Include all previous jobs on CV?

Kazujo

Do you really need to include previous employment on your CV that is not relevant to the job you are applying for?

I am working in IT, this is my third actual job. My first job was as a warehouse operative for about a year and a half five years ago. Is it really necessary to include it.

jhegarty

Kazujo wrote:

Do you really need to include previous employment on your CV that is not relevant to the job you are applying for?

I am working in IT, this is my third actual job. My first job was as a warehouse operative for about a year and a half five years ago. Is it really necessary to include it.

is there a reason to hide it (fired ?), if not i can't see any reason to let it off... it will only look like you were on the dole and not a hard working person in a warehouse.....

Beruthiel

It also shows that you are adaptable and are willing to try new things in order to get on

WhiteWashMan

if you dont have a huge amount of work experience, then yes, its probebly better to add the position. any obvious glaring omissions will only make any perspective employers wonder what you were doing in that time out, and you will probably have to explain it anyway.
and that can get embarassing

besides, as ruthie says, you dont have to talk up the actual job that you did, such as pushing buttons in a factory (god knows i did it for 5 years), but it allows you to tell them, when they ask you, about the reponsibilites you had. about the achievments you made, and about your own personal development.
you can tell them it wasnt your preferred job, but that you struggled and look where you are today.
believe me, ive used that in every interview ive had since i left night shift factory work behind, and its always something that will impress an interviewer if youa re passionate about how you viewed yourself as wanting more from your life and you lifted yourself.

seamus

I wouldn't include it if your CV will be overflowing. Stick it in if you need to fill space.

Ideally though, you'd put in a description for jobs that are relevant to the position, and one or two lines for any other jobs - just so there are no employment gaps in the CV, and as Ber says, to show that you've no problem sticking your oar in anywhere.

Kernel32

My IT resume goes back 9 years over several jobs. Prior to that I had a couple of different jobs non-IT related. My jobs are in reverse order starting with the latest, in the last one I put the date range and simply add "Various jobs, details available upon request" . No one has ever asked for much detail. All I wanted was to not have a gap in my employment history. If you feel you have enough IT experience then something like that should work.

AARRRGH

seamus wrote:

I wouldn't include it if your CV will be overflowing. Stick it in if you need to fill space.

Ideally though, you'd put in a description for jobs that are relevant to the position, and one or two lines for any other jobs - just so there are no employment gaps in the CV, and as Ber says, to show that you've no problem sticking your oar in anywhere.

Exactly as Seamus said. I deal with CVs on a daily basis, and I really don't need to know what your tasks in McDonalds were. But I do want to know you worked there.

idontknowmyname

I had an interview for O2 last year. I didnt put down everyplace that i'd worked for cause too many. I've never been fired or anything but some of my jobs did the same thing so no point repeating myself. Anyway I got eaten at the interview by the person interviewing me...she was really nasty saying that you should put down all your previous jobs and that my CV wasn't good as a result. I felt really angry about it and certainly didnt wanna work for them after that, she was just really bitchy towards me from then on. Worst interview ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :mad:

leeroybrown

seamus wrote:

Ideally though, you'd put in a description for jobs that are relevant to the position, and one or two lines for any other jobs - just so there are no employment gaps in the CV, and as Ber says, to show that you've no problem sticking your oar in anywhere.

I agree with this. Employers only want to know about relevant experience (although they might disagree with you about what is relevant) but they won't want to see CV gaps.

RicardoSmith

I put all experience but unrelevent experience I slim to down to the barest details, name, start end etc.

Our man in Havana

Why is it such a crime to have gaps in your history. People do get laid off etc.

seamus

Bond-007 wrote:

Why is it such a crime to have gaps in your history. People do get laid off etc.

It's easier to not have to explain

RicardoSmith

Bond-007 wrote:

Why is it such a crime to have gaps in your history. People do get laid off etc.

Some HR people are stupid about it. Even contracting you can have breaks.

Kazujo

Thanks everyone. The job that I left out was right at the beginning so there are no actual gaps in employment and my main reason for ommiting was simply spacing on my CV.

WhiteWashMan

Bond-007 wrote:

Why is it such a crime to have gaps in your history. People do get laid off etc.

its not a crime. nor is it a crime to ask, because people like to know the full history of a candidate.
after all, iof someone got sacked 5 times out of his last 6 jobs, and there were 3 month gap between jobs, chances are im not going to hire that person.

personally, i just have my last 3 jobs in my cv, and if someone wants to know what happened about 7 years ago, they are free to ask!

SantaHoe

idontknowmyname wrote:

Anyway I got eaten at the interview by the person interviewing me...she was really nasty saying that you should put down all your previous jobs and that my CV wasn't good as a result.

That's funny, I got eaten at an interview for the exact opposite... you just can't win. :rolleyes:
I think a lot of this interviewer nastiness is just an attempt by the interviewer to rattle you, see how you handle confrontation/critisism/pressure, and not so much about the thing they're berating you over.
It's just like those bullshít-curveball-impossible-to-prepare-for questions they throw at you... "describe a situation where you...", and you're supposed to thrawl through years of employment to find a relevant example, while they sit staring expectantly at you.
I've never been the one to terminate an interview, but my patience is wearing thin.

RicardoSmith

Yes HR types are pretty inconsistent.