Beyond Two Pages Is Rare
Resumes extend beyond two pages in very rare cases, such as for academic, scientific, or certain federal jobs. Senior-level executives may sometimes submit resumes that are three pages or more, as they show their career progression, speaking engagements, publications, or other types of information. However, a two page resume is completely acceptable even for a CEO.
In some cases, these types of resumes are actually CVs, curriculum vitae, which is an entirely different ballgame. For most job candidates, two pages should be the maximum resume length unless you meet these rare exceptions.
The great thing about LinkedIn is you can include additional information that may not appear on your resume, such as courses taken, extra volunteer work, college internships, or other things that may not fit on a two-page resume. if theyre interested in you, so the profile is an excellent chance to offer a more complete career story.
Just be mindful that you want your resume and LinkedIn profile to be similar to each other. If the profile and resume are widely different, this could be a big turn-off for a hiring manager.
How Do I Optimize A Two Page Resume
As you are writing a resume, these tips can be quite useful. When using these, you will be able to ensure you create a document that looks professional while making it readable and appealing to employers. These simple tips can help you create something that will stand out and highlight important details that are relevant to the job that is being sought after.
- Ensure your contact information is on the top of both pages.
- Use skills and summary statements one time. Adding it on both will cause a distraction when being read.
- Make sure the resume is to the point. Remove any skills that are irrelevant so the document is tailored for the position you are seeking.
- List all important information first.
- Focus on 10 years of work experience. Anything past that will often be overlooked by an employer.
- Place your educational experience and any certificates on the second sheet. Volunteer information can also be included here.
- If your resume is less than 1.5 pages, condense it to make a single sheet. Never add irrelevant information to use more space.
- Use two sheets. Never use a two-sided document as the added information may be accidentally overlooked.
One important thing to remember when you ask should a resume have page numbers is that the numbers should be clearly written at the top of both pages. Always include your name so that the hiring manager will remember who you are when reading the added information.
When One Page Makes Sense
In some cases, a one-page resume is entirely suitable. Resumes, in general, should be succinct and get your point across quickly, and having a brief, one-page resume a hiring manager can quickly scan will work to your advantage.
A one-page resume works well if youre early in your career or have just graduated from college. Today, many college grads have various types of experience when entering the workforce, such as internships, odd jobs, and extracurricular activities from school.
Still, if youre seeking your first professional job, you can likely fit all of this info onto one page.
Similarly, if you have less than five or seven years of full-time work experience, you can also stick to a one-page resume. When listing experiences and achievements, only list the most relevant ones to the position youre applying to.
Remove prior internships and university activities that dont directly relate to the desired position, and youll easily be able to create a one-page resume thats jam-packed with all the necessary information.
Another circumstance when a one-page resume makes sense is when youre transitioning to a new career. In this case, you may have more than a decade of professional experience, but not all of it will be transferrable to the job youre applying to in the new career field. If thats the case, think hard about what skills, achievements, and previous jobs you should list.
You May Like: How To Send A Resume Email
It Is Time Saving For You As Well:
Creating a resume of more than one page is not only unwanted but is also a waste of time for you as well. Why do you want to waste your time in collecting irrelevant information and then including it in the resume, correcting it and more.
Just write what is required and you will be able to frame a really content rich resume in very less time.
First Show Relevant Experience And Skills
Keep the content of your resume relevant to the job description. Read through the job requirements to understand the best skills, experiences and work history that will boost your chances of getting the role. Before submitting your resume, revise it to remove any element that does not support your application.
You May Like: How To Put References On Your Resume
It Helps You To Avoid Making Mistakes:
When you write more then you can make more mistakes. It can be any kind of mistake, a typo error, a vocabulary issue or inclusion of any irrelevant information.
But since you want your resume to be impressive and faultless, so there is no scope of making a mistake in it. In such situation, it is better that you write less and relevant only.
It will not only make your resume appear more impressive, but will also reduce your chances of making a mistake to almost zero.
Why Your Resume Should Be One Page
Your resume can safely stick to one page if that is all you need to market yourself. One page resumes can be scanned over quickly by the human eye, so a one-page resume could appeal to in-person scenarios like job fairs and networking events.
