I have 3 years 9 months of experience but since notice period for my organization is 3 months so I calculated that I will be having 4 years of experience on my last working day. I have mentioned in my resume that I have 4 years of experience . I got Job Offer from different organization which expected me to join in one month. So I negotiated with my higher officials for setting up my last working day within 1 month. This makes my experience as 3 years and 10 months.How should I explain this to new employer?
asked Apr 24, 2019 at 11:53
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127If they ask then explain it the same way which you've done here.– MonkeyZeusCommented Apr 24, 2019 at 14:34
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2What exactly did you put on your CV? Was the 4 years experience in a summary section? With additional dates against each job? What did you say you had 4 years experience in? There are a number of reasonable explanations for what you did in the answers and your question itself. What you wrote was accurate when you wrote it. In any case this isnt really a big deal, I wouldnt bother to bring it up.– James WoodCommented Apr 24, 2019 at 16:24
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29You're rounding up, which is fine.– Paul D. WaiteCommented Apr 25, 2019 at 2:58
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4<air quotes> mistake </air quotes>– Federico PoloniCommented Apr 25, 2019 at 19:48
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You've already got the job offer. Why do you think you'll have to explain the content of your CV at this point in the process?– Dawood ibn KareemCommented Apr 25, 2019 at 22:16
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5 Answers
It's very easy to explain indeed: it's just a rounded up number.
Nobody's asking you how many days, hours, and minutes you worked.
For all intents and purposes 3 years 10 months is the same as 4 years.
Edit: Of course, as per one of the comments below, if you're prompted for a month count, then you have to be rigorous of your current count of months worked. If you're only asked for a year count, then it's fine.
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11It may very well depend on the position. Someone applying to be an accountant at an ethics firm may have to explain why their math is off and the impression it gives. I know I wouldn't bat an eye, but I expect in certain other positions, it may be a dealbreaker– PatriceCommented Apr 24, 2019 at 13:56
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1Depends on the context of how they communicated their experience. In an person to person interview rounding would be completely OK. If a job application asked for length of experience and there were specific fields for years and months of experience and they rounded, that's lying. Commented Apr 24, 2019 at 14:27
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27@Patrice I doubt even your mythical accountant would have a problem. Even accountants know you have to round stuff up sometimes. The only place likely to have a problem is if there is some regulation that requires you to have had 4 years in some position, and you haven't quite had it. Commented Apr 24, 2019 at 14:28
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17@MichaelBalmes exactly, if you're just prompted for years, then even 3 years and a half should be rounded up to 4y, because filling in 3 years would be even more incorrect. If you're prompted for a month count then obviously it's different. Commented Apr 24, 2019 at 14:36
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1@DJClayworth maybe, maybe not. My point is just that dismissing it with a "it's the same" might be doing the OP a disservice here.– PatriceCommented Apr 24, 2019 at 18:21
First of all, never count future dates as part of your experience, that's a lie. You never gained the experiences from the future dates, on the date you are claiming to have the experience.
You are supposed to present the existing experience, not the probable future one based on some random assumption.
That said, in the current scenario, a 2-month gap would not be much of a problem, given you satisfied other criterion in the job description and cleared the interview. It can be seen as rounded-off or approximated.
However, next time onward, count only the experience you have. Will save you some troubled thoughts.
answered Apr 24, 2019 at 12:45
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Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat.– NeoCommented Apr 25, 2019 at 16:03
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For contract work, it would be suitable to indicate when the contract ends. But this is different from experience. Commented Apr 27, 2019 at 7:17
Why calculate your experience for the reader?
Quite frankly, the months don't matter. You are either a person with "almost 4 years of experience" or "more than 4 years of experience". 4 years precisely is only relevant on one single day.
Is calculating your experience a desirable piece of data? It seems very obtuse when you should have simply written:
Company XYZ: June 24, 2015 - Present
This would solve all ambiguity and avoid future issues.
Another reason not to perform the calculation ahead for the reader is because what if your resume is read a month after you send it so now you have 3 years and 11 months so your resume is underselling you? If you strongly desire to calculate your experience for the reader then you will have to add a date stamp to your resume so that they can perform further calculations.
answered Apr 24, 2019 at 14:42
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If it's years of experience of a particular topic/technology, this won't always work. Your employer may have adpoted it after you started, or you could be adding up across multiple jobs (possibly with gaps)– Chris HCommented Apr 24, 2019 at 14:48
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8@ChrisH If you're using a resume as a catalogue of every technology which you have worked with then you're doing it wrong. Per job history entry you should be highlighting accomplishments and technologies which you used to achieve those accomplishments. If I am hiring a web developer then I personally don't care if they have 5 or 7 years with CSS; I look at their results. A 1-year CSS developer could easily get hired if their results are more impressive than the 5-7 year people. I'm just really not sure what kind of resume you're writing where this calculation would be important. Commented Apr 24, 2019 at 14:56
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1you introduced the catalogue concept, not me. I was thinking of one essential technology, probably listed on the job spec, and in a situation where you can't show off a portfolio– Chris HCommented Apr 24, 2019 at 15:04
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i also have this in my resume. :) .but I reiterated in my description. Commented Apr 25, 2019 at 12:39
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I don't even tend to put the month unless I worked for somewhere for a very short period... My CV is just (Year-Year) Commented Apr 25, 2019 at 16:53
At least for western companies, a few months of difference won't matter much. What counts the most is your capacity of delivery. Companies are more interested on your potential and energy you're bringing in rather than on how many months or years you stood 9 to 5 doing the same work over and over.
You should, however, make it clear this information difference as soon as possible. This way, you'll be able to assess whether the few months would cause any problems.
answered Apr 24, 2019 at 11:58
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4I'd be inclined to disagree. Don't bring it up, don't mention it and don't worry about it. Nobody is going to care and if they do ask then it's just a rounded number. If you bring it up you risk accusations of trying to cover up prior dishonesty. Commented Apr 25, 2019 at 16:54
Just say, if they ask, that you base your calculations on the start and end dates of your employment.
answered Apr 24, 2019 at 11:57
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@KarthikeyanMV if you feel that, then accept the answer using the tick on the left, but if you want to wit for other answers please do. Commented Apr 24, 2019 at 12:54
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but is not the actual end date is different? the calculation wont add up. Commented Apr 24, 2019 at 13:04