When applying for jobs, should you include months of employment or only years? The answer depends on whether you want to highlight your experience or simply show that you’ve worked at multiple companies over time.

When you apply for a job, you’ll often see questions asking about your previous employers. Some recruiters ask about your length of service, while others look for specific positions held. If you don’t have much experience, you might worry that they won’t consider you for the role.

While some recruiters prefer to see a long history of employment, others value candidates who have had recent experiences. In either case, it’s important to choose the format that makes sense for you.

Should you include months of employment on your resume?

The question of whether employment months need to be included on a resume isn’t one that gets asked very often. But it does come up once in a while, and there are some things to keep in mind about how to handle it.

One of the most common of these potential errors involves the question itself. Many people assume that because they’re working full-time, they don’t need to list anything besides their name and contact information.

And while that might be true for some applicants, others find themselves needing to include additional information, such as their current employer, previous employers, education history, skills, etc.

So, should you be listing months on your resume? Well, that depends on what you want to do with your resume. If you just want to send it out into the world and see what happens, you probably won’t need to worry too much about including months.

But if you plan on sending it to specific recruiters, companies, or hiring managers, you’ll definitely want to make sure that you’ve got everything correct.

Things to keep in mind when including months of employment on your resume 

There are some who say that including months on your resume is important because it helps potential employers understand how long you’ve been working there. If you’re looking for a job, a gap in your work history could make you look like you don’t want to work hard enough.

But what about those people who worked for a company for several years without getting promoted? What happens when they list just “ABC Corporation”?

The answer is simple. You’ll probably still get hired. But you might not get a promotion.

Here’s what you need to keep in mind when listing months of employment on your resume:

• Don’t put dates next to each month. Instead, write the name of the month followed by the number of the year.

• Don’t use abbreviations. In fact, avoid writing anything besides the full names of months, days, and weeks.

• Don’t list multiple jobs under one employer. While it’s okay to list different positions held within the same organization, it’s not acceptable to list multiple jobs held at different companies.

How should you include months of employment on your resume

If you decide to include employment months on your resume — or even if you already have — Here are some examples of different ways to list your employment history on a resume:

1. Formatting Employment Dates

One way to present your employment history on your resume is to use standard date formats. This includes month/year combinations like “August 2016.” Another option is to list the full month name, followed by the day of the month, such as “June 12th,” while another method is to simply write out the month and year without the days, like “June 2016.”

2. Including Number of Years Worked

Another way to list employment information on your resume is to include the total number of years worked in each role. For example, “3 years” or “5 years.” If you’re unsure of the exact number of years you worked in a particular position, you could always round up to the nearest whole year. For instance, if you worked three years as a receptionist, you might say “3 years” rather than “4 years.”

3. Listing Specific Month and Year 

Yet another way to handle this is to simply provide the month and year directly. So if you were employed at Company X from June 2017 until May 2018, you might say something like “June 2017 – May 2018,” although you might also want to include the title of your role within Company X.

Remember, however, that not everyone will see dates in the same order as you. So, when writing your resume, take care to ensure that all of your details line up correctly.

Conclusion

While it may seem logical to add months of employment to your résumé, there’s no real benefit to doing so. It’s more likely that you’ll only confuse the reader with confusing formatting. Plus, it takes away from your resume’s ability to stand out among other applicants.

Instead, be sure to highlight relevant skills and experience throughout your resume, which will help readers better understand why you’d be the best candidate for the job.

If you need assistance with crafting a well-written resume that will ensure you stand out from the rest, our team of professional resume writers can do that for you.