How to Count Years of Experience for Your Resume.

Start from what the job ad means

When an ad asks for "5 years of experience", it almost always means 5 years doing that kind of work, not 5 years since your first job. A developer who spent 3 years in sales before switching has the developer years, plus useful sales background.

So you may have two numbers: total professional experience and experience in the field. Use the one that answers the question being asked.

What to count

• Full-time jobs in the field: count the full time from start to end month.
• Part-time jobs: count in proportion. Twenty hours a week for two years is roughly one year.
• Overlapping jobs: count the calendar time once, not twice.
• Internships and apprenticeships: count them if they involved real work in the field; many people count them separately ("plus a one-year internship").
• Freelance and contract work: count it if it was steady, and list it on the resume so the years are visible.
• Education: don't count study time as work experience, unless a job ad says a degree can replace experience.

Make your summary match your dates

Recruiters do the maths. If your summary says "10+ years" and your first job starts in 2020, the number looks inflated even if you have older relevant experience you left off. Either add the earlier roles (briefly), or say what the years were ("10 years in finance, the last 4 in data analysis").

Round down and be consistent

• Round down to whole years: 6 years and 8 months is "6 years" or "over 6 years".
• Use the same number in your summary, cover letter and LinkedIn.
• Use "10+" or "15+" for long careers instead of an exact number.

When to leave the number out

You don't have to state years at all. With a long career, "20+ years" can invite age bias; a summary that leads with your level and results ("Operations director who has run three plant turnarounds") often works better. Early in your career, results and skills also say more than "2 years".