When is it ok to have a resume more than one page?

Page 2 - Seeking answers? Join the AnandTech community: where nearly half-a-million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.

BigToque

Lifer
Oct 10, 1999
11,700
0
76
LOL. Well, you've got a 50% chance of losing the best candidate for the job that way, don't you! :awe:

He says statistically there are just as many qualified people in both piles, so he's not wasting his time going through every one of them.
 

Engineer

Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
39,230
701
126
He says statistically there are just as many qualified people in both piles, so he's not wasting his time going through every one of them.

Oh, I can believe it. When the position that I was just chosen for (waiting for HR on the paperwork) was posted, I was told that there were over 500 resumes sent in for the position. Hard to believe....
 

Hacp

Lifer
Jun 8, 2005
13,923
2
81
LOL. Well, you've got a 50% chance of losing the best candidate for the job that way, don't you! :awe:
Well, if the guy who had that 35 page resume is in that stack, the chances of the best candidate getting the job just increased :p
 

guyver01

Lifer
Sep 25, 2000
22,135
5
61
Those who say to keep it all on one page either don't have much to say, or they get burnt without realizing it.

This.

One of my first jobs was with/as an IT Recruiter. When recruiters look at your resume, they want to see experience. If you give 'em one line .. it tells 'em either you didn't do much, dont have much experience there.. or can't communicate. Either way, you make a poor candidate.

I've been in the industry 12+ years, worked for 5 major corporations. My resume is 3 pages long. With what i did, and the systems i have experience on, there's no way to keep it to 1 page.

The days of 1-page resumes went out the door with Reganomics.
 

spidey07

No Lifer
Aug 4, 2000
65,469
5
76
Your internships should be cut to Date, Company Name, and 1 bullet point describing what you did.

Your senior project should be about the same as above.

All that stuff you did in college was necessary to land your first job, get rid of it on your resume and shrink it to one page.

If you have more than 10yrs experience I can see making it more than one page but you best have solid points and no fluff if your gonna make it more than 1 page.

Yep. I normally will toss anything over a page unless they have 10+ years of experience. Most employers are the same. I don't have time to read all your crap, just enough to fast read them and pull a few that might have what I'm looking for.
 

acheron

Diamond Member
May 27, 2008
3,171
2
81
Just as an FYI, my uncle is really good friends with one of the wealthiest men in Canada and I got to speak to him for a while about the investment market before I took the Canadian Securities course. When I was speaking with him about applying for jobs, he flat out said he always takes the stack of resumes, cuts it in the middle, and throws one half out.

Well, yeah. That screens for luck. You don't want unlucky employees working for you, right?

(The only problem is that if the company and/or job you're trying to fill sucks, you'll end up screening for luck the other way.)
 

acheron

Diamond Member
May 27, 2008
3,171
2
81
oh, and as far as the OP: keep it to 1 page. 2 pages will be ok later, but it doesn't seem like you have enough experience to justify it yet. (Partly talking out my ass since I don't know you, but that's just my feeling.)
 

preslove

Lifer
Sep 10, 2003
16,754
64
91
I've never heard a recruiter say that 1 page is necessary, or valuable. My resume is 2 pages, plus a reference page, plus a one page cover letter.
 

chitwood

Golden Member
Aug 21, 2008
1,208
59
91
Do a Dwight Schrute and break it up into separate booklets: employment history, special skills, martial arts skills
 

Phoenix86

Lifer
May 21, 2003
14,644
10
81
I am currently at my first job out of college (3 years at this place)and i had had three very significant internships...

Is this something i should be sweating? From my understanding you should only have more than one page if you're older or applying for more senior positions.
1 page, unless your internships were EXTREMELY awesome, like perhaps: assisted developing the new nuclear warheads, or assisted in manufacturing next gen stealth materials.

Since you didn't even mention what the hell you did, I suspect it's fairly routine business internships. Those are 2-3 liners/job.

I bet you bloat your college experience, like it matters. Also, 2-3 lines unless you had some EXTREMELY awesome experience (see above). List your college, degree, GPA and that's about it.

Bullet points, use them. Don't bullet point a sentence.

Good luck.

Depending on how you count: Cover page (1), Resume (1-3) depending on experience, number of years, types of jobs, then referrals (1 page per).
 

acheron

Diamond Member
May 27, 2008
3,171
2
81
I bet you bloat your college experience, like it matters. Also, 2-3 lines unless you had some EXTREMELY awesome experience (see above). List your college, degree, GPA and that's about it.

uh? who lists GPA after your first job? no one cares anymore.
 

vi edit

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Oct 28, 1999
62,484
8,345
126
I'd say it depends on the field. My wife is a pharmacist and it's pretty common to have a Resume & CV. The resume covers education and work experience. The 2nd page covers specific studies/programs/articles they conducted/participated/contributed too.

I personally have never had one go past a page for IT related positions.
 

Phoenix86

Lifer
May 21, 2003
14,644
10
81
uh? who lists GPA after your first job? no one cares anymore.
Ahh, good point. Most people wear it like a badge, but it's really useless even for the first job. Think I put it on there because -everyone- does it. :p
 

gaidensensei

Banned
May 31, 2003
2,851
2
81
I never put my GPA up the first few jobs I applied/went for straight out of college..
Maybe because it was IT related positions.

I could see it as a point to get across in a CV for specific fields but I still probably wouldn't do it on there.
 

evident

Lifer
Apr 5, 2005
12,130
749
126
Ahh, good point. Most people wear it like a badge, but it's really useless even for the first job. Think I put it on there because -everyone- does it. :p

When my roomate applied for jobs in college, some wouldn't even interview him since he was less than a 3.0. He didnt list his GPA on his resume and was always asked it.