what's the word on multiple page resumes?

[BoberFett]

Honestly, the conversation is almost word for word identical with every client I work with. Nobody cares about your cover letter; they want to see on your resume that you've done the work before, that you have the necessary experience, etc. If you can't condense your cover letter into a one-line objective, you're doing it wrong.

Perhaps recruiters or other dedicated hiring pros might skip the cover letter, but as someone who isn't constantly looking at potential hires, I use the cover letter as a filter after reading the resume. I get tired of professional communication that reads like it was written by a lazy teenager on his cell phone and would rather not have that kind of person working for me. The resume should be bullet points dense with information while the cover letter should be a sample of your personality. I may be off in my own little world on that one, but that's how I do it.

 

[SarcasticDwarf]

Perhaps recruiters or other dedicated hiring pros might skip the cover letter, but as someone who isn't constantly looking at potential hires, I use the cover letter as a filter after reading the resume. I get tired of professional communication that reads like it was written by a lazy teenager on his cell phone and would rather not have that kind of person working for me. The resume should be bullet points dense with information while the cover letter should be a sample of your personality. I may be off in my own little world on that one, but that's how I do it.

IMO, the problem with cover letters is the same as the problem with phone interviews...they can both result in weeding people out who are otherwise a good fit. For various reasons some people just do not write good cover letters even if they can write great resumes. Others, like me, do very well at in-person interviews but suck at phone interviews. I prefer to just skip them entirely and stick to the "facts" in the resume.

 

[sygyzy]

Keep it a page. Assuming you have so many projects under your belt that would make it exceed a page, I bet the stuff on page 5 (most recent to oldest), aren't that impressive or interesting.

 

[thescreensavers]

What I been told multiple times:

In Person 1 page, they just want to quickly skim it.

Online or Digital Copy does not really matter.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Meh, mine is 3 pages IIRC and I never have problems getting interviews when I want them. I'm sure it greatly depends on your industry or field. In IT, they don't seem to care.

 

[silverpig]

OP: want to post your resume? Some of us might give you some tips.

 

[alkemyst]

Resumes like this are always a laugh

2010 to Current: "Some Great Job" "Some great milestones"

2009 to 2010: "Some OK job" "Some ok milestones"

2005 to 2009: "a basic job that turned to some higher responsiblity"

2004 to 2005: Cabana Boy, Miller Residence.

2004 to 2005: Cabana Boy, Halston Residence.

2003 to 2004: Papa Johns: Delivery and Customer Retention Specialist

May 2002 to 2003: McDonalds: Customer Fulfillment Specialist

Jan 2001 to Feb 2002: Burger King: Customer Fulfillment Specialist and Lead Fry Guy

2000: graduated 395th in an extremely competitive high school

1999: Made grade improvement list (C to B in two classes, 2.5 GPA: B average)

1998: 1st place Ms. Farley's Classroom contest.

 

[theprodigalrebel]

^

I used to be one of those people who thought resumes like that were the shit. Then I came across the 'one page resume, unless you are applying for a Manager or higher position' mantra and have found this to be true - both from a logical standpoint and personal experience.

I work with the Learning & Development department in a contact center. I remember when I used to screen applicants for communication skills/tech-aptitude and was surprised by the number of three-to-six page resumes. I would resist the urge to tell them, "Seriously dude, if you have over ten years of work experience in the industry, and are still applying for what is essentially an entry-level job someone fresh out of high school can get, I don't need to know 10 different achievements from each of your past four employers."

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

Stapled is most typical. Be sure to put your contact info as a footer on both pages in case they get separated from each other.

great advice, thx.

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

OP: want to post your resume? Some of us might give you some tips.

i'm not having any issue landing interviews or contracts/jobs.
(actually, it's quite the opposite. recruiters are ringing my phone non-stop)

it's just that i've done a few projects over the past 6 months and am having problems fitting it neatly on 1 page, even with expanded margins, size 9 font, etc.

but thanks for offering.

 

[apac]

i'm not having any issue landing interviews or contracts/jobs.
(actually, it's quite the opposite. recruiters are ringing my phone non-stop)

it's just that i've done a few projects over the past 6 months and am having problems fitting it neatly on 1 page, even with expanded margins, size 9 font, etc.

but thanks for offering.

In the last year I was laid off and got a new job, the first time I'd had to go looking since graduating. My updated resume expanded to 2 pages. There was no way it was going to stay confined to 1 page and still be readable. No employer during my job search complained about the additional page.

PM me if you'd like to see the before and after.

edit:

Two important tips, IMO:
1- Make sure you only include relevant information on your resume. Having different versions of your resume is good if you are applying to different types of jobs, i.e. Software Development vs Software Test vs IT.

2- If your resume is 2 pages it is even more crucial for the important information to appear first. In general assume that a recruiter will not see your 2nd page unless they are wow-ed by the first page. So, if there is something on your resume that is absolutely essential to a position, make sure you've prioritized it.

 

[alkemyst]

It's nice you guys with long resumes are getting interviews and jobs, but kind of worthless without what job and salary you ended up with.

I am betting you are showing up to a room with at least 20-30 other guys there, most half your age for a job that's about half what you should be making.

A resume of more than 2 pages goes against almost EVERY HR type recommendation and these are the people that have to go through them. Almost every long resume I have seen simply shows someone that could not hold down a job long or went paycheck hunting.

I am sure at the mid six figure range and beyond, your resume turns into more a prospectus and could indeed be lengthy, but at that point you are just job shopping....usually the jobs are shopping you.

