Should You Include Jobs in Your Work History That Aren't Relevant to the Role? Pros and Cons
When crafting your resume, it’s common to wonder if you should include every job you’ve held or just focus on the roles most relevant to the position you’re after. Including jobs unrelated to your target role can sometimes work in your favor—but in other cases, it can dilute the focus of your resume. Here’s a look at the pros and cons to help you decide when to keep or cut unrelated experience.
Pros of Including Irrelevant Job Experience
Demonstrates a Well-Rounded Background: Showing a variety of roles can signal that you bring a versatile skill set, which can be an asset, especially for positions that benefit from adaptable and well-rounded candidates.
Highlights Transferable Skills: Even if a job wasn’t directly related, it likely taught you skills that apply broadly across fields, such as communication, leadership, problem-solving, or time management. Mentioning these roles can show you’ve developed these transferable abilities.
Shows Consistency in Employment: Gaps in employment history can sometimes raise questions. Including all roles you’ve held, even if they aren’t directly relevant, can demonstrate steady employment and work ethic.
Can Appeal to Employers Seeking Unique Perspectives: Some companies value candidates with diverse experiences. Including varied roles can indicate that you bring a fresh perspective to the role, especially if the company values diverse thinking or innovative problem-solving.
Illustrates Career Progression: If the unrelated jobs show how you’ve moved up the ladder or evolved professionally, it can still add value. Showing growth over time can appeal to employers looking for candidates with a history of development and advancement.
Cons of Including Irrelevant Job Experience
Risk of Diluting Your Core Skill Set: If your resume is packed with unrelated jobs, it may be harder for recruiters to see the skills they’re specifically looking for. This can make your resume appear unfocused and less aligned with the position.
Can Seem Like Filler: Including every job might give the impression that you’re padding your resume. Irrelevant roles, especially if they don’t highlight valuable skills, could seem like unnecessary information and distract from the main points.
Increased Resume Length: Recruiters usually prefer resumes that are concise and direct. By adding unrelated jobs, you risk making your resume longer than necessary, which may lead to important details being overlooked.
Might Lead to Confusing or Unfocused Job Narrative: If the unrelated roles don’t support the career story you’re trying to tell, they might create confusion about your professional direction. For example, if you’re transitioning to a new field, highlighting old, unrelated jobs might take away from the focus on your relevant experience and goals.
Potential to Overemphasize Irrelevant Skills: Jobs outside your target field may highlight skills you don’t intend to use in the new role, which could signal to employers that you’re still interested in or tied to previous industries.
Tips for Deciding When to Include Unrelated Jobs
Evaluate the Skills They Demonstrate: If a role helped you develop critical transferable skills, it might still be worth including. Focus on showing how these skills are applicable to the job you’re targeting, and de-emphasize any irrelevant responsibilities.
Consider a “Relevant Experience” Section: If you have several unrelated jobs but want to include them for context, consider using a “Relevant Experience” section to list the most applicable roles. You can then create an “Additional Experience” section where you list other jobs in brief, without going into detail.
Align with the Job Description: Tailor your resume to the specific role by highlighting any past jobs that align, even tangentially, with the position’s requirements. If the job listing emphasizes skills you developed in unrelated jobs, list those positions and call out those skills.
Use a Functional or Hybrid Format: If you have extensive experience that isn’t directly related to your target role, consider using a functional resume format, which focuses on skills rather than chronological job history. This way, you can spotlight relevant skills while still acknowledging other experience.
Be Strategic About Time Frames: If your irrelevant experience is older and you have more recent roles directly tied to the position, you can often safely omit those older, unrelated roles. Employers typically focus on recent work experience, so removing older jobs unrelated to the role is generally acceptable.
Final Verdict: Should You Include Irrelevant Job Experience?
Deciding whether to include irrelevant experience depends on your career goals and the job you’re applying for. If your unrelated experience demonstrates transferable skills, shows steady employment, or highlights valuable qualities, it could be a benefit. On the other hand, if it risks distracting from the relevant experience you bring to the table, it may be best to omit or minimize it.
Ultimately, think about your resume as a marketing document tailored to each job. Include roles that add value to your application and demonstrate your qualifications for the specific position—this approach will help you strike the right balance between relevancy and depth.
