How far back should a resume go? About 10 to 15 years

How far back should a resume go?

How far back should a resume go? About 10 to 15 years for most people. Show recent jobs in full, shorten or drop older ones, and keep an older job only if it matches the one you want. Early in your career, list everything you have: it does not go back far yet.

Updated October 2, 2026 By the ResumeGood team

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How far back, by where you are

Where you are	How far back	What that looks like
Student or recent graduate	Everything since you started working	Part-time jobs, internships, volunteering. Drop high school details once you are in college.
Under 10 years of experience	All of it	Every job, with the most detail on the recent and relevant ones.
10 to 20 years	The last 10 to 15 years in full	Older jobs shrink to a line, or go.
Over 20 years	The last 15 years in full	Plus, if it helps, one Earlier experience line.
Changing careers	10 to 15 years, chosen by relevance	An older job in the field you are moving to can stay.
US federal job (USAJOBS)	The relevant experience the announcement asks for	Each job with month and year dates and hours per week, inside a two-page limit.
Academic CV	Everything	A CV is a complete record. See CV vs resume.

Why 10 to 15 years: tools, titles and whole industries change in that time. The reader wants what you can do now, and your recent work is the best evidence of it.

Keeping an older job that still matters

You do not have to choose between listing an old job in full and hiding it. Name it in one line at the end of your Experience section:

Earlier experience: Assistant Store Manager, Northgate Home Goods; Sales Associate, Riverside Market.

Or, when the old job is the one that matters most for this application, keep it as a full entry with its dates, and say so in your summary:

Operations manager with eight years in logistics, and earlier experience running a 40-person distribution warehouse.

Old graduation dates

Keep your degrees, they never expire. Once the year is more than 10 to 15 years back, you can leave it off:

BS in Business Administration, Cedar Plains State University

In the US, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act protects people aged 40 and over from age discrimination in hiring by employers with 20 or more employees. Trimming dates is not hiding anything: it keeps the reader on your recent work.

The honest limits

Leaving old jobs off a resume is normal. A resume is a summary. Cutting the oldest jobs does not create a gap, because a gap is time missing between the jobs you list.
Application forms are different. If a form asks for your full work history or every job in the last ten years, fill it in completely.
Do not change dates. Shorten, group or drop old jobs, but never move a date to look younger or to hide a gap. Dates are checked.

If cutting old jobs still leaves you over a page, see how long a resume should be for what else to cut.

Questions

Should I include jobs from 20 years ago?

Usually not in full. Drop them, or name them in one line under Earlier experience if they show something the new job needs.

Is it dishonest to leave old jobs off my resume?

No. A resume is a summary of your relevant experience, not a full history. If an application form asks for your complete work history, answer that form completely and truthfully.

Should I remove my graduation year?

You can, once it is more than 10 to 15 years ago. Keep the school and the degree, and leave the year off. Employers can still ask, and you should answer honestly.

What if my most relevant job was 15 years ago?

Keep it. Relevance beats age. Put a short summary at the top that names that experience, so the reader does not have to find it.

How far back should a resume go for a career change?

The same 10 to 15 years, but choose by what transfers to the new field. An older job that used the skills you need now can stay, even if a newer unrelated one gets shorter.

Bring the resume you have