a bunch of questions and answers about your resume

by Alison Green on March 4, 2025

I’m getting a flood of questions about resumes, so here are seven resume questions and answers.

1. Can my resume just list my last two jobs and leave the earlier ones off?

The company I’m currently employed by is closing. It was sudden and, while not completely unexpected, it’s still a blow. I’m dusting off ye olde resume, but I’m torn on what to leave in and what to leave out.

The issue is my age. I was at the employer before this one for 25 years, until they, too, closed. I was lucky with CurrentJob because the owner is my age, and the ageism that is rampant, (yes, yes it is) wasn’t an issue. Now, however, I’m thinking of only putting CurrentJob and OldJob (a total of 30 years work history) on my resume and leaving off earlier jobs that really don’t pertain to the type of work I’m looking for and won’t boot me out of the hiring process just by virtue of showing my age. Is this okay to do? I already tint my hair (something my mom told me to do after her experiences in job hunting after a certain age) and I just don’t want to be discounted because I’m not young.

It is absolutely okay to only list the last two jobs. In general, you really only need your resume to go back 15 or so years. In your case, you’ll need it to go back further than that since you were at the previous job for so long, but you definitely don’t need to include anything before that.

Keep in mind that a resume is a marketing document, not a comprehensive account of everything you’ve ever done. You’re allowed to pick and choose what to include based on what makes you the strongest candidate for the job you’re applying for. In many/most cases, jobs from 20+ years ago really won’t strengthen your candidacy and so it makes sense to leave them off. (Occasionally there’s an exception to this, like if an older job was extraordinarily impressive or it shows a long-running interest in a field that your more recent job history doesn’t show — but most of the time it makes sense to leave older jobs off.)

Related:
how far back should your resume go?

2. Can I combine two positions on my resume?

Can I combine two positions on my resume? I did the same job on two different teams within the same organization for a year each; the first was a fixed-term contract for maternity cover, the second was a toxic team, where I started in March 2020 and I couldn’t stay longer for my own physical and mental health. Since leaving that team, I’ve been in my current (very similar) role in the same industry for four years. My current manager understood why I was leaving the old team when she hired me, as my old boss had a reputation in our industry.

Now I’m looking for a similar role in a different sector, and I’m not sure how to best present my experience. I know that job-hopping is generally frowned upon, so would it be acceptable to lump the two previous roles together as “two years working as an X at Y” or should I keep them separate? I’ve not got much job history before this as I graduated in 2018.

Since the jobs were both at the same organization, it doesn’t really raise job-hopping concerns; job-hopping is about moving from company to company, not moving around within a company. But regardless, you can list it this way:

Groats Academy, July 2019 – November 2020
Oatmeal Stirrer, July 2019 – February 2020
Oatmeal Taster, February 2020 – November 2020
* achievement
* achievement
* achievement

On the other hand, if your title was the same in both positions, then you can just list the title once, without separating it out like that. But if the two titles were different, you should list them both (so that the info your company verifies will match up with what you listed).

3. Can I combine two positions on my resume, part 2

I’m updating my resume and wondering if I need to separate duties for two roles that were similar — think payroll senior specialist and payroll manager. If I was in each role approximately the same amount of time, can I just combine the two as far as the accomplishment bullets? I am including both roles with their dates, so this isn’t to present things as if I was the manager the whole time.

Also, as far as measurable accomplishments, will it look strange/bad if I have more as a specialist (I do) than I did as the manager?

You can combine them the exact same way as shown in #2 above — where you list both titles and the dates you held them, but combine accomplishments for both. (Note this only makes sense to do when the roles are similar; you wouldn’t do it if the work of each was very different.)

Your second question is moot if you’re combining them, but if they were separated out: it wouldn’t look bad if you had more accomplishments as a specialist than as a manager unless you a manager for much longer than you were a specialist. In that case, I might advise balancing them out a little more (meaning cutting some of the specialist accomplishments unless they’re all so impressive that none should be sacrificed).

