Listing Multiple Jobs on Your Resume? Avoid these Mistakes.

Nancy Anderson
Posted by in Career Advice •


Working multiple jobs for the same employer shows your loyalty and dedication to one company. While this loyalty may impress a future employer during an interview as you make a case for why you are a good fit for a new position, you first have to list your past experience on a resume. If you don't format multiple positions correctly, your resume may not make it to the HR manager at all. Avoid these critical mistakes to make sure someone sees your resume and hopefully calls you in for an interview.

1. Putting in Lots of Experience

Having tons of job experience going back 20 years is great, but if you spent that time among 10 jobs, you probably cannot fit them into one page on a resume. Therefore, list just the most recent or relevant jobs applicable to the position at hand. Leave out any unpaid internships or any positions that did not prepare you for your next assignment.

2. Listing Dates First

Format your work experience section with the company's name, location and positions held first. Then write the dates you worked for that business along the right margin. If you put dates first, applicant tracking software may misread them. Use standard date notations, and do not overlap any dates. Overlapping years may create confusion for both computer software and human eyes.

3. Adding Quirky Stuff

Quirkiness is a good way to bring out your personality. However, your personality does not need to come out in your resume. Work experience should outline your skills, experiences, accomplishments and achievements in quantifiable terms. For example, you should say, "My team increased sales 10 percent per quarter over 10 straight quarters." Instead, a quirky resume might read, "My fellow car sales dudes rocked more sales than any other team on the lot."

It's true that your resume should tell a story. However, you can leave the quirky anecdotes for the interview. A resume should have all of the substance of your personal brand as opposed to the style behind how you operate.

4. Listing the Same Achievements Under Two Listings

Avoid redundancy in your past experience. If you had two positions that sound similar, yet you learned different things in both roles, then explain what you did differently between both jobs. Reiterating the same bullet points more than once sounds boring. It's okay to use similar keywords, but just learn to say things in different ways.

5. Lumping Positions With the Same Company Together

Don't put all of the same positions under one category if that's not what makes sense. For example, you can say you worked at four positions for one company for 15 years. Just make sure you break that down further by listing your time in each position. Do the math to ensure those years add up. Similarly, put two vastly different positions as separate categories rather than under one umbrella for the same firm. It's okay to separate positions, even if they are for the same company.

Do what makes sense to you, as long as you properly convey your story. Accuracy is very important in resumes, so make your work experience section as concise and as factual as possible.

Photo Courtesy of jesadaphorn at FreeDigitalphotos.net
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  • Vickye A.
    Vickye A. •

    This is very good and helpful advice. I am guilty of doing just that.

  • Hema Zahid
    Hema Zahid •

    It’s important to make sure that all your achievements don’t sound the same, even if they are all essentially the same. When you vary your words and sentences, your resume becomes an interesting read. If you have years of experience and need to include a lot of information on your resume, then it becomes even more important to engage the hiring manager with your words.

  • Nancy Anderson
    Nancy Anderson •

    @Katharine thanks for your comment. Leaving gaps is going to make them wonder what you are hiding. You can use one line to cover - such as Resume Writer, XYZ Company, 1/2015-3/2016 and then move on. Try to only include the past 10 years on your resume. I usually use a catch-all such as Additional job information available upon request for anything that is older than 10 years or is not applicable. Personally, I would still include your current position and tasks/accomplishments, even if it's not applicable. That's just me. Current wisdom says that you should only include pertinent information but I feel that it's important that they know where my head has been for x years.

  • Katharine M.
    Katharine M. •

    If your most relevant experience to a particular job isn't necessary your most recent, and you can't fit everything, is it OK to leave gaps? I struggle with this question a lot because I really try to tailor my resume to each job I apply for. I don't want gaps to give the impression that I was out of work, but I don't want to waste the real estate on less relevant work experience.

  • Vivian B.
    Vivian B. •

    I was unaware of the role that computer software now plays in the application process. It's already challenging to draw up a resume that will pass muster with human hiring managers, but knowing that I have to keep an unknown set algorithms in mind as well is a little overwhelming. The increasing role software plays in the application process also strikes me as another good reason to save one's endearing quirks for the interview.

