Question Regarding Resume

[alexf.1990]

I think the more relevant issue is what would take the place of the AS on your resume were you to leave it off. I would leave it on if you need to compensate for having very little work history or other certs. Your BSBA already conveys that you've mastered the course material in a ASBA program. You do risk stigmatizing yourself if your resume happens to cross the desk of someone who frowns on community colleges. A better alternative would be to look at Coursera or edX certificates as a way to fill that void.

[sanantone]

The associate's doesn't fill any gap. Most people take four to six years to finish a bachelor's degree, and you don't need to put your years of attendance on your resume. I put my year of graduation on my resume, but once I get to my 40s, I'm removing anything that could give away my age.

[alexf.1990]

The associate's doesn't fill any gap. Most people take four to six years to finish a bachelor's degree, and you don't need to put your years of attendance on your resume. I put my year of graduation on my resume, but once I get to my 40s, I'm removing anything that could give away my age.

The only utility I could see for putting an AS on their resume when they've got a BS in the same field is when the alternative is blank space. It just serves as fluff. As you said, the associates won't explain a work/school gap. It also doesn't add to their qualifications for the job.

[burbuja0512]

The associate's doesn't fill any gap. Most people take four to six years to finish a bachelor's degree, and you don't need to put your years of attendance on your resume. I put my year of graduation on my resume, but once I get to my 40s, I'm removing anything that could give away my age.

Why wait?   When I was in a position where I managed a larger team and frequently hired entry and mid-level workers , I HATED it when anyone put years on their education.   I didn't want to have any idea about how old my candidate is, even if much of that can be determined within the resume.  

My philosophy has always been that no one needs to know when I graduated.  It's just too easy to discriminate either because you want to get someone slightly older or slightly younger, or even that you find it strange that someone completed their education mid-career.    Unless there is a reason that the year is a relevant part of the story you're trying to tell with your resume, I would suggest leaving off.   No need to add information that won't get you hired.   They want to see the degree, not the year.  

Overall, as a hiring manager, I want to view just the facts, and I think that years are unnecessary at best and distracting at the worst.



P.S.  Hope this didn't come across as grumpy.  LOL I promise I didn't mean it that way!   I'm just super picky about resumes, have worked in rough sales departments where any perceived flaw was a reason to dump the resume and look at the other 500 candidates who have applied.  I've even sat in a room with my leadership team with several resumes that were all equally amazing and nit-picked each one to try to eliminate any of the awesome potential hires just to be able to make a selection.

P.P.S. Different topic, but I also suggest removing months from the job listing too. I think most people already do this anyway, but I would HATE to see a resume that says "XYZ Corporation, 3/2014 - 10/2017." It looks better and eliminates gap issues if this same type of job is listed as "XYZ Corporation 2014-2017." Of course some companies still require clarification on exact dates, but at the very least, the first glance of your resume won't draw attention to any shortcomings or gaps.

P.P.P.S. Last edit in a terribly written post! Sorry! Just quickly want to say that you only have one to two pages of resume to tell your story and perhaps a cover letter than is important, but that 90% of employers don't read. That's not a lot of space, so every single piece of information on there should be relevant. If something isn't setting you apart as a top candidate, remove and replace with something else that will.

[sanantone]

The associate's doesn't fill any gap. Most people take four to six years to finish a bachelor's degree, and you don't need to put your years of attendance on your resume. I put my year of graduation on my resume, but once I get to my 40s, I'm removing anything that could give away my age.

Why wait?   When I was in a position where I managed a larger team and frequently hired entry and mid-level workers , I HATED it when anyone put years on their education.   I didn't want to have any idea about how old my candidate is, even if much of that can be determined within the resume.  

My philosophy has always been that no one needs to know when I graduated.  It's just too easy to discriminate either because you want to get someone slightly older or slightly younger, or even that you find it strange that someone completed their education mid-career.    Unless there is a reason that the year is a relevant part of the story you're trying to tell with your resume, I would suggest leaving off.   No need to add information that won't get you hired.   They want to see the degree, not the year.  

Overall, as a hiring manager, I want to view just the facts, and I think that years are unnecessary at best and distracting at the worst.



