BirthdayFew numbers on a job application are checked as closely as 'years of experience', yet most people estimate it in their head. A rough guess can cost you: a recruiter's filter, a visa points calculation or an HR form may require an exact figure, and rounding the wrong way can leave you just under a threshold. Here is how to count it properly.
Start with exact dates, not years
Write down the exact start and end date of every job. Memory is unreliable for dates, so check offer letters, contracts, payslips or your LinkedIn history. For a job you still hold, use today's date as the end date. The length of one job is simply the difference between two dates, expressed in years, months and days.
A worked example
Suppose you joined on January 15, 2019 and left on March 10, 2023. From January 15, 2019 to February 15, 2023 is 4 years and 1 month. From February 15 to March 10 is another 23 days. Your tenure is 4 years, 1 month and 23 days, which is 1,515 days in total. Notice that the days part depends on the length of February, which is why counting by hand is so easy to get wrong.
Gaps and overlapping jobs
Measure each job separately and leave out any gap between them, since you were not working. If two jobs overlapped, for example a part-time role while you were still employed elsewhere, do not count the overlapping period twice when you calculate your total time in work. If an application asks for experience in a specific field, only add the jobs that match that field.
Adding several jobs together
To combine jobs, add the years, months and days separately, then convert: 12 months make a year and roughly 30 days make a month. Because months have different lengths, this is an approximation. For an exact total it is more reliable to add the total number of days of each job and convert back at the end. The Work Experience Calculator shows the total days for every job, which makes this step easy.
How to write it on a resume
On a resume, round down rather than up, and stay consistent. Writing '4 years 1 month' or '4+ years' are both honest. Never round 3 years 8 months up to 4 years. Forms with a strict threshold, such as a minimum of 5 years, will use the exact dates you give, and inconsistencies between your CV, your forms and your reference letters do far more damage than a slightly lower number.
Part-time, freelance and unpaid roles
Employers and authorities define experience differently. Some count only full-time paid work, others count total calendar time, and some convert part-time work into a full-time equivalent. Read the definition on the form before you calculate, and keep proof such as contracts, invoices or reference letters for anything other than a regular full-time job.
Once you have exact dates, the Work Experience Calculator does the arithmetic in a second, and the Date Difference Calculator helps with any custom period, such as the length of a gap between two jobs.