Application Etiquette: How Long Before I Should No Longer Put a Job on My Application?
Filling out an application remains a crucial step in the job-search process. Employers evaluate the care and consistency that potential hires invest when completing applications, but it's often the content relayed that helps candidates stand out from the competition to land the job. One common application etiquette concern is how long to list jobs as part of your job application work history. At some point, it becomes irrelevant to list outdated jobs on the application, and they should no longer be listed. Use basic rules-of-thumb, an understanding of the company's application specifications and common sense when making this decision.
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Number Rules
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The etiquette gold standard for listing jobs on applications is 15 years; after that, most hiring consultants recommended no longer putting that job on your application. However, in changing economic and hiring environments this 15-year rule has been lowered to 10 years and even five years in some circles. While applicants can use these number rules to begin decision-making processes about which jobs to leave off the application, there are other things to consider.
Company Requirements
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Companies often list very specific requirements for candidates to include when filling out job applications. Read these carefully, as they will frequently contain directions about how long or detailed your application's work history section should be. Etiquette dictates that applications requesting work histories extending back 10 years should include a decade's worth of positions held. Ignoring a company's specifications when filling out job applications can result in your application being discarded or reduced in priority consideration.
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Gaps
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Some candidates may face employment gaps when completing applications requesting 10 to 15 years of job employment history. Rather than leave gaping holes in your work history, account for large spaces of unemployment with information such as "2000-2004, Full-time parent and volunteer." Attributing periods of unemployment to pursuits such as education, volunteer work or raising a family points up positive character aspects of your endeavors, such as discipline, motivation, compassion or altruism.
Exceptions
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As with any kind of etiquette, guidelines exist to help address the majority of situations, but there will always be exceptions. Perhaps you worked a summer job as a film-editing assistant decades ago, creating a spark that you've been patiently nursing until the right film industry job came along. Use common sense and discretion to determine whether including a job from decades ago may still be a viable option for your application.
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References
- Photo Credit job image by Andrey Kiselev from Fotolia.com