4. Education section of a resume when you don’t have a degree

I got my GED over 20 years ago, but due to a combination of money, undiagnosed ADHD, and chronic illness, I never completed even an associate’s degree, despite many attempts over the years. In the past, I just left education off my resume entirely, but I’m unsure how that would go nowadays, especially since I’ve been a paralegal for years at this point. How would you recommend handling it?

(Many people, including some in the legal industry, don’t realize that anyone can be a paralegal and there is not a required certification, although there are many programs that do so. I was merely fortunate enough to be taken under the wing by an amazing attorney who worked her way through law school as a paralegal herself.)

Just keep leaving the education section off your resume. If you don’t have anything to put there, it’s completely fine to just skip it.

If you think the coursework you did complete would strengthen your resume, it’s fine to include something like “coursework in taco analysis at the University of Dinner,” but you don’t have to include it if you don’t think it adds anything.

Related:
should you list coursework on your resume?

5. When you attended college but didn’t graduate

Due to struggles with mental health (to greatly simplify a complicated situation), I ended up withdrawing from my state university in 2018 after attending for four years. I did not receive a diploma, and I was more than a semester away from doing so. I did spend a couple years at community college after this, but again, did not receive any degree. When applying for my current job, I was still attending community college, and had my state university on my resume (dates attended listed, no mention of graduation).

Now I’m more at peace with the thought that I may never go back to college, but I’m wondering how to address it on my resume. In an interview or cover letter, I know I could talk about how I’ve learned my own strengths and weaknesses, as well as knowledge and experience you can only achieve from higher education! But because I will be essentially stuck in the service industry for the foreseeable future, I don’t know if it matters to put university on a resume when I’m applying. It also feels a little icky because one might assume that because I attended for four years, I obtained my degree. So should I leave in my “education”? Should I drop the dates and just say “no degree acquired”?

See the answer above! You don’t need to include it at all if you don’t think it strengths your candidacy, but it’s also fine to have an Education section that says something like:

University of Dinner, 2014-2018

or

University of Dinner, 2014-2018 (coursework only)

or

University of Dinner (coursework only)

or

University of Dinner, 2014-2018
Tacotown Community College, 2019-2020

You’re not implying you have a degree if you don’t specifically call out that you don’t, but it’s also fine to clarify like in the second and third examples above.

It’s also fine to remove the years; in general, the further away you are from when you attended, the more you should just leave them off entirely. At some point the years aren’t not relevant anymore, and at some point you’re also getting closer to age discrimination considerations. You don’t have to include the years.

6. What dates to list for a job when I left for a month but then came back

In December, I left Employer 1 to go to Employer 2, but due to restructuring was terminated from Employer 2 in January. Employer 1 never backfilled my role and I accepted their offer to basically pick up where I left off, beginning in February.

As I started again at Employer 1 in February and did not work there at all in January, I don’t think it is accurate for my resume in future job searches to say “Employer 1 – Beginning date—current,” as that would imply there was no break in service and that I worked there in February. I don’t plan to include Employer 2 on my resume, given my short tenure and lack of real accomplishments while there. How should my future resumes account for the break in service at Employer 1 in February without getting unwieldy or confusing?

Like this:

Employer 1
June 2023 – December 2024, February 2025 – present

7. Listing a less skilled, less relevant current job on a resume

I was laid off from my job over a year ago. While I’m still applying for jobs in my field, I was recently lucky enough to get set up with a long-term temp job … in an unskilled position with absolutely no relevance to my experience or industry (think experienced journalist turned grocery store cashier). How do I list this on my resume? I don’t want it to be the first thing recruiters see, but I obviously want to show that I’m taking initiative and paying my bills even if the job market is slow.

One option is to divide your Experience section into Relevant Experience and Other Experience, and list the irrelevant stuff under the latter.

But you also don’t need to include it at all if you don’t think it strengthens your candidacy for a particular job.

