How many years of experience should I include in my CV?
Why should you limit your CV to 10-15 years?
Looking at the summary of online CV templates, we can see that 10-15 years of work experience has become a convention when writing about work experience in a CV, the reason is because:
Older experiences are less relevant
The biggest reason is this: The older your experience, the less relevant it becomes.
Overachievement is not necessary
Maybe your old experience is still relevant – but if you were still working in the same industry 20 years ago, chances are most of your previous achievements have improved in newer positions.
Eliminate clutter
One thing that annoys employers is a messy CV.
When can you put more than 15 years of experience on your CV?
If you are applying for a job that requires a lot of experience
Your CV should always match the criteria in the job description.
If your previous experience is relevant to the position you are applying for
If you feel that your previous experience is convincing enough, it could be a good reason to expand the scope of your work history on your CV.
How to include previous experience in your CV
If you want to include old experience on your CV, here are some of the best ways to do it without compromising the integrity of your CV.
Include older experience in your career summary or introduction
The CV summary is a great place to talk about past experience.
Create a separate section for older experiences
To distinguish between current or more relevant experience and older positions, include a section titled such as `Previous professional experience.`
Talk about the achievements of old experiences
In the Achievements or Awards section of your CV, you can talk about your most relevant or impressive past achievements.
If you list older jobs in the experience section of your CV, don’t overdo it.