P.S.  Hope this didn't come across as grumpy.  LOL I promise I didn't mean it that way!   I'm just super picky about resumes, have worked in rough sales departments where any perceived flaw was a reason to dump the resume and look at the other 500 candidates who have applied.  I've even sat in a room with my leadership team with several resumes that were all equally amazing and nit-picked each one to try to eliminate any of the awesome potential hires just to be able to make a selection.

P.P.S.  Different topic, but I also suggest removing months from the job listing too.    I think most people already do this anyway, but I would HATE to see a resume that says "XYZ Corporation, 3/2014 - 10/2017."   It looks better and eliminates gap issues if this same type of job is listed as "XYZ Corporation 2014-2017."    Of course some companies still require clarification on exact dates, but at the very least, the first glance of your resume won't draw attention to any shortcomings or gaps.

P.P.P.S.  Last edit in a terribly written post!  Sorry!   Just quickly want to say that you only have one to two pages of resume to tell your story and perhaps a cover letter than is important, but that 90% of employers don't read.    That's not a lot of space, so every single piece of information on there should be relevant.   If something isn't setting you apart as a top candidate, remove and replace with something else that will.

I get your point, and I would probably remove the years if I were mostly applying to job openings that only want a resume and cover letter. Currently, most of the jobs I apply to require an application, and the resume is only an attachment. 

I'm kind of at a good age right now. I'm considered old enough to have several years of experience, but I'm not considered old. LOL.

[burbuja0512]

I get your point, and I would probably remove the years if I were mostly applying to job openings that only want a resume and cover letter. Currently, most of the jobs I apply to require an application, and the resume is only an attachment. 

I'm kind of at a good age right now. I'm considered old enough to have several years of experience, but I'm not considered old. LOL.

Very nice  

I'm at a weird age.  I'm 42, but (at least most people tell me) look early to mid-30's.    Great age to look for a salesperson, but too young to be in senior sales leadership.    I have solved this problem somewhat with a pair of fake glasses.   Sounds really dumb, but I just went to Costco and had a pair made with no prescription.    Cost a little bit of money, but I love for Skype interviews and they really do add a few years.    Ha ha ha the only issue was in my last job, I felt the need to wear them from time to time because I had so many rounds of interviews and met so many people in the interview process!

[dfrecore]

The associate's doesn't fill any gap. Most people take four to six years to finish a bachelor's degree, and you don't need to put your years of attendance on your resume. I put my year of graduation on my resume, but once I get to my 40s, I'm removing anything that could give away my age.

At some point, your resume is going to give away your age, even if you degree doesn't.  The fact that I started working in 1989 is going to show that I'm older than many other candidates for sure.  Yes, I can leave off jobs that aren't relevant, but I still started working in accounting full-time in 1991, when I was 20.  At some point very quickly, it becomes relevant (because that's also when I started doing other more important stuff, and you can see my progression).

[Ideas]

Some people can hide their age on their resume a lot more easily. Some can't without leaving off important things.

[burbuja0512]

I saw an executive's resume that was AMAZING at hiding age. It listed her three most relevant jobs, which covered the past 15 years, then it mentioned skills obtained in prior positions, but focued on the skills and experience, not on the name of the company or the date. I really wish I had kept a copy of it because she worded it so well and her resume was designed using lines as dividers and also to help visually represent what she wanted to highlight.

[dfrecore]

I saw an executive's resume that was AMAZING at hiding age.   It listed her three most relevant jobs, which covered the past 15 years, then it mentioned skills obtained in prior positions, but focued on the skills and experience, not on the name of the company or the date.    I really wish I had kept a copy of it because she worded it so well and her resume was designed using lines as dividers and also to help visually represent what she wanted to highlight.

That's smart!  I have a lot of jobs and years of experience, but there's a lot of overlap in terms of what I did at some of the jobs, so I may try that!!  Especially because I have some very specific experience for certain jobs, that most people wouldn't have (and I know this because in 20 years of job hunting, every single job I went for that asked for that specific experience, I got, and I don't think I'm THAT good at interviewing).