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{ 85 comments }

{ 85 comments… read them below or add one }

  1. A large cage of birds*

    How do I sign up for Taco Town Community College?

    For a more relevant comment, I’ve always listed combined positions like in #2 and it’s never been a problem. (Think Taco analyst–> Taco Manager, so similar positions that vary in terms of responsibility.)

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  2. Queen of the Introverts*

    Thank you for answering my question so quickly (#7)! I have a second interview for a job in my field later this week, so hopefully I won’t have to take your advice. Anyone with similar experiences, I’d love to know how you handled it.

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    1. Area Woman*

      I have a got my PhD in 2010 and the recession was still hitting my industry pretty hard. There were no jobs at my level where I lived in my field. I worked at a fundraising company for a bit, then a call center until I got my first lab job. I only put the fundraising job on a couple applications because I had the title “assistant director” but after that, I never referred to them again.

      I only had a couple people ask about the 17 months between my doctorate and my first “real” job and I just said I took odd jobs until something got better due to the recession. No pushback and it has not impacted me.

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    2. Six Degrees of Separation*

      Not necessarily addressing this to LW7, but I’m trying to visualize the formatting of #7. Would it be like a 2-column resume with Relevant in column one and Other Experience in the second column, or would it be the standard resume with Relevant first and then Other Experience underneath?

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      1. life is a rollercoaster*

        On mine, it’s the latter: Relevant Experience first, then Other Experience. My resume is generally 1.5-2 pages and this way if they only look at the first page, they see all the stuff I need them to see the most.

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        1. Slow Gin Lizz*

          Yes, this. If you’re thinking of it like a marketing brochure, as is suggested in this post, you want it to be as easily readable as possible. Full text across the entire page, not two narrow columns next to each other, will be easier to read and look more professional. And more scannable, which may be the most important thing for a resume to be.

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        2. Jules the 3rd*

          Yes, this. My ‘Other Experience’ was down to a few lines with company names / dates, and this last hunt I left it off completely, no problems.

          All they really wanted to know was whether my job titles and accomplishments justified the skills I was claiming.

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  3. Angry socialist*

    I hear that it’s ok to leave off non-relevant recent jobs that you took just to pay the bills. But if I leave these off, my resume will look like I’ve been out of work for over a year. Which is worse?

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    1. Lisa*

      I’m sorry you’re in that position. Either way you’ve been out of your industry for a year so they might be equally bad? If there are things you’ve been doing in the interim to stay connected to your industry/field I would definitely find a way to mention them either in a cover letter or somewhere on the resume.

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    2. Pizza Rat*

      I would have it on the resume under “Other experience.”

      There is a huge bias out there against people with resume gaps (which is ludicrous and infuriating, but that’s a whole different post)

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      1. Peanut Hamper*

        Agreed. If someone has the relevant experience and skills, then I just assume they had some sort of life event.

        The ones that worry me are the resumes where someone works for five months at one position and seven months at another position, with big gaps in between. A lot of short tenures with gaps in between makes me think they’ve either had a run of terrible luck, or aren’t going to stick around very long if I hire them. (But they often don’t have the skills we’re looking for, either, so there’s that.)

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        1. Another Hiring Manager*

          That is much more telling if those short-term jobs aren’t clearly marked as consulting work or via a temp agency.

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    3. whatever*

      I think a good interviewer, if you left those positions off, would just ask about the reason in the gap. However, you obviously ran the risk of running into bad interviewers/hiring managers/whoever who would make assumptions about the gap.

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    4. Area Woman*

      I have another comment above: I only had a couple people ask about the 17 months between my doctorate and my first “real” job and I just said I took odd jobs until something got better due to the recession. No pushback, I got those jobs when it came up in the interview, and it has not impacted me.

      I would react the same way while hiring. Might ask, but even a year by itself I don’t really flag it unless they have other history issues like several short stints with lots of breaks.