  • CATHERINE S.
    CATHERINE S. •

    I agree with Mike. I think adding too many quirky things to your resume can potentially hurt your chances for getting a job because it doesn't seem very professional or like you are taking the application process seriously. Furthermore, these words or sayings may also hurt your chances when your resume is run through screening software.

  • Nancy Anderson
    Nancy Anderson •

    @Jay thanks for your question. One way that you could do this is to include maybe a line entry such as ABC Company, Copywriter, SEO Analyst Oct 2012 - Oct 2014. That still keeps those gaps from causing issues but doesn't add extraneous tasks and positions that are not applicable to the position for which you are applying. Anyone else have suggestions for Jay?

  • Mike Van de Water
    Mike Van de Water •

    William, I wouldn't risk putting quirky stuff on a resume simply because you don't know the kind of person who's going to be looking over your paperwork. As the article recommends, I'd save the quirky stuff for an in-person interview where the hiring manger can get a feel of who you are as a person. At least there if you feel like you're in the room with a stiff, you can tone down your quirkiness to a more acceptable level.

  • Jay Bowyer
    Jay Bowyer •

    If I choose to omit certain jobs because they're not relevant to the job I'm applying for, or because I didn't spend much time with the previous employer, how can I best explain employment gaps in my interview? Do gaps in employment make a bad impression to recruiters? Is there a best practice for situations like these?

  • Nancy Anderson
    Nancy Anderson •

    @Jacob I am in that same boat. I worked one full-time and one part-time job at the same time. I simply include each one along with the dates - even if the dates are the same. Sure it would be great if I didn't have overlapping dates and jobs but it's the reality today. Now, having said that, if one of those overlapping positions has nothing to do with the position for which I am applying, I will not include it at all. Is it wrong not to include everything? Maybe. But if I am applying for a technical writing position, why does the hiring manager care about my retail experience?

  • Jacob T.
    Jacob T. •

    I'm not sure I'm on board with having no dates that overlap. If you legitimately worked a position or two that occurred at the same time, how do you convey that? Especially with the proliferation of smaller companies and online based positions, it seems like chronological overlap is exceptionally likely.

  • Duncan Maranga
    Duncan Maranga •

    I find it a bit funny for me to include descriptions of professional experience in a rather informal language. While I concur that if the quirky language should come, if necessary, during the one on one interview, I am not very sure about the specifics of such a language. Is there a limit to how informal the quirky part can be in case I decide to include a bit of it in my resume.

  • Abbey Boyd
    Abbey Boyd •

    I can appreciate the idea of only listing the relevant experience on your resume to save space. However, you have to be careful with this as many companies use applicant tracking software. When the ATS finds employment gaps, it may cause a red flag, which might land your resume at the bottom of the pile. Ensure that you have included the necessary information to pass through the ATS without sacrificing the quality of your resume. This may take a bit of effort, but will be worth it in the end.

  • Jane H.
    Jane H. •

    I agree about avoiding quirky comments on the resume. In the example you gave, the quirky comment shows a potentially fun personality, but it lacks the specifics of the professional example. As the resume is a place for "just the facts," I agree it should be written in an exclusively professional manner.

  • William Browning
    William Browning •

    I think you have to add the quirky stuff in somewhere. Job titles such as "ninja" or "guru" don't necessarily detract from your resume, so long as you explain exactly what those positions entailed. The applicant tracking system may not like a quirky job title, but you can list a synonym easily enough to get the keyword in your document.

  • Nancy Anderson
    Nancy Anderson •

    @Shannon in the past companies didn't care if you did a 2 or more page resume because you typed it, printed it and mailed it - they didn't have to do anything but read it. Today things are different. With the advent of ATS, resumes are getting shorter which is why they now recommend that you only list the company once and then list your achievements after that. Keeping it short, sweet, to the point and covering only about the past 10 years - especially if you are working in technology. Hopefully the employer will question it as that could give you an opening to interview.

  • Shannon Philpott
    Shannon Philpott •

    When you have multiple positions at one company, I've always thought that listing these individually on your resume shows that you have the skills to climb the ladder/promote. I understand why it is necessary to list only relevant positions, too, but doesn't this lead the employer to question gaps in your employment?

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