by: Joanne Meehl

After many years in the job search field, and almost 13 on my own, I have seen many things from candidates that work wonderfully in their searches.

And things that they put in their way.

One unnecessary hurdle is hiding an old entry-level job because the candidate believes it wasn't that long ago so it shows them as too inexperienced for the next step in their career. I've seen this from senior managers ready to be a Director, or Directors ready to be VPs.

This is not wise. First, everyone knows you started somewhere in your career. But when you leave out "the first step", smushing your earlier Specialist job into the later Manager role, you are hiding one key thing about yourself: that you were promoted and have had a meteoric rise. That's what is outstanding about you! So why hide it?

If you're doing so because you think you don't have the room to give many details about the job, don't worry: you needn't add much material there. It's in the next job listed that you say, "Promoted to this management role based on outstanding performance in my work as Specialist". Adjust that statement for your level and you will then be communicating to your reader -- of your resume or LinkedIn -- a wonderful achievement.

Recruiters in particular like to see your career path until now. They want to see where you started and what you've done since; the decisions you've made and the successes you've had. And little speaks more of success than being selected by your senior management to handle more tasks and people: a promotion.