those of you with a lot of work experience, how do you trim your resume down?

[Virge_]

I've never even heard of this. Looked it up and it looks like an academic/medical industry thing. Probably irrelavent to other professions.

It's terrible advice for anyone in the US. CV's are a European thing. Basically just ignore this post entirely due to lack of relevance.

That and I'm somewhat confident the 10 page thing is satirical.

 

[glenn1]

Trim it to one page or don't even bother. Seriously. Nobody is going to read two pages of trivia about old work projects.

This, you shouldn't get too far into the weeds about the details of your project, but should be able to elaborate on any aspect of it on demand. Basically any project can and should be summable in 2-3 sentences: basic scope description, what you were accountable for, and quantifiable results.

Example: "I managed a team of 10 _[skill or language]_ developers on an $ _[amount]_ budget project (accoutability) to install an enterprise _[type]_ system within _[timeframe]_ (scope), which reduced required resource work hours by _[xx]_% and generated $ _[amount]_ in savings to the firm in FY2014 (results)."

 

[Ketchup]

Purbeast0, I would recommend giving your full resume with experience to the person that will be presenting it. Let them decide if it is too long.

 

[Blackjack200]

Trim it to one page or don't even bother. Seriously. Nobody is going to read two pages of trivia about old work projects.

I wouldn't go that far. I think that used to be the convention, but business is legitimately more complex than it used to be. My resume is about a page and a half. Most resumes that I see are more than a page. Three and a half is too much though.

 

[purbeast0]

Purbeast0, I would recommend giving your full resume with experience to the person that will be presenting it. Let them decide if it is too long.

well i'm not talking about the internal one. i want to modify the internal one for my own personal use to just have on file and up to date, in case something comes up. i'm not actively looking at all.

 

[rsbennett00]

It's terrible advice for anyone in the US. CV's are a European thing. Basically just ignore this post entirely due to lack of relevance.

That and I'm somewhat confident the 10 page thing is satirical.

CV's are an international standard. Would you expect Sean Connery or Sean Bean to trim their imdb list to a page or two?

 

[Virge_]

CV's are an international standard. Would you expect Sean Connery or Sean Bean to trim their imdb list to a page or two?

International. I don't think that word means what you think it means.

I think the word you are looking for is "industry".

Additionally, that's a rather poor analogy. I don't expect Sean Connery to need a resume. You apparently do - maybe because you're part of that industry?

 

[ultimatebob]

CV's are an international standard. Would you expect Sean Connery or Sean Bean to trim their imdb list to a page or two?

Sean Connery doesn't need a resume. All he needs to do is show up and say I'm Sean freakin Connery.

But, yeah, even his resume shouldn't list every movie cameo he's been in. I'd just stick with the bigger movies and larger movie parts over the past twenty years or so.

 

[inachu]

Keep 2 versions of your resume handy.

1 readers digest version for the quick jist. Now when you bait them and they want to know more about you then give them the full resume. Or you can put comment at the bottom of the short resume URL to your full resume if they so desire it.

 

[rudeguy]

Keep 2 versions of your resume handy.

1 readers digest version for the quick jist. Now when you bait them and they want to know more about you then give them the full resume. Or you can put comment at the bottom of the short resume URL to your full resume if they so desire it.

Did you even read the OP?

You really are a moron and I wish you would stop posting.

 

[rsbennett00]

Ah, sigh, you nitpicking fools. I simply grabbed Sean Connery out of mid air as an example of someone with a decent sized imdb list. The fact that you didn't understand the point I was trying to make says a lot about why you don't understand what international means.

 

[MustISO]

I usually customize it based on the job requirements of the job I'm applying for. As someone who did the hiring at my last job I didn't typically read past the first page unless it was really interesting for some reason.

 

[Rage187]

1 page, no cover at that level of experience. Limit project detail to goal and result. You can always go into details during the interviews.

