Should I List 2 Short Jobs on my Resume?

[Nurse Beth, MSN]

Hi Nurse Beth!

I have a resume question and will put it on the site as well in case you don't do resume stuff. I am new and not sure how this site works yet. I am tying to figure what to do with my resume - I have it the way I want and it is perfect but I have had two really short term jobs since the jobs on the resume and they are not on there.

My thought was to put them on the application (to be honest and forthcoming) but not put them on the resume because it might look strange (one was in a prison for 8 weeks - the other was a detox center for five months and something weird was going on there so I resigned as of the day I sent the resignation which is inappropriate but they had taken me off the schedule so something strange was about to happen) with such short term jobs?

However if I do not put them on there, it looks like I have not worked since 2010. I don't know which is worse? And if I do put them on, should I shorten up the first couple of jobs and had (many years ago) and add more descriptors to the more recent jobs? Thank you so so much!

Dear Resume Question,

This is a good question because including 2 nursing jobs with short tenure as your only employment is a red flag and will need an explanation in the interview. (It wasn't a good fit will suffice).

At the same time, not including the jobs can lead to consequences later if it's discovered you were not forthcoming on your application. Your resume and your job application should match in terms of work history, though. I would not go back further than 10 years, especially for non-nursing jobs, unless the application requires it.

Either way you choose to go, you can boost your resume by taking a refresher course. A refresher course can also lead to contacts, as the instructors and other nurses may have contacts in the hospital and other facilities.

Nurse Beth

Author, "Your Last Nursing Class: How to Land Your First Nursing Job"...and your next!