When applying for jobs or talking about your career, being able to accurately describe your work experience is crucial. Your work experience shows potential employers what you’ve accomplished, what skills you have, and how you might contribute to their company. Describing your experience effectively takes thought and preparation.
Why is work experience important?
Work experience is one of the key factors employers consider when evaluating job candidates. It shows them:
- What types of roles and responsibilities you’ve held
- How your skills and achievements match up with the job requirements
- How you’ve applied your education/training in real-world settings
- How you’ve progressed in your career
Applicants with related work experience tend to be favored over those without it. Strong experience gives employers confidence that you have the necessary foundation to handle the duties of the job you’re applying for.
How can you prepare to describe your work history?
Thoughtfully preparing your work history descriptions takes time and effort. Here are some tips:
- Review your resume – Refresh your memory on all your key jobs, responsibilities, achievements, skills used, etc. Make note of important details you want to highlight.
- Analyze the job description – Underline keywords related to required skills/experience. Think of examples from your background that align with those priorities.
- Quantify and provide context for achievements – Estimate numbers, percentages, dollar amounts, etc. associated with your accomplishments to provide context.
- Practice your narrative – Write down stories relating your experience. Practice aloud to polish your description and commit to memory.
Thorough preparation will help you feel confident and responsive when asked about your work history.
How should you organize your work experience description?
When sharing your employment background, structure your description in a way that highlights your most relevant experiences and accomplishments. Here are some guidelines on organizing a compelling work history narrative:
- Start with your most recent job. Employers are usually most interested in your current or most recent role.
- Focus on experiences directly related to the job. Feature roles that align with the position you are targeting.
- Keep early roles brief. Just mention 1-2 highlights from jobs earlier in your career.
- Adjust for your audience. Tailor which roles you focus on based on what each employer would find most relevant.
- Provide context. Share details on company size, products, team, etc. to give context around your experience.
With an organized, focused description, you’ll be sure to share the experiences that matter most.
What details should you include when describing roles and responsibilities?
For your major job duties and accomplishments, you’ll want to provide rich, results-oriented details. Make your experience come to life for employers by including information such as:
- Your official job title and the time period you were in the role
- The name and industry of the company you worked for
- The size of your department and examples of major projects
- Key accomplishments like awards won, goals exceeded, statistics improved, etc.
- technologies used or systems implemented
- Processes improved or products launched
- Teams led or budgets managed
Backing up your responsibilities with measurable achievements and specific examples makes your experience more compelling and memorable.
How can you link your experience to the target role?
A best practice is to explicitly connect your background to the job you’re seeking. You’ll want to highlight how your skills and experience prepare you to meet or exceed the needs of the role. Strategies include:
- Noting how your achievements demonstrate skills required for the job
- Showing how you used the same technologies/systems as required
- Explaining how you solved similar problems or dealt with comparable responsibilities
- Comparing metrics from your experience against key targets for the new role
Drawing clear parallels between your background and the job requirements shows employers why you’re a strong match for the position.
How can you keep your descriptions concise?
While details are important, you also want to keep your work history description focused and concise. Follow these tips:
- Highlight 3-5 of your most important achievements and responsibilities per role.
- Emphasize details that align with the job description.
- Quantify results when possible – eg. Improved sales by 30%.
- Use sentence fragments – Sales Improvement, Cost Reduction.
- Avoid rambling stories or flowery language.
Concise descriptions are more powerful and keep the focus on the aspects most relevant to the employer.
What language should you use to describe your experience positively?
You want to describe your work history confidently using positive language. Useful phrases include:
- “Successfully led project that resulted in…”
- “Played a key role in initiative that achieved…”
- “Slashed costs by 15% by implementing…”
- “Consistently exceeded sales targets by…”
- “Improved customer satisfaction scores by…”
- “Earned recognition for contributions to…”
Showcasing your achievements in a positive light will make your experience more memorable.
How can you handle gaps in your work history?
If you have gaps between jobs, brief explanations can help reassure employers. Useful strategies include:
- Mentioning you took time to travel, care for family, etc. if the gap was intentional
- Acknowledging being laid off but focusing on positives like severance used for education
- Noting you were doing consulting/freelance work during unemployment
- Emphasizing your continued professional development during gaps
Addressing gaps tactfully demonstrates responsibility and focus on your career.
What are some common interview questions about work experience?
Some frequent questions you may need to answer about your employment history include:
- “Walk me through your resume/previous roles.” Share overview of experience organized by relevance, highlighting related achievements.
- “Why did you leave your last job?” Explain you are seeking opportunity to use skills in new role, spin positively.
- “Why have you changed jobs frequently?” Provide reasons – gained new skills, sought career growth, changes due to layoffs.
- “How has your experience prepared you for this position?” Draw direct parallels between your background and the role.
- “In your last job, what were some areas you’d hoped to improve on?” Show self-reflection – could have mentored junior staff better, tightened process, etc.
- “Which of your jobs was your favorite and why?” Choose one where you excelled and enjoyed the work.
Preparing stories and talking points for these common questions will help your interview go smoothly.
What are some key mistakes to avoid?
When sharing your employment history, watch out for these common pitfalls:
- Listing job duties without real achievements or improvements
- Using vague, overused language – “experienced manager,” “team player”
- Going into excessive detail on early roles irrelevant to the job
- Badmouthing previous employers or blaming others for setbacks
- Exaggerating accomplishments or stretching the truth
- Using passive, negative language – “I had to,” “I was forced to”
Highlight your best experiences, stay truthful, and take responsibility for your career.
Conclusion
Your ability to effectively articulate your work history can make or break your candidacy for jobs. Follow best practices like quantifying achievements, making clear connections to the role you want, and using positive language. Take time to prepare your background stories, polish your descriptive skills, and put your experience in the best light.