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How To Write Dates On Resume

Should You Ever List The Day On A Resume

How to right align dates in Word

There are very few circumstances which require listing the day on a resume.

The only instances which require a day in addition to the month and year are for professional licenses, or if the company specifically asks for a certain date in their job listing.

Special cases such as listing an invention you have patented would require you to write the exact date the patent was approved.

This is to help an employer search for your patent online and validate the information.

While not required, some companies ask for the exact date of a license. These can be licenses to operate certain machinery, or teaching licenses.

If a company asks specifically for the date, include the day, month, and year. If a company does not specifically ask for this information, the month and year will suffice.

The Reason You Left The Job

Save this information for the interview. Whether you left the job in order to advance your career, or you were terminated, explanations on paper have to be far too brief to give a future employer a favorable impression. At an interview, you are far more likely to be able to place a good spin on even an unpleasant termination.

Keep A Consistent Format

However you choose to list your education, be sure to stick with a consistent format throughout if you have more than one degree to list. For example, if you choose to list your most recent degree in order of degree, program, school name, and graduation year, then you should list subsequent educational experiences the same way.

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How To List Multiple Degrees On A Resume

As you accumulate more education, you might have several degrees to list on your resume. If you have multiple degrees, list them in reverse-chronological order, with your most recent degree appearing first.

You should only list your degrees out of chronological order if one degree is more relevant to the job you want than the others. In this case, you should list your most relevant degree first.

For example, suppose an applicant has a Bachelor in Accounting and Finance and a Master of Business Administration, and theyre applying for a forensic accounting role. In that case, they should list their bachelors degree first.

Heres an example of how to multiple degrees on a resume:

UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA, Altoona, PAM.S. Accounting

  • BLA = Bachelor of Liberal Arts
  • BSW = Bachelor of Social Work
  • BS = Bachelor of Science

Remember, before using any abbreviations, keep the role youre applying for in mind. For example, if you have a BSW and youre applying for a job that involves social services, the hiring manager will likely be familiar with the abbreviation.

However, if youre applying to a restaurant management position with a Bachelor of Social Work, the employer may not recognize the abbreviation BSW. In this case, its best to write out the full name of your degree.

Heres an example of how to list a bachelors degree on a resume:

RIVER BROOK UNIVERSITY

Honors: Cum Laude, GPA: 3.6

List Your Exact Job Title

Resume Format Dates

If you held a job with a standard or self-explanatory title, its fine to list it exactly as it exists within your company. This ensures that your resume will line up with any potential reference checks and prevents misunderstandings or worse, appearing like youve deliberately falsified your job history. Titles like sales associate, sales assistant, and sales representative, for example, might be used interchangeably, even if one is technically more accurate than another. If you feel like theres a disconnect between your title and the actual job, you can clear that up in your bullet points or with an introductory paragraph.

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If You Dont Have A Lot Of Paid Work Experience

If youre a student or recent graduate, you can still include non-traditional work experience on your resume. Simply format any volunteer or student work the same way you would any other job and read up on how to list volunteer work on your resume.

If youre listing volunteer work or other unpaid projects, stick to the standard format and use bullet points to highlight your accomplishments like this.

Addressing Employment History Gaps

Make no mistake: if youâre listing employment months on your resume, any gaps will be noticeable. So, how can you be honest in your presentation without sounding warning bells in an employerâs mind?

The best bet is to focus on being as direct as possible when listing employment dates. If you had a three-month gap between jobs, and you were struggling to land an interview, say so. If you took six months off to focus on taking care of a sick relative, be sure to tell the prospective employer or hiring manager about that time away. And if you had a lengthy period of unemployment while you pursued additional skills training, note that as well.

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How To Write Your Resume Employment History

The employment history is an integral part of any resume. This section details your previous jobs and explains what you achieved in each position. A compelling work history will clearly demonstrate why you’re a good fit for the job that you’re applying for, so it’s important to understand how to write it effectively. In this article, we explain how to write a strong resume employment history and give you examples to reference when writing your own.

Use A Functional Resume Format

Do You Put Dates On Your Resume? CV Writing Tips!

Some employees still prefer to leave their exact employment dates off their resume due to their age or amount of experience. If you decide this as well, you can use a functional resume format that showcases your relevant skills, rather than primarily focusing on your work experience.

