Why you shouldn’t put your graduation year on your résumé when applying for a new job

• People on TikTok are sharing advice on how to get a job. 
• One lesser-known tip is that you should exclude your graduation year from your resume. 
• This may help recent graduates find higher-level positions and negotiate better salaries.

If you’re job hunting, a small detail in the education section on your résumé may be holding you back.

While some TikTokers are teaching Gen Z how to adapt to the corporate world, others are giving advice on how to get a job in the first place. One piece of advice that is gaining traction on the platform recently is that you should delete the year you graduated from your résumé. 

The School of Hard Knocks TikTok account (@theschoolofhardknocks), which shares financial literacy tips and career advice, posted an interview with a woman who said she works in sales at TikTok, asking her what advice she would tell her younger self.

“Delete your graduation year from your résumé,” she said. “The reason being that a lot of the time traditional hirers or recruiters are going to base your salary off of how long you’ve been in the ‘real world.'”

But if recent grads leave their graduation off their résumé, recruiters will have to judge them on their skills and previous experience. And that could mean they end up getting considered for more than just the entry-level roles typically set aside for candidates just entering the job market. 

Other career-focused creators quickly jumped in to add to the conversation, stitching the original video with their own advice.

Jerry Lee (@jerryjhlee) of career counseling company Wongsulting agreed, and said he recommends candidates not only delete their graduation year, but also move their education section to the bottom of their résumé below their work experience. 

“Adding your graduation year can only hurt you,” Lee said. “Unless you’re a student, then that’s okay.”

This advice isn’t just for recent graduates, though — removing your graduation year can be a good idea for older job seekers too.

Antrell Vining, who’s behind the career tips and comedy account @TechByAntrell, said that doing so can help prevent ageist assumptions that recruiters might make about older applicants. 

“If you graduated a long time ago and you’re trying to get a job in your industry now, they’re gonna be like ‘oh, they probably forgot every single thing that they learned in their degree, so we’re not going to hire them,'” Vining said.