Employment history is a thorough record of a person’s past work experience and includes job titles, organizations, length of time in the job, positions, and accomplishments. Employment history shows a candidate’s career growth, areas of expertise and skills, and it is fundamental to a resume or curriculum vitae. Employers will specifically request employment history in order to evaluate a candidate’s professional credibility and verify qualifications through a verification process.
The value of employment history is that it serves to demonstrate consistency, reliability, and career growth. More importantly, employment history helps an HR professional determine if a candidate’s background is appropriate for the job description and requirements. The strong work history of an applicant is not only a great asset to how they are viewed as a professional, but it also underlines their various skills and training.
Elements of an employment history include: job roles, employers/companies, dates of employment, responsibilities, and accomplishments. How an employment history is presented will have a direct impact on a candidate’s career prospects and overall opportunities. It is important that an employment history is presented clearly and accurately.
Employment history is a detailed account of a person's previous jobs, including details of organizations worked for, positions, time served, and main job duties. The employment history highlights a person's career path, professional development, and skill level. This type of history is an important component of your resume or CV. Employers will often look at that information to ensure you meet their qualifications and that you could be the right fit for their company and work environment.
What makes the employment history so valuable is that it shows the employer stability, reliability, and career progression from each position held. In recruiting, HR managers look at employment history as a roadmap to determine if a candidate's past experiences match the job description criteria. Having a well-organized employment history will provide an employer with pertinent information to make a hiring decision.
The purpose of reviewing an employee's employment history is to identify applicable experiences, career progression, and to pick up on items that could potentially raise a concern, such as changes in ownership or periods of unemployment. In addition, an employer will have to deliver this information to payroll, should the employee be working full-time or part-time, or on some kind of contractual or temporary work basis. With this knowledge, the employer is making a more informed hiring decision to select the best person for the job.
1. Hiring Decisions: A transparent employment history enables recruiters to assess a job seeker's skills, experience, and whether they fit the position; all this increases chances for recruitment success.
2. Trust & Verify: Employers review employment history as part of a background check process to verify claims, promote transparency, and know they can trust a candidate to be credible in the hiring process.
3. Career Advancement: An employment history reflects growth and change. Workers can look back over their career history and see patterns of consistency, improvement, and movement in their chosen field.
4. Professional Relationships: Employment records are a tool for reconnecting with former colleagues, mentors, and contacts for networking in the industry.
5. Record Keeping: Having a detailed view of your employment history assists both the individual and employer in identifying accomplishments, roles, and milestones together for immediate and future career opportunities.
1. Title: All position titles describe the level of competence and responsibility the individual has had through their career. The entry level may be from Trainee or Assistant to Manager or Director. Titling gives employers a framework to understand career progression and professional development.
2. Organisation Information: The details of the organisation's people work with, most evident in the name, industry, location, etc., provide context to the work environment. For example, a person who has worked in a multinational may suggest exposure to a global entity, while one who worked at a startup or smaller organisation suggests flexibility and innovation.
3. Work Dates: The dates on which people started and ended work provide recruiters with insight into stability and dependability. Long tenures may indicate loyalty and commitment. Short stints may present challenges to understand, but they can also show a breadth of experience.
4. Roles & Responsibilities: This section describes the major functions undertaken in each position. It provides employers with a means to assess functional expertise, specialised talents, and the scope of work managed, providing a more specific picture of day-to-day contributions.
5. Job Accomplishments: Accomplishments speak to the value that an employee contributed. They may include awards, completed projects, cost-saving actions, and contributions to leadership. Sharing accomplishments outlines not only responsibilities but their results.
6. Reasons for Employment Changes: Stating the reasons for job changes, whether it is for professional advancement, convenience of travel, or to expand your skill set, adds clarity and transparency. It assures recruiters that your changes in employment were purposeful and not an indication of instability.
7. Certifications, Licenses & Training: The addition of certifications, licenses, and specialised training to the resume increases the opportunities for the candidate. Certifications represent continuing education as they exhibit knowledge of a rapidly changing industry; they offer credibility beyond work experience.
1. HR Departments of Previous Employers: Reaching out to the human resources and payroll departments of previous companies is another way of obtaining exact details such as job titles , length of employment, and duties.
2. Government Employment Records: Many federal and state government agencies and labour departments maintain employee databases. These databases may allow you to verify your actual employment history if you require an official record for some purpose.
3. Statutory Records: While pensions to organisations such as Social Security or a Provident Fund (India) are statutory, they are also reliable records revealing employers and periods of employment.
4. Tax Records: Prior tax returns, tax filings, and pay slips records can provide reliable information about earnings, as well as valid employment information over a number of years.
5. Professional Networks: Many professional networks, including LinkedIn, also serve as a semi-updated record of your employment history, displaying job titles, employers, and periods of employment.
6. Financial Records: Information that appears on credit applications may provide, indirectly, employment information as well. Look at what is available on your bank records.
7. Personal Records: Having your copies of all offer letters, appointment letters , pay stubs, and experience certificates gives you a self-maintained history of all your employment.
1. Verify Job Titles: Always verify the official titles via HR personnel records, appointment letter, or offer letter. That way, the titles on your resume will be aligned with the titles assigned to you officially.
2. Check Dates of Service: Check the contract, payslips, or even look at your provident fund or social security records to accurately determine your start date and termination date. Being accurate with dates will demonstrate reliability.
3. Cross-check Responsibilities Use your past job descriptions, appraisal reports , or performance reports to verify your core roles and responsibilities. This will help you accurately recount your experience.
4. Verify Accomplishments: Use project reports, awards, or certifications to support measurable contributions and accomplishments to make a truthful claim regarding your career.
5. Confirm Transitions: Record in your portfolio reasons for leaving each job, whether it was for job progression, moving to work in a different geographic area, or to upskill. This adds transparency and assists with trust building with recruiters.
6. Keep an Up-to-Date Record Maintain your own file with all offer letters, experience certificates, and pay slips. Regularly updating this file means that future job applications are faster and more accurate.