 

[Blackjack200]

Ah, sigh, you nitpicking fools. I simply grabbed Sean Connery out of mid air as an example of someone with a decent sized imdb list. The fact that you didn't understand the point I was trying to make says a lot about why you don't understand what international means.

Your example perfectly supports the opposite point. If Sean Connory needed to use a resume, he should absolutely not list every movie, sitcom, commercial, play, high school production, puppet show, and snuff film he's ever appeared in.

If the director was casting a cold-war thriller, he would list the cold war thrillers he starred in, and favorable reviews/awards from those films.

You really think a laundry list of every film he's been in is a better strategy?

 

[OverVolt]

I would keep an up to date list of accomplishments like your current resume and then use that to customize a shorter one for any job you may apply to.

So keep the version you have, keep adding to it. But have plans to cut what isn't specifically relevant to the job you're applying to.

 

[Rage187]

If you give me multiple pages, I think you don't have enough real experience and are going into way too much detail to try it look like more than it is. One page with project names makes me want to know more and likely gets you a face to face.

 

[rsbennett00]

Your example perfectly supports the opposite point. If Sean Connory needed to use a resume, he should absolutely not list every movie, sitcom, commercial, play, high school production, puppet show, and snuff film he's ever appeared in.

If the director was casting a cold-war thriller, he would list the cold war thrillers he starred in, and favorable reviews/awards from those films.

You really think a laundry list of every film he's been in is a better strategy?

Wow, you just typed that! I hope you re-read it sometime and edit it so it's not permanently recorded here. I'll even do you a favor and edit this quoted post.

 

[Wonderful Pork]

I've been working in the technical field for 10 years and my resume is 1 page, front and back.

I kept it to 1 sentence per relevant position (about 4) + 3 accomplishments for each. Once or twice a year I go back and add what I'm currently working on and consolidate old stuff.

I figure my current title/salary reflects those accomplishments, no need to rehash them for a new job since I'm not applying for a position at that level, rather something higher than I'm currently at.

 

[purbeast0]

If you give me multiple pages, I think you don't have enough real experience and are going into way too much detail to try it look like more than it is. One page with project names makes me want to know more and likely gets you a face to face.

i can tell you that i've never had problems getting face to face interviews with 2 page resumes that i had before i even started at the company i'm working at. hell i got my current job with a 2 page resume and i only had worked for 3 companies prior to that.

and a project name won't mean jack shit to anybody without any context or what i did on the project.

this whole "black and white" view is pretty dumb imo. i'm simply asking how to trim it down to a smaller size then 3.5 pages (and have gotten a lot of good feedback).

if a company such as yours would toss a 2 page resume in the trash simply because it's not to some 1 page standard set by that company, then thank you for letting me know you all aren't a company worth working for.

 

[purbeast0]

I've been working in the technical field for 10 years and my resume is 1 page, front and back.

I kept it to 1 sentence per relevant position (about 4) + 3 accomplishments for each. Once or twice a year I go back and add what I'm currently working on and consolidate old stuff.

I figure my current title/salary reflects those accomplishments, no need to rehash them for a new job since I'm not applying for a position at that level, rather something higher than I'm currently at.

yeah so basically 2 pages then, which is pretty much the goal i want to get to.

i know i can definitely trim down my indie experience, i definitely put too much detail on there. they can find more details out about my apps by simply going to the google play and itunes stores as well. but i do like to put some details in there about technicalities, but can definitely be fine tuned.

 

[sao123]

Use bullets and phrases, never full sentences.
focus on your skills, not specific projects you worked on.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Mine is 4 pages long and I won't shorten it. If a company won't take the time to review it, that's their loss, not mine.

 

[njdevilsfan87]

If the job if I'm applying for actually cares about having a one or two page maximum, then its likely not the right job for me. Might need to in another year or so depending on if I feel like continuing with certain post doc work at a government lab, but I certainly won't be trying to cut my resume down in any way shape or form. Some of the projects I've worked on are just not possible to fit into 3 sentences. Maybe the first portion of the project...