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    5. iglwif*

      I feel like that’s a good case for an “Other experience” section? But who knows. I’m on contract right now, after a period of unemployment, and am hoping against hope that they’ll decide to renew me at the end of this year because I soooooooo don’t want to be job-hunting again!!

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    6. Peanut Hamper*

      How many jobs? Just one? I would put it in there, list whatever achievements you had, and you can always mention why you were working there in your cover letter.

      Or you you could just leave them out and mention in your resume that you’ve been working in unrelated fields for the past X months and are eager to get back to the field you’re applying to.

      (Also, I love your username. The world needs more angry socialists! Especially now.)

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    7. Tea Monk*

      Yea I took a non related job for a few years until people started hiring again and now I need to move industries ( although Im sure everyone will stop hiring soon)

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  4. Editrix*

    This hits a lot of spots for me — I’m way old, I’ve been at my current job for 18 years, and I have some college but no degree. Since I don’t want to retire, this all gives me a little hope that maybe I don’t have to be stuck at this job forever. Thanks, Allison!

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    1. Jules the 3rd*

      Now is a hard time to hunt, so don’t get discouraged if nothing shows up for a while. Keep trying.

      Reply ↓
  5. Chirpy*

    What if my best professional experience was more than 15 years ago, and most of the jobs since have been low-skill (retail, etc)? I really want to get back into a better job, but do I still put my college degree on there to prove I do have the education in Llama Resources, when I’ve been stuck at TeapotMart for 10 years?

    (Honestly, having my first job after college be the best one, and not being able to get anything close to relevant since that position was cut is something I don’t know how to deal with.)

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    1. nnn*

      Of course you include your college degree that’s in the field you want to work in. Why wouldn’t you?

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    2. Seashell*

      Sounds like that is one of those “Relevant Experience” and “Other Experience” situations, like in question #7. Maybe education should go at the beginning, since you want to make sure they know you have the degree?

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      1. Chirpy*

        So do I still put the years? College was 20 years ago, now…

        It’s like I have a degree in Llama Resources, with a minor in Chocolate Art, and once had a job as a Chocolate Gallery Curator, but have been working mostly retail since.

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        1. Seashell*

          I don’t think you need to put the year you graduated. An education section with Simpsons University, Bachelor of Arts in Llama Resources should cover it.

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        2. Retired Vulcan Raises 1 Grey Eyebrow*

          Definitely put the degree and the college, but I never listed the years of my degrees (tho maybe different in the US)

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        3. Jules the 3rd*

          Your choice on whether you put in the years. Twenty years since college isn’t bad, my experience is that the age discrimination doesn’t hit hard until 50ish.

          I left my dates off last year, because I was limiting the resume to under 30 years of work – they didn’t need to know about five years bouncing around jobs post-undergrad. But until last year’s hunt, I left both the dates and the full work history, since I was moving around within one company so they already had that info.

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  6. Lisa*

    I would like to enroll in coursework in taco analysis at the University of Dinner!

    …I think it’s time to take my lunch break.

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  7. Thin Mints didn't make me thin*

    Yeah, I think Alison was hungry when she wrote this one! Alison, where should we send you tacos?

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  8. WeirdChemist*

    I’m currently a fed, where resumes tend to be overly long. I’m getting current advice from a coworker that private sector resumes should be limited to one page, or they’re at risk for being “auto-filtered out” or that they “won’t read past one page”. I had always heard two pages. Which one is true?

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      1. WeirdChemist*

        My coworker is quite young still! Their advice is also relating to auto-filtering systems that can be common in online applications these days, which is why I was wondering if this was newer advice.

        I’m still feeling the 2 pages though. Thanks!

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    2. Whoopsie*

      Stick with one page. Like Alison says, it’s a marketing document, so you want the achievements and the highlights, not the day-to-day responsibilities. You don’t have to list every job you’ve ever had and you don’t even need to list something for every role if you’ve been promoted up the same track at the same company (for me, that would be Eng 1 (dates), Eng 2 (dates), Eng 3 – achievements). You’re just trying to show you’ve got the relevant experience in the quickest way possible – and that means 1 page.

