It IS the past who makes us who we are today. If someone worked on low-level Assembler device driver info 10 years ago, I want to know. It gives me an insight into his personality and tells me who they are (and have been) the past decade.

If someone’s resume is beefy for the past 10 years and the last 2 years is light – its sheds a different light on them.

Conversely, if someone’s resume shows responsiblities continually built up the past 10 years but leveled off 2 years ago – it sheds another light on them.

I dont want anything thrown out. Its historical and it says a LOT. Hand me 5-6 page resumes any day. I want to know. Everything.

As for summarizing, you just did a pretty good job at doing it in your comment. That was 3 decades of experience in one paragraph. :-)

“No matter how I try, something important and relevant has to be removed.”

It’s easy to get emotionally attached to work that you have accomplished but you have to realize that not a single person is interested in reading a 4 page resume.

Personally, I only care what a candidate has done in the last 2-4 years as it really shows me who they are today, not who they were in the past. Experience before 2000 (let alone 20 years ago) is outdated and probably irrelevant. As much as it hurts – cut it out of your main resume, and you can always have your 4 page monster as your “extended” resume.

Its just not possible to get this sort of resume down below 4 pages. No matter how I try, something important and relevant has to be removed.

Any sugguestions? My resume is a cramped 4 pages printed. I dont like it that way but that is what it is after 28 years of IT work.