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How long should a resume be ? This is tricky !

C

compguy786

Platinum Member
Guys,

I have a resume that i have been using as of late. I am getting real serious for applying for full time jobs as i am about to graduate. Now, on this resume, i have gotten job offers before, so i am sure its great, but i have about 5 years of total experience, 2 workplaces, and my resume extends out to 1.25 pages. Is that a good or bad thing ?

People say that even if you have 5-8 years of experience, your resume should still be a page. Can any recruiters/HR managers give any insight ? I can send my resume if needed too.

Thanks !
 
1 page unless its an academic job. Chop out unnecessary things like references, class lists, not-applicable projects or tasks.
 
deadlyapp said:
1 page unless its an academic job. Chop out unnecessary things like references, class lists, not-applicable projects or tasks.
Click to expand...

I worked for the college i used to go to for 4.5 years, and had 2 positions there, and one before that at a medical company, all while in college.
 
If your resume fills up 1.25 pages, chances are you can trim it down to one page by doing some light cutting on the content, shrinking your headings a bit, and adjusting the page margins.

I don't necessarily agree with the one-page limit for mid-career professionals, but having a two-page resume with the second page barely filled looks really tacky.
 
Aikouka said:
I have them on a separate page (not included by default), with a note in my footer that references are available upon requests.
Click to expand...

That's what I do as well. My most recent resume had three positions and two degrees on it, and I fit it on one page.

There are certain situations in which multiple pages are allowable, but a rule of thumb is to only use a second page if you fill up more than 50% of it. Since you're only using 25% of it, then find some way to fit it on one page.
 
i did front page important stuff, back of front page projects and other things that were not as important but spoke to my level of involvement and experience over other recent grads. Some of the recruiters liked it, they kept reading if they were interested, and stopped if they were not. still one sheet of paper.
 
deadlyapp said:
1 page unless its an academic job. Chop out unnecessary things like references, class lists, not-applicable projects or tasks.
Click to expand...

2 pages is fine, though with 2 jobs, I cant beleive he cant get it down to 1 page.

My last resume rewrite is at 2 pages, but I had 10 years of applicable experience on it spanning 4 employers
 
I interview people from time to time... my eyes glaze over if a resume is more than one page. It seems that most people can't differentiate between relevant facts and filler.
 
NuclearNed said:
I interview people from time to time... my eyes glaze over if a resume is more than one page. It seems that most people can't differentiate between relevant facts and filler.
Click to expand...

I'd rather look at a two-page resume that has plenty of whitespace and is organized in a way that makes it easy for me to skim and find what I'm looking for, than a one-page resume where the information is so densely packed that I have to get out a magnifying glass.
 
Depends where you are applying... I took a course on this and the person giving the course said that as long as the information was relevant, it shouldn't matter how long it was- but this was for government type jobs, not the private sector.

Though one time I received a 20 page resume, that's too long regardless of where you are applying!
 
As long as it needs to be.

I go through resumes every week and I can't remember the last time I saw a one page resume. Arbitrary rules like 'one page only' is a good way to miss good candidates.
 
theevilsharpie said:
I'd rather look at a two-page resume that has plenty of whitespace and is organized in a way that makes it easy for me to skim and find what I'm looking for, than a one-page resume where the information is so densely packed that I have to get out a magnifying glass.
Click to expand...

Agreed. My point is that there is a lot of non-info on resumes I've seen that doesn't need to be there. Trim it down to only the important stuff.
 
NuclearNed said:
I interview people from time to time... my eyes glaze over if a resume is more than one page. It seems that most people can't differentiate between relevant facts and filler.
Click to expand...

this. any irrelevant part-time or summer jobs can be easily omitted. i also don't need to know every detail of a job you had three jobs ago (unless they're really salient.)
 
I think i might just keep it at 1.25. I had received offers on this resume before, and i think all of the info is relevant.

Unless if anyone is able to spend 2 minutes and review it ?

Thanks !
 
theevilsharpie said:
If your resume fills up 1.25 pages, chances are you can trim it down to one page by doing some light cutting on the content, shrinking your headings a bit, and adjusting the page margins.

I don't necessarily agree with the one-page limit for mid-career professionals, but having a two-page resume with the second page barely filled looks really tacky.
Click to expand...

I agree with you -- mine is 3 pages and I don't have problems getting interviews.
 
Whoever manages to make it one page, gets +1 from me. It does not mean i won't consider these with multi page resumes. Just that they often lack focus.

Most who read resumes and are not in HR have no time for long resumes.
 
thats hard to do when the list of job quals + shills wish list is 20+ items and you have experience is most of them spread out over multiple jobs
 
It seems 1 page and a half to 2 pages is the general size you want to go. Only one page is too short, and more than 2 pages is too long.

I could probably fit all my stuff on one page but then it looks like I'm just mediocre and don't have much experience. Need to add enough in there to sell yourself, but also don't overdo it either.
 
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