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    4. Not Tom, Just Petty*

      Two pages is a lot.
      I’ve been in corporate for 25 years. I have two degrees. My resume is one page. My degrees are only on the ones for that field.
      My BIL has a degree from a top ranked school. Education not even listed at this point. He’s been working 35 years. Holds executive positions. It’s one page.
      List each position you held, write your achievements, choose three of them. You can do it.

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      1. Seashell*

        My husband has been working for 30+ years in tech-related jobs, and he uses 2 pages (as do other people he knows). I don’t know if each position + 3 achievements would fit on one page if he tried. He’s not a total job hopper, but he has changed jobs roughly every 6 years. He also has certifications that may be relevant, and most jobs specify that a college degree is needed, so I think it would make sense to have that on there too.

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    5. Another Hiring Manager*

      I remember having to redo my resume to apply for a federal job. All the information they want does make it lengthy.

      Since listing skills is required these days, and even when using a table to display them horizontally can take up space, I’m okay with two pages. That’s the usual I see unless someone is new grad.

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    6. Sloanicota*

      Since the advice is to cut most job more than 20 years old, it shouldn’t matter how long you’ve been in the field, you should probably be able to keep it to one page. But, two is also okay, unless you are very junior, in which case it’s eyebrow raising.

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      1. Another Hiring Manager*

        I once got a resume for an entry-level position that was two pages. Besides a too-long executive summary and skills, this person had six internships. Eyebrows were definitely raised.

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    7. Beth*

      I don’t think two pages is an automatic no-go, but my resume is one page as a mid-career professional. Stick to a short format has weirdly made it easier for me to present myself well–it forces me to cut all the fluff and surface the achievements and experience that are really relevant to the role I’m applying for.

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    8. Parenthesis Guy*

      When I’ve looked at resumes, I’ve seen a ton that were like seven or eight pages. I was not impressed. I would usually skim them, but I’d definitely judge them. Two pages is fine I think.

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      1. Great Frogs of Literature*

        Yeah, I did a hard side-eye at the resume I got that was 15(!) pages long — and that candidate couldn’t give a concise answer in an interview, either. But both 1 and 2 pages are pretty normal to me. I find a 1-pager that feels like it has all the relevant info to be a little more impressive, but it’s a very minor preference.

        That said, you should definitely assume that the first page may be the only one that gets read, so if you’re spilling onto a second page, make it the least important parts.

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    9. Jules the 3rd*

      I did two versions for last year’s job hunt, a one-pager and a 1.5 pager. Nobody seemed to care. I was applying to larger entities (local govts and large corporations) that all had automated application processes though.

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  9. ashie*

    Similar to #5 … I got 59 of 60 required credits for my master’s degree (I was working full time at the time, the last one was an experiential learning credit and my school didn’t want to approve that particular activity, then I got really really busy with work and never followed up because I already got the knowledge I was hoping for anyway and I really didn’t need the degree for my career).

    On my resume I have been listing it under Education with MBS at University (59/60 credits achieved). Is that OK? Or I am claiming something I didn’t technically get?

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    1. Lisa*

      I am similar (finished coursework, didn’t do the thesis project due to working full time). My education section looks like this:

      Taco University, Chicago, IL
      * B.S., Taco Science, with distinction
      * Courses in X and Y

      Burrito University, Los Angeles, CA
      Graduate Coursework, Taco Engineering
      * Courses in P and Q

      Where X/Y/P/Q list 2-3 things particularly relevant to the position I’m applying for.

