of you do in the "Employment History" section on your resumes.

I have worked at the one company for the past 5 years, starting as a developer and progressing through team leader to my current position of Project Manager. I have listed each of my promotions as a seperate item in my employment history so that I can provide detail in what I did while in each position.

Does this sound normal to anybody else? I do the hiring now and I know if I received a resume that detailed an employment history in this much detail I would appreciate it so I can see exactly what the applicant did during each role. But I am worried that this might just be me and other potential interviewers may see it as trying to pad my resume or something. Any thoughts?

Hmmm
Saturday, January 3, 2004

I've done the same thing myself when I've held several positions within a company. They've always been received well, so I don't fret about the format.

In general, I think there's too much worrying about resume format. Just make it as complete as possible while retaining easy (human) scan-ability.

Nick
Sunday, January 4, 2004

Thats my opinion too Nick, I suppose I just wanted to see what others thought of that as well.

Hmmm
Sunday, January 4, 2004

Yup, same here ... I listed different positions within the same company separately on my resume; it went over just fine with those I interviewed with.

If you've been at the same company for 5 years and have held several different positions at that company, it would seem desirable to list each position and set of duties separately.

Immature programmer
Sunday, January 4, 2004

I actually split out what I've done from where I worked. The dates of where I worked are actually just that: dates w/ titles, and really no other details. Some people care about some things more than others, so it just made sense for me to separate out "work done" from "where it was done, and for how long, and with what title".

Nobody has really complained.

Brad Wilson (dotnetguy.techieswithcats.com)
Sunday, January 4, 2004