Do Resumes Need to Include Months of Employment?

As a resume writer, I was always taught that resumes did not need to include months of employment, years alone were sufficient.

Nevertheless, recently, more and more companies and recruiters have begun demanding use of months claiming that by not using them, applicants are either "lying" or "hiding something." I spoke to a hiring manager recently who said, "I want to be aware of any possible gaps in employment."

This comment struck me as odd, so I questioned her some more on it. "OK, so you find out the candidate was out of work for two or three months in 2000. What does that do for you?"

Her answer: "I drop them from consideration."

I have to admit that I was stunned by that. As a former hiring manager, I cannot recall a time when I used a two-month gap in employment against someone, particularly someone who was otherwise qualified to work for me.

In fact, my thinking on that has always been, "but for the grace of God, go I." Who knows when that could have been me?

Let's face it. You could have numerous reasons for having employment gaps of less than a year. Health reasons, either because of you or a family member being one of them. Now who wants to put that on their resume "I was out of work because I had a major medical issue" or because "my spouse was sick."

So I responded to my hiring manager friend, "what if the candidate explained the job gap on the resume? For instance, they put something like "laid off from Jan. to Mar. 2000" or "medical sabbatical." Would that make a difference?"

Her answer: "Probably not."

My reply: "No wonder people lie on their resumes then."

In another scenario, I was having a conversation with a recruiter who was bemoaning the lack of months on most candidates' resumes. In this case, my recruiter friend made an interesting point: "If they leave off months, then a candidate can easily make one year look like two."

He then gave me a scenario:

XYZ Company: 2006-Present (but with months: Mar. 2006-Present)
ABC Company: 2004-2006 (but with months: Dec. 2004-Mar. 2006)
LMN Company: 2002-2004 (but with months: Jan. 2002-Nov. 2004)

His point was that if you look at the ABC Company listing, without the years, it looks like the candidate worked there 2 years when in fact it was only 16 months.

Again, my reply: "OK, so it was 16 months instead of 24. Otherwise, the client has had a steady work history. What difference does it make to the employer to know this? I mean, can't you find this all out when you ask the candidate to fill out a more extensive job application?"

His answer: "We want to know what people are hiding."

My reply: "I'm confused. What is this client hiding exactly?"

His answer: "Eight months of employment at ABC Company."

My reply: "So what difference does that make in evaluating this candidate to determine whether you want to interview him or her?"

It seems to me we have all forgotten the main intent of the resume: to review a candidate's background and decide whether you would like to move forward. After all, if a candidate is well qualified and seems to meet your needs but you are concerned about the actual dates of employment for some reason, isn't that something you could just...ask?

Maybe it is just me, but I am having a hard time understanding how the lack of months is the great differentiator. In the case of my recruiter's candidate, adding dates would not be a big deal. (Unless, of course, you see that "gap" from Nov. 2004 to Dec. 2004, and you just need to know how many days elapsed in there!). But in the previous case with my hiring manager, if a candidate showed a two-month gap, he or she wasn't even up for consideration! So what is a job seeker in this situation to do?

It seems reasonable to me that applicants should have some room for providing their background in the best light without being accused of "lying" or "hiding something." They should also not be stuck in a position where they feel they have to divulge personal information like an illness or family issue in the hopes that a hiring manager will be OK with that explanation.

I recognize that hiring managers/recruiters and the like are tired of uncovering lies later on in the process after a candidate is hired, but there has to be some room for middle ground.
So who am I anyway? Why do I think my advice is so valuable?

My name is Stephen Van Vreede. My company is called No Stone Unturned, and I have spent 15 years on both sides of the corporate hiring experience.

The short story is that I have an MBA in Marketing from Villanova University and a dual B.S. degree in Finance & Logistics from the University of Maryland. I am a certified professional résumé writer (CPRW) and a member of the Professional Association of Résumé Writers and Career Coaches (PARW/CC). As I mentioned, I paid my dues in the corporate world eventually running a large-scale call center for a major truck rental company, and I have spent the past 7 years with No Stone Unturned, assisting job seekers in achieving their goals.

In February 2009, I launched a new group job hunting networking site: NoddlePlace.com. It is absolutely FREE to join, and you have access to everything on the site. Come check it out at NoddlePlace. You can also follow me on Twitter.

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