Add a summary section that explains your skills and how you plan to apply them to the role. Next, list your relevant skills at the top of your resume, focusing on skills that showcase your qualifications for the role. Group these skills in one section. If you have a certain set of skills that fit into a specific category, like technical skills, these can be featured in their own section as well.

You can then mention your relevant work experience by listing your duties and any results you brought the company. This is another section where you can focus primarily on the skills you’ve gained and improved during the role.

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How To Write Decades

Heres a tip:s

This is the way to think about writing decades using numbers: they are both abbreviations and plurals. A shorter way of saying My mother was born in the 1940s is My mother was born in the 40s. The apostrophe indicates where the two century digits would be, had they been included. There is no need to put an apostrophe between the zero and the sthat would incorrectly indicate a possessive.

Overlapping Dates Or Present

Sometimes people have multiple jobs that overlap. This can be an issue on a reverse-chronological order resume. All the jobs you currently have should be listed together, even if you started one of them a long time ago. Of these, the one you began most recently should be listed first. If you still work at a job, write “Present” for the end date.

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Is It Ok Not To Include Dates On Your Resume

No, its not ok to not include dates on a resume. Employers need to know when you held each position and how long you held it to determine whether youre worth bringing in for an interview.

However, removing the exact months of employment from your resumes work experience section is acceptable. But you still need to include the years you held each position for.

If you want to further downplay the dates on your resume, use a functional resume format. Functional resumes take the readers focus away from your chronological work history, and instead highlight your professional skills and expertise.

Okay Lets Fix This Resume

Resume Format: Resume Format Dates

Now doesnt that look a hell of a lot better than it did before?

You should be able to do this without any trouble and its worth the few minutes of time it takes.

I realize that was a brief run through the process but most everybody hates long videos so I kept it as short as I could. I also wrote this up in text format, so you can download the whole thing using the link below.

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Display Your Educational Background

If youre a student thats preparing a resume for a part time job, your education section is especially important.

Employers still prefer a well-educated candidate, so if youre lacking in work experience, your resumes education section can provide you an opportunity to set yourself apart from other qualified job applicants.

Similar to your work experience, when listing academic experience on your part time job resume, you should focus on your achievements. Academic achievements can include any of the following:

Relative Coursework: Calculus, Linear Algebra, Statistics, Computer Science, & Physics

Extracurricular activities:

  • Deans list 4 consecutive semesters in a row
  • Big Brother Big Sister Foundation: Volunteer twice a week. Help mentor, teach, and encourage two assigned younger brothers
  • University softball team captain

If youre still in high school, college, or a recent graduate without much work experience, consider listing your education before your work experience so that the hiring manager notices it first.

Craft A Great Part Time Job Resume Objective

When youre writing a resume for a part time job as a student or simply for a second job, starting off your resume with a great resume introduction is essential if you want to grab the hiring managers attention and show them why youre the right person for the job.

A resume objective is a great choice for your resume introduction because it gives you the opportunity to talk about your passions and career goals, as well as your relevant experience and skills.

Begin your resume objective by stating how much work experience you have, followed by an example of some of your career or academic achievements. Finally, end with a statement explaining why youre interested in working for the company.

Heres an example of a resume objective for a mother looking for part time work as a personal trainer:

Dedicated personal trainer and nutrition coach with 7+ years of experience dieting and training student athletes. Successfully prepared 2 students for weightlifting competitions, each earning 2nd place in bench press and leg press respectively. Great time management, people, and organizational skills. Looking to leverage my experience and skills to fill the part-time personal coach position at Muscles Gym.

Additionally, heres a resume objective example of a college student applying for a part-time math tutoring position:

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Provide Your Job Title

List your exact job title. You can choose to include this below your company’s name and location or on the same line so that it receives as much attention as the company that you worked for. Alternately, if you feel that your job title is more impressive than the company, you can feature your title first with the company directly beneath.

How To List Multiple Positions At One Company On Resume

How to Perfectly Align Dates On Your Resume

As you rise the ranks at your company, learn how to format a resume the right way.

Writing a resume is often a daunting challenge. It can be difficult to determine what information to include, how to organize and name each section of your resume, and the best resume format to tell your career story.

One of the most common questions professional resume writers receive is How do I list multiple jobs within the same company? It’s a perfectly understandable dilemma. If resume sections are typically separated by job and company, what do you do when there is only a foggy distinction between the two? Well, this could be done in one of two ways you could either combine the experience into one listing or separate it into multiple. Let’s take a look.