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

It's nice you guys with long resumes are getting interviews and jobs, but kind of worthless without what job and salary you ended up with.

systems engineer, anywhere from $65-80/hr

I am betting you are showing up to a room with at least 20-30 other guys there, most half your age for a job that's about half what you should be making.

half my age would mean that they're not even in HS yet.
good luck finding someone who will do the job for less than the going rate. they'll get what they pay for

:$:$:$

 

[Stuxnet]

I have to read a lot of resumes (software developers/engineers) and 90% of them are 4+ pages. It's ridiculous. People will include every single damn thing they did. ANNOYING. I've been in the game for 13 years, and my resume is 2 pages long. Granted, I've only had 3 jobs, but I've done a shit-ton of work at those 3 jobs. If I get a book for a resume, I won't discard it like a lot of others will, but I'll only read your skills summary, your most recent work experience (last two jobs at most), and your education. Now, if you've had a ton of jobs in a short time frame, that will hurt you a LOT, even if you're a consultant. If you're good, any one of those clients would have opted to keep you around for awhile.

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

I have to read a lot of resumes (software developers/engineers) and 90% of them are 4+ pages. It's ridiculous. People will include every single damn thing they did. ANNOYING. I've been in the game for 13 years, and my resume is 2 pages long. Granted, I've only had 3 jobs, but I've done a shit-ton of work at those 3 jobs. If I get a book for a resume, I won't discard it like a lot of others will, but I'll only read your skills summary, your most recent work experience (last two jobs at most), and your education. Now, if you've had a ton of jobs in a short time frame, that will hurt you a LOT, even if you're a consultant. If you're good, any one of those clients would have opted to keep you around for awhile.

short term projects.
iow, get my shit off the ground and up and running asap.

 

[apac]

It's nice you guys with long resumes are getting interviews and jobs, but kind of worthless without what job and salary you ended up with.

I am betting you are showing up to a room with at least 20-30 other guys there, most half your age for a job that's about half what you should be making.

A resume of more than 2 pages goes against almost EVERY HR type recommendation and these are the people that have to go through them. Almost every long resume I have seen simply shows someone that could not hold down a job long or went paycheck hunting.

I am sure at the mid six figure range and beyond, your resume turns into more a prospectus and could indeed be lengthy, but at that point you are just job shopping....usually the jobs are shopping you.

lol Alk, is it always my way or the highway with you?

In Engineering, multiple page resumes are expected when there is enough relevant information. I took a technical writing class in college that covered engineering resumes, and she indicated that a long resume is expected when you have many years of engineering experience. Also, almost every single engineering recruiter expects a "technical skills" or "technical expertise" section. On my resume this is half of the first page.

I am 26. My resume (prior to my current job) has 7 years of engineering experience. My current salary is over 6 figures and I do not live in a high cost area. Every employer I have interviewed with has done a quick phone screen and then invited me to an on-site interview. The first page of my resume contains my objective, technical skills, and my 5 years of experience at my last company. The second page covers my previous two positions, my publications, and my education (school, GPA, thesis).

It's important to anyone reading this thread that YOU decide whether you can keep your resume to 1 page. I do not feel I can cut anything from mine (maybe a line or two, but not nearly enough to reduce it from 1.5 pages it is now), and not have the quality of the resume suffer.

 

[alkemyst]

lol Alk, is it always my way or the highway with you?

In Engineering, multiple page resumes are expected when there is enough relevant information. I took a technical writing class in college that covered engineering resumes, and she indicated that a long resume is expected when you have many years of engineering experience. Also, almost every single engineering recruiter expects a "technical skills" or "technical expertise" section. On my resume this is half of the first page.

I am 26. My resume (prior to my current job) has 7 years of engineering experience. My current salary is over 6 figures and I do not live in a high cost area. Every employer I have interviewed with has done a quick phone screen and then invited me to an on-site interview. The first page of my resume contains my objective, technical skills, and my 5 years of experience at my last company. The second page covers my previous two positions, my publications, and my education (school, GPA, thesis).

It's important to anyone reading this thread that YOU decide whether you can keep your resume to 1 page. I do not feel I can cut anything from mine (maybe a line or two, but not nearly enough to reduce it from 1.5 pages it is now), and not have the quality of the resume suffer.

I stated MORE than 2 pages in my post. I don't think many could pull off a 1 pager here.

 

[Stuxnet]

short term projects.
iow, get my shit off the ground and up and running asap.

And that's fine, but just be prepared to be asked some rather probing questions as a result. I work with a LOT of consultants, and they all claim to love the mobility and flexibility of being a consultant, but when they show up at MY door, they're looking for long-term stability. So I always ask "why now?". Soon after I've forgotten whatever generic response they offered up, I start calling their previous clients, at which point a different story is often told.

Most consultants don't like being consultants... they do it because they can move from one job to the next before their lack of skills and polish is really discovered. This is by no means an attack on you; I have an extraordinarily skilled consultant working for me as we speak, but it's the rare exception, not the rule.

My point is (yes, I have one ), you will be automatically viewed by many as "suspect." I haven't really read the thread so I don't know what line of consulting you're in; what I'm describing pertains to software development. If you're a telecom engineer or whatever, perhaps the situation is entirely different.

 

[apac]

I stated MORE than 2 pages in my post. I don't think many could pull off a 1 pager here.

Ah, apologies. Misread your post.

 

[AreaCode707]

A resume of more than 2 pages goes against almost EVERY HR type recommendation and these are the people that have to go through them.

Trollishness removed - I agree with what is left. You should really be in executive territory if you're going over two pages. If you think you REALLY need three pages, it's generally a sign that you aren't focusing your resume sufficiently.