[Resume] What count towards experience?

What count towards as experience? Is it only full time professional position that counts?
Does personal experience count as well?

I started doing tech support since 1995 as a summer job.

Currently I have a part time job and a few short sub-contract positions.

Could I state that I have more than 10 years of computer experience on my resume?

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Comments

networker050184

You can put the part time and contract jobs on your resume as it is valid experience. I'm not too sure of what you mean by "personal experience," but if you mean a home lab then I wouldn't put it on a resume.

You wouldn't be lying if you said you have been doing it for ten years, but ensure you are not misleading anyone with that statement. As long as you are honest you should be OK. Its when you start bending the truth is when you will start having issues.

astorrs

10 years of experience to me implies 10 years of constant work experience.

I'm not sure about your age, but keep in mind that most places don't usually count any time when you were still in high school when calculating your time in a particular field of work (e.g., the US government doesn't consider that as valid experience even if you had a part-time job after school).

dynamik

I'd say that it depends on the type of work as well. You could get plenty of A+ level experience from having a few machines around the house, but it wouldn't make sense if it was higher-level MS or Cisco work.

Gundamtdk

astorrs wrote:

10 years of experience to me implies 10 years of constant work experience.

I'm not sure about your age, but keep in mind that most places don't usually count any time when you were still in high school when calculating your time in a particular field of work (e.g., the US government doesn't consider that as valid experience even if you had a part-time job after school).

I am hesitate putting down lines like "10 years of experience supporting computers" because the HR or manager think I am stretching the truth because I lack a full time position.

blargoe

How much of that time since 1995 have you been doing tech support, really? Put what is the truth.

When you list on your resume, you'll specify the full time and part time gigs and they'll get it.

brad-

Separate your work history from your skills/abilities and certs.

Have a section for each.

History:
Did X job from y-z: duties included...
Did A job from b-c: responsibilities included...

Computer Skills:
W2k3 AD
Exchange
BackupExec
MSPaint
Solitaire

Certifications:
MCSA 2k3
Life+
JoMomma

By the time they read all of it, it should blend.