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    2. Generic Name*

      I am going to answer honestly, even it it might not be what you want to hear. As someone who screens resumes/interviews candidates, my concern would be less that you are “claiming something that you didn’t technically get” and more about why you didn’t complete a degree when you were so close. Being busy is totally understandable, but be prepared to discuss it in an interview. When I’m hiring candidates, I want people who get things done, and not people who get 99% of the way to being done. So if you do decide to leave that on your resume, I suggest being prepare to talk about how you put your work first or some other positive spin on it. :) Also, if your education is less than 10 years old, I suggest following up with the school again to see what can be done about finalizing your degree. Maybe there has been a staffing or policy change that might make it easier for you to get your degree.

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      1. Fluffy Fish*

        Not arguing at all – everything you said is valid. Just offering perspective from the other side of the coin.

        I would look at that and not bat and eye or ask about it at all.

        Completing education is difficult for any number of reasons – its so common that it’s not even a blip for me. Personally it took me several tries and a long time to get my degree – yet I’ve been working successfully the entire time. Education just isn’t a correlation to work for me. I’m more interested in your work than education.

        So Ashie, you’ve got at least two perspectives and a lot of in between/depends on what you want. You could list it different, more as a went to this school these dates and hers some relevant course work. You can keep it as is and know that may be limiting at some places.

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        1. ashie*

          Thanks for this. As I mentioned in another comment, it’s really not important in my industry so I suspect nobody cares whether I completed the degree or not. I was just concerned that maybe I was misrepresenting myself.

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      2. ashie*

        Thanks for the input. I actually have looked into finalizing it but it will actually be pretty complicated at this point.
        In my industry it’s still pretty rare to have any kind of advanced schoolwork, and it’s definitely not required. I do have 20 years’ industry experience that is much more meaningful. I have no problem explaining the situation so I’ll probably leave it on.

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  10. L*

    I got my diploma at a local college that has since turned itself into a diploma mill. Companies both locally and across the country (Canada) are blacklisting the school, regardless of graduation date.

    Thankfully I’m not currently looking, but I’m sure there are people in the same boat. Is it better to leave the school off your resume and risk looking like you don’t have mandatory education requirements, leave it on and don’t mention it, or leave it on and emphasize in the cover letter that you graduated when the school was still reputable? All of the options seem to have a serious risk of having your application thrown out.

    (Assume going back to another school for further education is a non-starter, because that’s the case for the vast majority of people)

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    1. Not Tom, Just Petty*

      I wrote above about resumes for members of my family. My BIL went to Penn…in the 80s, it’s not on his resume.
      Don’t just take if from some old folks.
      My 30s and 40s nieces and nephews all agree it shouldn’t be on resumes and they have all found jobs in their fields and make far more than I do by moving every couple/three years.

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  11. Hypnotist Collector*

    I am in my 60s and have been looking for decent work since the company I worked for (owned by a major media company) was closed in the pandemic. My resume goes back about 20 years. But I have noticed that, in this world where applying means then re-entering all the information into a terrible hiring program, there are sometimes VERY threatening caveats about including every job you’ve ever worked or you are at risk of being fired, if hired. Like making it mandatory to enter your college graduation year, this feels like outright ageism. Why is the whole process so terrible? I’ve been doing this for a long time, obviously, and it’s more painful and awful than ever.

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    1. Not Tom, Just Petty*

      I get so stressed. Like are they going to call the resume police? Am I going to be blacklisted because I worked for multiple temp agencies after college and cannot remember the names?
      It’s insane.

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    2. Strive to Excel*

      That’s dumb. I’ve done that for govt applications – ID, etc – but never for a job in the private sector!

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    3. Retired Vulcan Raises 1 Grey Eyebrow*

      “this feels like outright ageism”
      because it is indeed blatant ageism.
      Widespread in my experience and starts at 40
      e.g. An old boss refused even to interview a highly qualified engineer solely because he was early 40s. We just didn’t fill that vacancy.

