Why Dates of Employment Can Make or Break a Quality Resume

Why Dates of Employment Can Make or Break a Quality Resume It may not seem that every piece of your resume is important, but on the contrary, everything you write will be scrutinized by some entity.  In fact, even the dates you list on the resume matter when youre being considered for a job.  Dont believe it?  Take a look at some reasons why the dates on your resume could make it or break it: Gaps in Employment Could Cost You the Job You may not know this, but many companies feel uncomfortable about hiring a person that they think cannot hold a job or isnt interested in working.  This is why seeing large gaps between the end date of one job and the beginning date of another can result in a person not being considered for a position. So if you list that you started a job in 1995 and departed in 2001 instead of 2011, a manager could be completely turned off by what he perceives to be a large gap in employment history.  Avoid making this type of mistake.  And if the gap in employment is accurate, be prepared to explain what youve been doing between 2001 and now. Screening Software Often Gets Confused Heres something that many job applicants never consider: sometimes a companys screening software actually gets confused when compiling information acquired from a resume. For instance, suppose you worked in two positions at the same company.  If you dont list the dates you worked for both positions, the system may count the two jobs as one during screening.  Also, if you write that you worked somewhere from winter 2008 â€" present instead of 12/2008 â€" present the system could combine the entry with a previous one, not recognizing it as a new job. As you know, there is no room for mistakes when writing resumesâ€"even when you dont know that youre actually making them.  So if youve already noticed that youve written your resumes in the above fashion, make a few quick changes.  You may just see an improvement in the number of callbacks as a result. For additional tips and advice on resumes and cover letters, follow us on Twitter @GreatResume or visit our blog.