Free Tool
Get a specific cutoff year + drop-first / keep lists based on your total years of experience, role type, and whether older roles are relevant.
Conventional advice is '10-15 years back' but the real answer depends on your total experience, the kind of role (industry / academic / federal), and whether older roles are actually relevant. This tool returns a specific cutoff year + lists of what to drop first and what to keep. No LLM - deterministic verdict you can trust.
How it works
Enter total years of work experience
Pick role type and whether older roles are relevant
Confirm whether you have college education (affects 'skip pre-college' rule)
When to use
Examples
Mid-career industry
Input: Years: 8; Role: industry; Older relevant: no
Output: Verdict: 10-year window. Specific cutoff year + drop-first / keep lists.
Senior with older-but-relevant work
Input: Years: 22; Role: industry; Older relevant: yes
Output: Verdict: up to 20-year window; condense the earliest 1-2 lines each.
What this tool isn't
FAQ
Is 10 years the universal rule?
No. 10-15 years is the industry default. Academic CVs include the full career. Federal resumes include more, especially federal-to-federal moves. Senior+ candidates can stretch to 20 years if older roles directly show progression.
Should I include college jobs?
Only if you have less than 3-5 years of post-college work. Once you have a few years of professional experience, the college jobs come off.
What about gaps?
Gaps inside the recommended window should be explained briefly. Gaps before the cutoff are dropped along with the older roles.
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