What is Employment History?
Employment history is a detailed record of past jobs held, including the role, company, length of employment, and achievements. Knowing your employment history is essential to job seekers during the recruitment and hiring process. It provides an overview of their professional experience. Employers use employment history to assess applicants’ skills, abilities, work ethics, and past success.
Importance of Employment History
Employment history plays a vital role in the job market; it enables employers to measure a candidate’s suitability for a position. Before interviewing a candidate, employers look over their resumes and recognize patterns from their employment history. It allows employers to visualize candidates’ roles in the past organizations, define how they contributed to their success, and measure their knowledge and skills. Furthermore, employers can also use employment history to identify potential red flags, such as a period of unemployment, job hopping, or frequent job changes.
Employment history helps job seekers build a persuasive story for their job interviews. A well-crafted résumé and cover letter can help them portray their skills and experience. It allows hiring managers to connect the dots between job duties and job objectives. For example, if the job calls for customer service experience, job seekers can point to specific job responsibilities or accomplishments from previous customer service jobs to demonstrate their experience.
Components of Employment History
Employment history should include:
- Job Title:Your current or previous job title.
- Company Name:The company name you worked for.
- Length Of Employment:The timeframe you worked for the company.
- Accomplishments and Skills:Specific accomplishments and skills developed during each job.
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FAQs
How to Present Employment History?
When creating a résumé, job seekers should list their employment history in reverse chronological order, starting with their most recent job. The more details included, such as job titles, length of employment, and accomplishments, the better. It’ll help employers to differentiate between candidates with similar qualifications. It’s a good idea to include metrics or quantifiable results to present your value.
What is employment history, and why is it important for job seekers?
Employment history is a detail record of past jobs, including roles, companies, length of employment, and accomplishments. It is essential for job seekers during the recruitment and hiring process, as employers use it to assess candidates’ skills and abilities. By creating a compelling story utilizing information from past job experiences, job seekers can demonstrate their high level of commitment and successful track record.
What should I do if there’s a gap in my employment history?
It’s not uncommon to have a gap in your employment history. If you took an extended break from the workforce, apply the same principles as when you listed current roles. Describe the activities you did during the gap period, such as volunteering, taking courses, or staying at home with children, and how it’s related to the job you’re applying for. Show the skills and experience gained while you were off work.
Also, See: Mock Interview | Employee lifecycle | Hiring Manager