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    4. Jules the 3rd*

      It is. I didn’t comply. I just entered all the jobs that happened after the date I picked. (I did pick my MBA graduation date, to essentially knock a decade off my age…)

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  12. RCB*

    #6, I wouldn’t even put the gap in there since it was just a month, people take vacations and other leaves that are longer than that so it’s not even worth noting. If you were fired from company #2 then MAYBE I could be talked into agreeing that it was a little deceptive not to note that there was a gap, but you were terminated through no fault of your own, so you should just not even mention it. It won’t come up and if it does it’s super easy to explain and no one would bat an eye at it and think it was deceptive. The honesty is way more confusing than the “deception”, keep things simple.

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    1. Sola Lingua Bona Lingua Mortua Est*

      These are basically my thoughts, too, especially because it’s described as essentially picking right up where the job left off a month earlier.

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    2. Box of Rain*

      IMO the example Alison has in the response is for a resignation. A leave is literally that–you are still an employee “on the books” and can come back. If it’s a leave, I am saying I worked there during it not indicating a gap.

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    3. Box of Rain*

      For a the resignation/RIF/layoff/termination, if you don’t indicate there was a time period when you were “off the books,” you could get have an offer withdrawn for providing false information. When doing job verifications, employers use hire and term dates, which wouldn’t match in the LWs case if the Feb 2025 wasn’t separated.

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      1. Slow Gin Lizz*

        Yeah, I originally was thinking the same as RCB myself but then came to realize that you really don’t want to misrepresent employment dates even if the gap is shorter than some people’s vacations. I do think, contrary to AAM’s advice, that you could put “Sept 2023-present, with a hiatus in Jan/Feb 2025” or something like that, but that might be more complicated or draw more unwanted attention than AAM’s wording.

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  13. logicbutton*

    Can I just say, I really appreciate how generalized your examples are. Whenever I used to read job search advice books, their example resumes would always say things like “Accomplishments: increased sales by 10% over one year.” I’d start spiraling over not knowing how to list my accomplishments when my handful of part-time and temp jobs had had nothing to do with sales, or I hadn’t done anything to increase sales, or I didn’t have any quantifiable metrics that would mean anything to people who weren’t my current boss, and feeling like I’d never get a decent full-time job. I wish my resources at the time had been more like this.

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    1. Not Tom, Just Petty*

      This. It really helped me think in terms of my own job, not just sales and the easily quantifiable achievement fields.

      Reply ↓
  14. pomme de terre*

    As someone who works in higher ed, if you want to finish a degree, it can be worth contacting your old school(s) to see if there is any way to meet the requirements for a degree without too much trouble and expense. Sometimes, there are ways to recategorize things (like applying for a General Studies degree instead of Your Intended Major) or programs/classes geared towards older/returning students that will make those last few classes easier to get. Colleges want to show that students who start their degrees finish them, ideally in a timely manner, so they have some motivation to make it work too.

    Also, registering for even one class can sometimes get you access to resources like counseling, student discounts, etc., so the financial impact of going back can be mitigated a bit. Best of luck to you!

    Here is some word nerdery for you too: a graduate is someone who obtained a degree from an institution, but an alum is just someone who attended classes and perhaps graduated. So OP IS an alum of both UD and TCC, even though they are not a graduate. I know this from time spent on a newspaper’s sports copy desk where we had to know how to refer to NCAA basketball players who left college for the NBA draft. Carmelo Anthony is an alum of Syracuse, but not a graduate.

    Reply ↓
    2. Anonymouse*

      Note this word nerdery will be country specific – the university of Cambridge (UK) where I currently work in alumni relations only allowed you to call yourself an alum if you had finished your course until the rules changed 4 months ago. I’d google your specific university to be sure whether you are an alumnus/alumna or not

      Reply ↓
    1. Peanut Hamper*

      I’m guessing somewhere in the United States where these things tend to be different from one state to the next. I can imagine California and New York having pretty strict rules about this, but some place like Montana not being as stringent about it.

