When Can I Leave Dates Off My Resume and LinkedIn?
So you’re worried about age discrimination… but also worried about leaving dates off your resume? Don’t panic — we have your answers.
By: Matt Dupee | Resume Writer for Let’s Eat, Grandma
As a resume writer, I am often asked if it is okay to leave dates off a resume or Linkedin profile. Let’s face it: many of us have been in the workforce for quite some time and have to wonder what is still appropriate for a resume.
We are concerned about ageism and worried that our experiences back in the 90’s may no longer be relevant, but unsure of what is acceptable for modern resume conventions. Can you leave dates off, or will that be a red flag? Let’s dig in.
Want a free resume critique?
Have one of our senior resume writers give you personalized feedback on the top 3 things holding your resume back!
Is Leaving Dates Off My Resume For Certain Jobs Ever Okay?
Leaving dates off of some older jobs on your resume is generally an acceptable practice to avoid age discrimination. My rule of thumb is that if the professional experience happened more than 15 to 20 years ago, we should lose the date.
(…If the job should remain at all, that is. Note that this advice applies to older jobs with compelling reasons to leave them on your resume, such as a high-ranking position with a notable company, an older position from a career path that you’re moving back to, or a position that defined your career. If an older job is unremarkable, just remove the position altogether.)
There are several ways to accomplish this on your resume without losing that great accomplishment from your early career.
I will almost always create an Early Career or Additional Career section within the resume. This allows me to break a few rules when it comes to formatting. Once I leave the Career Experience section of the resume, I no longer have to follow the same format for consistency.
I can eliminate the dates and still focus on the accomplishments. I can also list the job title first (or the company) even if I did the opposite above. This section will always be significantly shorter than the more recent career history and should only contain critical information.
Here’s an example:
vs.
Leaving Education Dates Off: Go for It
For education, you can comfortably leave graduation dates off without any consequences. I will typically only list education dates if graduation is expected in the future or I’m writing an academic CV. Otherwise, I will always leave education dates off the resume.
When Can I Leave Dates Off My LinkedIn Profile?
Unfortunately, you can’t. LinkedIn requires that you include a start and end year for each professional experience. This means that if you want to keep that role right out of college in 1992, you will have to show that date on LinkedIn. You are faced with two choices: eliminate the job, or take a chance that no one notices or minds that early date.
Is this older job or company really impressive enough to run the risk of age discrimination? It may be, but you need to seriously discern that. If you really can’t bear leaving out an impressive early job, you could consider mentioning it without dates in your About section.
However, you can leave education dates off your LinkedIn profile. Just like on your resume, you can easily list educational experiences without dates without raising any eyebrows. Again, I recommend leaving these off unless you have yet to graduate (graduation is upcoming), or if your educational timeline is relevant to your career path.
The Bottom Line
So when should you leave dates off of your resume and LinkedIn — or leave a position off altogether? My best advice is to absolutely remove anything and everything from before 1990; it won’t be relevant. With technology clients, I also advise against listing anything prior to 1999 as technology has come a long way since then.
In all cases, use your best judgment, ask yourself if the particular job is vitally relevant to where you’re applying, and make an informed decision.
The decision to leave dates off your resume or LinkedIn profile (or delete a position entirely) is a tough one. Letting go of that early career experience may seem scary. To you, the experience may seem as relevant today as it was 25 years ago.
But hiring managers see the world through a different lens. They’re more concerned with what you did today, yesterday, and last week. Technology evolves, methodologies evolve, and the workforce itself evolves. If we don’t evolve our resumes and LinkedIn profiles to meet these fast-paced, modern requirements, we may be left back in the 90’s waiting for AOL to load.
Ready for more job search help?
Sign up for a free Senior Writer Resume Critique to see what's holding you back from landing interviews. One of our top professional resume writers will give you personalized feedback on the top 3 items you can improve based on our expert practices!