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How Many Years Of Experience To List On Your Resume

Do you have to include every job you’ve ever had on your resume? Not necessarily. When you have extensive experience, you don’t need to list your entire work history.

Your resume is a synopsis of your qualifications and experience that shows what you have accomplished that is relevant to the job. You don’t need to include everything you’ve ever done on your resume, especially if you’ve been in the workforce for many years or have shifted careers.

In fact, you may want to have several versions of your resume. One with all your experience so you can keep track of it, a targeted resume that you can customize for each job you apply to, and a shorter version for career networking and job fairs.

How To Arrange Dates On A Resume

Resume trends come and go, but no matter how the document is formatted, it must contain certain information. Dates fall into the “must-have” category, because many of the skills employers seek in a high tech and ever changing workplace have an expiration date. The dates of your jobs, experiences and activities add perspective to your accomplishments, and they should be included in a way that makes sense to employers. Although there are several different ways to arrange resume dates to highlight the most relevant information, for most jobseekers chronological order is the most efficient and effective format.

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College Graduation Date On Resume

There is no need to include your college graduation date unless you’re a recent college graduate. Here’s an example of college listed on a resume without dates:

Bachelor of Arts in EnglishUniversity of New York

Here’s an example of a college graduation date listed on a resume:

Bachelor of Arts in English, 2020University of New York

Many people choose to drop their graduation date from their resume when the degree was earned 10 years prior. If you are worried about age discrimination, leaving off this information is a good way to shield your age.

You Dont Need To List Every Job Youve Ever Held

Pin on 3

Your resume is a summary of your work experience, not an exhaustive brief. If you have enough relevant experience, its okay to leave off some less relevant jobs if you dont feel that they strengthen your candidacy. The same goes for older positions. A good rule of thumb is to cover your past 10-15 years of work experience. Much more than that, and you risk trying to cram too much in and diluting your most recent accomplishments, especially if theyre also the most impressive. As always, there are exceptions if youve been at your current job for that entire time, youll obviously want to go back further, and the same could be true if theres something particularly noteworthy before that cutoff that youd like to include.

On the other hand, if you spent a few months doing something completely unrelated to your field, or you held a position for a very short time, its also totally fine to omit it. Short-term jobs are unlikely to add anything to your resume, and having more than one or two of them risks flagging you as a job hopper. If your resume looks better with those jobs taken out, it isnt dishonest not to include them.

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Include Intriguing Job Responsibilities

Some tasks are so mundane that they’re easily assumed from your job title. If you were a cashier, you obviously operated the cash register, so there’s no need to detail this on your resume. Instead, list tasks the hiring manager is unlikely to know about, such as taking the initiative to reorganize counter displays to better highlight the impulse purchases that are most common in your locale.

Where To Put Your Expected Graduation Date

Your date conferred or expected date should be placed next to your degree or diploma, within the education section of your resume. When you’re still studying, this section should sit above your job experience. Once you enter the workforce, these sections will be reordered, with experience on top of education.

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Template For Including Dates On A Resume

Your resume should include relevant dates to prove to hiring managers that you recently gained experience that will help you better perform in your role. Use the template below to include dates on specific sections of your resume:

  • Education

Colorado State University, Fort Collins, ColoradoBachelor of Arts, Journalism and Media Communication, December 2017

How To Choose A Resume Format

Dates on a Resume – Job Search Moments

Choosing the right resume format for you is very important. Different resume formats allow you to choose which professional attributes to highlight. This influences how a recruiter or hiring manager will judge your qualifications. To choose your resume format, start by evaluating your career history and future goals.

The chronological format works for most people on a traditional career path. If you have been in the same industry for most of your career and are applying for another job within that space, this is a safe option. This format works best if you have no major gaps in employment and your work history speaks for itself in terms of growth and promotions.

The hybrid resume format offers similar benefits but more flexibility than the chronological format. As such, its a great resume format for most job seekers. Its a perfect option if you have skills that were developed outside of your professional experience, have minor gaps in your experience, or are changing careers.

The functional resume format is worth a try if you havent found success with the chronological or hybrid resume formats. It can also be a good option for new graduates with no work experience or someone reentering the workforce after taking time off.

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