When you’re applying for a job or simply updating your CV, your work history is an important part of this process. Your work history is an account of all the professional positions you’ve held and is a good indicator of your experience, skills and abilities. Potential employers and others can learn a lot about you from your employment history, so it’s important to know what it is and what to include. In this article, we explain what work history is, why it’s important, and what’s typically included in it, and answer some frequently asked questions.
What is work history?
To understand the answer to ‘what is work history?’, the best document to refer to is your CV. This is the primary record of the details of your employment history and is one of the most important documents in a job application for this reason. Although many companies use an online certificate format for gathering this information from candidates, it’s always a good idea to have a traditional up-to-date CV in case the online form isn’t an option. This is a detailed list of all the working positions you’ve held in your life.
These might be traditional paid jobs, unpaid internships or even volunteer experience. The important thing is that these positions were part of your professional development and allowed you to make a valuable contribution. This could be either for an organisation or for yourself if you’re a business owner or freelancer.
Why is work history important?
Your employment history is typically the first thing that recruiters, hiring managers and potential employers look at when considering you as a candidate. Many jobs have experience requirements, and your work history demonstrates whether you’ve met these standards. Your work history can also indicate to potential employers that you possess certain skills and can even show things about you personally. For instance, if you’ve consistently worked for organisations that are environmentally conscious, a recruiter might infer that you care about climate change. Alternatively, if you’ve repeatedly changed your employer after only a few months, they might wonder about your commitment.
If you’ve worked for specific organisations that have a good reputation, your work history can also increase your chances of securing employment. These companies might be well-known for their effective training programmes, exposing employees to challenges or for their selective hiring policies. This type of information can greatly increase a potential employer’s confidence in you as a candidate.
Depending on the nature of your field of work and the format of your CV, you can include varying amounts of detail in your work history. In most cases, there are certain pieces of information that are almost always included. Here is a list of the most important information to include in your work history, whether on your CV or in other documentation:
Job titles held
For every position you’ve held, you can include the job title that your employer at the time assigned to you. Many job titles are somewhat common or standardised within sectors and can be an easy way of determining what your role and responsibilities were. It can also demonstrate your skills, even without looking at a more detailed description below. For example, if you were a project manager, a potential employer might immediately assume that you have good organisational, leadership and communication skills. They might also assume that you have some relevant education or qualifications, such as the Level 2 Spectator Safety qualification.
Names of organisations you’ve worked for
On your CV, you usually include the job title you had and the organisation at which you filled this position next to each other. This is the name of the company or other organisation that employed you as stated on the employment contract. It’s important to be specific because many companies have parent companies that own them or are otherwise interrelated, so your previous employment contract can help ensure that you’re listing the correct organisation’s name. Depending on the reputation of the organisation, this information can be an indicator of skills, experiences and connections, even without a more detailed description.
Length of time worked
This piece of information can either precede or come directly after the job title and name of the organisation you worked for. This includes the start and end dates of your employment at that organisation. If you’re still working there, then you can simply list the start date and note that you’re still currently employed with the company. The amount of time you spend working for various organisations can be an indicator of your loyalty and dedication, both of which are valuable attributes. You can specify the start and end dates by day or month and always include the year.
Job descriptions
On most CVs, it’s helpful to include a brief description of your duties and responsibilities for each position you’ve held. This is useful because it allows you to highlight important skills and competencies that are relevant to the job you’re applying for, which can increase your chances of getting an interview and subsequently securing the job. This information can be a mix of your official duties as stated in the employment contract, in addition to other duties you took on, anything you learned and any notable achievements.
It’s often a good idea to include your responsibilities and achievements as a list of bullet points. This makes it easier for recruiters and others to read through your CV and find the most important information. It can also help ensure that your CV looks more organised.
Work history frequently asked questions
Below is a collection of frequently asked questions regarding what work history is, together with their respective answers:
Where do I include my work history?
In most cases, your CV is the best place to include your work history. You might also find that there are alternatives. For example, some companies use online forms where you include your employment history information, with separate text boxes for including specific details regarding your duties and skills. If you have the information ready on your CV, it’s easy to copy it over to these forms. You can also make references to your employment history in other documents, like a cover letter or letter of motivation.
Are there other ways of showing my professional skills and achievements?
Yes. Depending on the nature of your work, you can complement your work history with additional information. For example, if you work in a design-related field, you can develop a professional portfolio that includes examples of your best or most successful work. If you’ve received any awards, recognitions, certifications or other indicators of skill or merit, you can also include or refer to these.
What kinds of work can I include?
You can include any professional experience that you believe is relevant to the job application you’re making, including volunteer work and internships. Depending on the job you want, you may wish to exclude some irrelevant positions. It’s also important to minimise any unexplainable employment gaps, so remember this when you decide which positions to include. This is because employment gaps can be misunderstood. There are quite a few ways that you can handle these gaps, such as highlighting other productive activities that you did during these intervals.
What if I forget some information regarding past experience?
If you’re updating your CV for the first time in a long while, it’s natural that you may have forgotten some aspects of your previous jobs. In many cases, your CV doesn’t require the inclusion of in-depth details, but if you want to include particular pieces of information that you’ve forgotten, there are ways you can retrieve them. The first way of doing this is to locate your employment contract and any associated documentation from previous jobs. This can provide you with the start date, salary information and role responsibilities.
You can also look for letters of resignation that you wrote, which indicate when you left a job. If you’re encountering problems locating these, you can reach out to previous employers and ask for copies, as they typically retain these for their own records. You can also use the search functions on email sites and applications, as many companies send these documents electronically. If you’re still in contact with former colleagues, you can also ask if they remember anything that could be relevant to your CV. Try to keep track of this information for future reference.