      Reply ↓
    2. OP #4*

      Hi, OP #4 here. I’m in the US and have worked in Colorado and the MD/DC/VA area. I know it’s not required in the majority of US states. New Mexico is one where it is, though, which was annoying when I lived there for a few years.

      Also, I hope I didn’t come across as thinking there shouldn’t be one – I know I’m an odd case!

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    3. LaminarFlow*

      I used to know someone who worked as a Paralegal, but he didn’t attend or graduate from a Paralegal program. He compared it to being a union Electrician vs. non-union Electrician. He didn’t attend Paralegal school, but he had the same skill set that other Paralegals had. But, the Paralegals who attended Paralegal school were typically paid more, and they didn’t experience the wage fluctuation that he experienced.

      YMMV, that was his experience as a Paralegal who didn’t graduate from a Paralegal program.

      Reply ↓
  16. Peanut Hamper*

    I would also add that you shouldn’t make your resume too fancy. I know some people who like to have stuff in tables, so that E X P E R I E N C E is running vertically at 90 degrees on the left side of their experience section and so forth (hey, anything to stand out, right?) but some automated systems have a terrible time dealing with these and may make a mish-mash of your information. Just keep it simple: one line after another, with no fancy page layouts.

    Reply ↓
    1. Aspiring Chicken Lady*

      100%!
      If you upload your resume into a job application and everything gets garbled, put in the wrong place, or dropped, your formatting needs to be scrubbed!

      Plain word doc — just tabs, plain bullets, centering, bolds, and all caps. No columns, tables, lines, graphics.

      Reply ↓
  17. Spider Plant Mom*

    What would you do about jobs that are relevant (same title as I have now, actually) but unimpressive?

    After leaving the company I’d worked at for 10 years I took a position that looked great on paper but I hated in reality. I only stayed 18 months before landing the (fantastic!) job I have now. The work, when it was assigned to me, was a snail’s pace and I didn’t accomplish anything substantial in those 18 months.

    I suppose I could leave it off, but it does show that I was hired for and continuously employed in my role for almost a decade.

    Reply ↓
    1. Not Tom, Just Petty*

      Did you do YOUR work faster?
      Consistently met deadlines while creating error free work throughout my employment.(because I had a week and half to type three lines and 6 days to check it. Oh wait, they don’t need to know that.)
      Built strong relationships with stakeholders resulting in more efficient and productive workflows. (because instead of asking them where tf my stuff was, I gently inquired if I was ever going to get my effing TPS reports.)

      Reply ↓
      1. Spider Plant Mom*

        (because I had a week and half to type three lines and 6 days to check it. Oh wait, they don’t need to know that.)

        I had to chuckle at how accurately you hit the nail on the head here!

        This really did help the framing though, the folks I worked for were very happy with the work I did get done even if I wouldn’t consider it having moved the needle.

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    2. Seashell*

      I would go with showing you were employed. Just say what you did, like Aided executives with completion of TPS reports or whatever. You did the work, even if it wasn’t award-winning.

      Reply ↓
  18. Whoopsie*

    Maybe just list a single bullet or responsibility? Or think if there’s any skill you starting developing while there that then carried over to your new role, to show growth?

    Reply ↓
  19. Jane*

    Just as a general note – it’s not wise to refer to any job as “unskilled work” or “unskilled labor.” All jobs require skill. I figure no one would list them this way on a resume, but I wouldn’t refer to them this way in a screening call or interview either.

    Reply ↓
    1. Slow Gin Lizz*

      Excellent point. The job might not require extremely advanced training, but presumably the OP got at least some training when they started and didn’t just magically know how to use the cash registers or when to call for a manager (to use their example). Any job that requires training requires skill, and that would be all jobs.

      Reply ↓
  20. Nat20*

    “coursework in taco analysis at the University of Dinner” gave me the unexpected laugh I needed today. Thank you for that one.

    Reply ↓
    1. sarah*

      According to who? AAM’s position on this has been consistent since I’ve been reading (probably close to 10 years).

      Reply ↓

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