One of the most common questions job seekers ask is: How far back should my resume go?
Many assume their resume should include everything they’ve ever done. But there are two problems with that approach.
First, recruiters don’t read resumes like biographies. They scan them like ads. And the longer your resume is, the harder it is for recruiters to spot what matters most.
Second, listing experience from decades ago can invite age bias, especially in fast-moving fields like tech.
That’s why you don’t need to list every job you’ve ever had when writing your resume.
In this article, you’ll learn how far back your resume should go, when to cut older experience, and how to decide what’s worth keeping.
Most resumes should cover the past 10–15 years of work history.
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Focus on relevance: Only include experience that supports the role you’re targeting.
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Prioritize recent roles: Hiring managers are most interested in what you’ve done lately.
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Keep it concise: Limit your resume to one or two pages, depending on your level.
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Include older jobs if needed: If an earlier role demonstrates a key skill or matches the job description, it’s okay to include it briefly in an “Additional Experience” section.
How far back should your resume go?
The general rule is 10 to 15 years.
That’s because most recruiters are focused on your recent work. They want to know what you’ve done lately, not what you were doing in the early 2000s.
“We don’t have time to read pages and pages,” said former Google recruiter Keanna Carter in a recent Jobscan podcast. “I can look at a resume for 20 seconds and know whether we’re moving forward with them or not.”
That doesn’t mean your early experience isn’t valuable. But if it’s no longer relevant to the roles you’re applying for, it’s just taking up space.
Is a two-page resume OK?
Yes, two-page resumes are fine, especially if you’re mid- or senior-level.
Just make sure everything on it is relevant. If a job or bullet point isn’t helping your case, cut it.
The goal isn’t to hit a certain length. It’s to show why you’re a strong fit.
How many jobs should you include?
As many as it takes to show you’re qualified, without going beyond 10 to 15 years or losing focus.
Most recruiters don’t expect to see every job you’ve ever had, just the ones that support your current goal.
If you’ve had a lot of short-term roles within that time frame, be selective. Focus on the ones that best support your story and match the job description.
If a job is older and not central to your story, it usually won’t raise red flags if you leave it off.
And if it’s more recent but not relevant, you can always move it to an “Additional Experience” section with minimal detail.
When to include older experience
Sometimes an older job is still worth including, especially if it helps you tell a stronger story or shows you’re a great fit for the role.
Here’s when it makes sense to go back further:
1. It’s directly relevant to the job you’re applying for
If the job description calls for something you haven’t done in a while, it’s okay to include an older role that shows you have that experience.
In that case, include the older role that proves it. Just be selective about what you share. You’re not trying to retell your whole career, just connect the dots.
2. You’re returning to a previous industry
Let’s say you started in healthcare, moved into marketing, and now you’re trying to get back into healthcare. That early experience might be the only thing that shows you speak the industry’s language.
It gives recruiters confidence that you understand the environment, the terminology, and the expectations, even if you’ve been away from it for a while.
3. You’re filling a career gap
If you’ve been out of the workforce for a few years to raise kids, care for a family member, or go back to school, you might need to pull from earlier in your career to show you have the right experience.
And no, a layoff doesn’t look bad on your resume.
Layoffs are common, and most hiring managers won’t hold one against you, especially if you’ve stayed active by upskilling, freelancing, or doing project work.
You don’t need to explain the layoff on your resume itself, but be ready to talk about it confidently in an interview.
4. You’re highlighting a specific skill or achievement
Maybe you managed a major product launch, built a new department from scratch, or earned a prestigious certification early in your career.
Even if your accomplishments happened 15+ years ago, they might still be your strongest proof of value, especially if they tie directly to the role you’re applying for.
If an accomplishment helps position you as a top candidate, keep it in.
Should you keep that job on your resume?
As you review your resume—especially older roles—ask yourself these five questions:
Does it clearly support the job you want now? If it’s from a different industry or career path and doesn’t connect to your current goal, it might be time leave that job off your resume.
Older roles can be a great place to naturally include keywords you haven’t used in your recent jobs. If the job listing mentions a tool, certification, or skill you’ve used in the past, that older experience could help you show up in ATS searches.
If your recent experience already proves you have what it takes, you don’t need to repeat the same skills or responsibilities from a job 15 years ago. But if it adds something new, keep it in.
Use a tool like Jobscan (see below) to check whether the job helps you match the job description more closely. If it bumps up your Match Rate—even by a few points—it’s doing its job.
Does this job support your story—or distract from it? If it clutters your resume, makes it feel outdated, or buries your best experience, it’s time to let it go.
PRO TIP: It’s not OK to lie about how many years of experience you have on your resume. If you’re hired and later found out, you could lose the job and any chance at a reference. That one shortcut could damage your reputation for a long time.
How to include older experience on your resume
If you have older jobs that are still relevant, the best way to include them is by adding a separate section at the end of your work history.
Call it “Additional Experience” or “Earlier Experience.”
This section lets you highlight key skills from the job description without pulling focus from your more recent roles.
Keep it short and targeted. List the job title and company name, followed by one line that shows a relevant skill, tool, or achievement.
Read more: How to Show a Promotion on Your Resume
How older jobs help you show up in ATS searches
Most companies use applicant tracking systems (ATS) to manage the flood of resumes they receive.
When you send in your resume, it goes directly into an ATS database. When a recruiter wants to fill a role, they search the database using keywords from the job description. These keywords are usually job titles, skills, tools, or certifications.
If your resume includes those keywords, you show up in their search results. If it doesn’t, you might never be seen.
That’s why including an older job can be important. It might be the only way you can naturally include certain keywords from the job description, especially if you haven’t used those skills in your recent roles.
But how do you know if you’ve included the right keywords?
The fastest and most effective way to tailor your resume is to use an online tool like Jobscan’s resume scanner.
It compares your resume to a job description and gives you a Match Rate that shows how well your resume aligns with what recruiters are searching for.
You’ll see which keywords are missing, which ones you’ve included, and whether your resume is too long, too short, or just right.
Here’s how it works:
- Paste in your resume.
- Paste in the job description.
- Click “Scan.”
Here’s what the Match Report looks like:
The red X’s highlight the hard skills that are missing from the resume. Adding them will increase your match rate and your chances of landing an interview.
Using this tool can provide immediate results. One Jobscan user said “I went from not getting interviews for months at a time and then I got three or four interviews. It was a definite change.”
Try the resume scanner for free below:
