"To understand the past" means to learn about and comprehend events, situations, or people that occurred in history through studying, analyzing, and drawing conclusions from available evidence or sources. Full definition
Few lines of information about your previous employers will help in understanding your past environment. (prime-resume.com)
My experience with trainers and veterinarians and such is that they have been taught that dogs do not understand past, present, and future. (scratchingsandsniffings.com)
This is so that the manager who wants to hire you will fully understand your past experiences and potential success in the open position. (resumesplanet.com)