How Far Back Should a Resume Go in 2024 - 2025?

How far back a resume should go depends on your career stage and the role you're targeting.

While most professionals should focus on the last 10-15 years of relevant experience, this can vary based on your situation. Without the right timeframe, you might include outdated experience that distracts from your current qualifications or miss showcasing valuable expertise that hiring managers want to see.

Below, you'll learn exactly how many years of experience to include on your resume, which work history is most relevant for your situation, and how to showcase your work history effectively. You'll also get specific examples for different career stages to help you make the right choices for your application.

Struggling to write a relevant resume? Make one for free with Teal's AI Resume Builder.

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How far back should a resume go

Most resumes should cover 10-15 years of recent work experience. This timeframe provides enough context to show your career progression while keeping the focus on your current skills and achievements. Going too far back can clutter your resume with outdated information, while not going back far enough might leave out valuable experience.

When deciding how many years back your resume should go, consider that recent experience carries more weight with hiring managers. Focus on achievements and responsibilities that demonstrate your current capabilities rather than outdated skills or technologies. Understanding these requirements helps you choose how many jobs to include.

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How far back should a resume go by career stage

Different career stages require different approaches to how far back your work history should go. Each stage has specific requirements that influence which years of experience you should include.

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How far back a resume should go for entry-level professionals

When you're just starting your career, including experience from the past 3-5 years helps demonstrate your potential. Typically your content will end up producing a one-page resume. But keep in mind, even without extensive work history, you can showcase work experience that's relevant to the job description through:

• Internships that provided hands-on experience
• Part-time jobs showing transferable skills
• Volunteer work demonstrating leadership
• Academic projects aligned with your target role
• Student organization roles highlighting initiative

Remember, at this stage, it's less about how far back your experience goes and more about showing you have applicable skills for the role.

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Years of experience on a resume for mid-level professionals

With 5-10 years of experience, focus on showing career progression through your work history. Employers want to see how you've evolved. Your timeline should emphasize:

• How responsibilities increased over the years
• Key achievements with specific metrics
• Growing leadership experience
• Industry certifications and training
• Projects that demonstrate expertise

This stage requires careful balance—include enough history to show growth, but keep the focus on recent achievements that prove your current capabilities for optimal resume length.

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How far back a resume should go for senior professionals

At the senior level, the last 10-15 years typically contain your most relevant experience. Your timeline should showcase:

• Strategic initiatives you've led
• Team and department leadership roles
• Major career milestones and achievements
• Industry impact and expertise
• Progressive responsibility leading to your current position

Consider including significant roles from beyond the 15-year mark only if they demonstrate crucial experience for executive positions.

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Build your complete work history in one place

Deciding how far back to go with your resume gets easier when you have all your work experience in one spot.

With Teal's AI Resume Builder, you can create a complete record of your work history, skills, and achievements as a base resume. Then customize which years of experience to show based on each application.

Instead of permanently deleting older experience or starting from scratch each time you find an opportunity, keep it stored in Teal. When you find a role where that experience matters, it's ready to use— saving time and ensuring you never lose valuable details that might be relevant for future opportunities.

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Special timeline considerations

Different career situations require unique approaches to how far back your work history should go. This could expand your content past a one or even two-page resume. Understanding these special circumstances helps you make strategic decisions about which years to include.

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New college graduate

With limited career history, your resume likely won't go back very far. So highlighting your college experience is the best way to showcase your knowledge and proficiency.

When crafting your resume as a recent graduate:

• Showcase any relevant coursework or projects to your resume
• Incorporate leadership experience whenever possible
• Using part-time jobs, volunteer experiences, and relevant internships can fill your professional gaps

Career changers

When switching industries or roles, your timeline focus shifts from years of experience to relevance. Instead of wondering how far back to go, focus on:

• Identifying transferable skills from past roles
• Highlighting recent training and certifications
• Showcasing projects that bridge old and new careers
• Demonstrating adaptability through various experiences
• Using recent volunteer work or side projects that align with your new direction

The key is selecting experience that proves your ability to succeed in the new role, regardless of when it occurred.

Technical professionals

Technology evolves rapidly, making recent experience particularly crucial. Your timeline should:

• Emphasize the last 5-10 years where current tech skills are evident
• Show how you've adapted to technological changes
• Highlight recent certifications and training
• Demonstrate continuous learning
• Include projects using current technologies

Industry standards and tools from 15+ years ago may no longer be relevant, so focus on experience that proves you're up-to-date with current requirements.

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Best Practices for how far back your resume should go

Creating an impactful work history requires strategic decisions about which jobs and years of experience to include and emphasize. Follow these guidelines to showcase your most relevant experience.

What to include

• Most recent 10-15 years of relevant roles
• Dates of employment (month and year)
• Experience that matches job requirements
• Progressive responsibility
• Current industry knowledge
• Achievements that demonstrate lasting impact

What to exclude

• Jobs from more than 15 years ago (unless crucial)
• Outdated skills or technologies
• Early career positions that don't support your current goals
• Irrelevant work history
• Positions that don't demonstrate career progression

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Write your best resume with Teal

Now that you know how to make a resume that showcases an appropriate career timeline, your next step is to get started creating or updating your career history in one central location.

With Teal's AI Resume Builder, you can build your resume from scratch (or upload your LinkedIn profile!) and customize your resume to the jobs you're applying for. You can also analyze the effectiveness and store all your career history in one place so you always have the most relevant details ready for every opportunity.