If you have a two-page resume with no work experience, it probably contains filler words and information that isnât relevant to your current job application. Cut your resume down to one page by tailoring your resume to your relevant experience.
If youâre making a career change, your past experience is unlikely to be fully relevant to the new job target. Try to lead with your transferable skills and abilities if youâre in this position, rather than experience. A functional resume format may be better for you.
The same goes for recent grads. Odds are that you donât have two pages of relevant experience. However, some graduates have multiple internships, volunteer work, on-campus activities, or publications that belong on a resume. If you just graduated, read more about how to search for a job as a recent graduate.
Don’t Miss: List Multiple Positions In Same Company Resume
Name And Contact Information
At the top of your resume, put your full name and a professional-looking email address.
Your phone number and street address are optional, but for most people, Id recommend putting it.
If youre applying for jobs out-of-state, it might make sense to leave your address off.
Now, for formatting and design
Id keep it simple and clean-looking. No distractions. Not too many fonts and colors. In fact, this is good advice for how to format your whole resume.
Heres a screenshot of what a simple resume header with your name and contact info might look like:
You can add a bit more in terms of design, but dont go overboard.
How Many Pages A Resume Should Be
How long should your resume be? The answer is that the length of your resume depends on a number of factors. It depends on how much experience you have and what level candidate you are. If you’re an entry-level candidate, a page should be plenty.
For more experienced candidates, it’s fine to have a longer resume. Read below for more detailed information on how long your resume should be, and tips for making your resume the perfect length.
Also Check: Coursework Resume
How Long Should A Student Resume Be
If youre a student, you should never, ever, go past the one-page limit. You barely have any work experience, so whatever information youre adding that goes past one-page, its probably not that relevant.
If youre having difficulty fitting everything into one page, look at every point in your resume critically.
Do you really need to let your prospective employer know about every single one of your volunteering experiences and extracurriculars, or make your summer lifeguard job occupy one-third of your resume?
The answer is no, not really.
Instead, focus on your most impressive qualifications, best academic achievements, and fields of study relevant to the job you are applying for, and youll find out you probably dont even need a full page.
Want to learn more about how to write the perfect student resume? Check out our complete guide with samples & tips!
When To Go With Two Pages
As we mentioned earlier, theres no hard-and-fast rule for resume length . And based on some recent studies, a two-page resume that still manages to concisely pack much good, relevant information may be preferable.
Before you create a two-page resume, ask yourself a few questions first. If you have more than 10 years of professional experience, its certainly okay to make a two-page resume. By this point in your career, youve likely accomplished a lot in various roles and have multiple relevant certifications. If all this is relevant to the position youre applying for, a resume that extends to a page and a half will not be a turn-off for a hiring manager.
The benefits of a two-page resume are youll be able to go into more detail about the positions youve held and your accomplishments. With a two-page resume, you can also add a professional summary or career highlights section at the beginning containing relevant keywords thatll help you get past an Applicant Tracking System .
Two-page resumes are good but dont cram your entire work history onto them. The general rule of thumb is to go back to the past 10 to 15 years of work history. Another trick: If youre worried there will be gaps between jobs when listing relevant work experience, title the section Relevant Work Experience or Selected Work Experience. This lets the hiring manager know the list is not all-inclusive and contains only whats necessary for the position.
Don’t Miss: Should I Put Relevant Coursework On Resume
You Are Easily Able To Drag Recruiters Attention Towards Important Information About Yourself:
If there is too much information written down in a resume, then the recruiter will try to have a glance at all of them and may end up reading nothing.
But if there are limited highlighted words to read, then surely the recruiter will not only read them but will also remember them.
So, for this reason, writing a one page resume is an easy way to drag your recruiters attention towards important aspects of your career and professional self.
In Most Instances A Resume Should Not Be Only One Page
Contrary to what you may have heard, a resume should rarely be only one page. Most professionals should use a two-page resume this applies whether you have seven or 17 years of work experience.
Only entry-level professionals those who recently graduated from college and are just entering the workforce typically use a resume that’s only one page.
In fact, thanks to a recent study that involved nearly 500 recruiters, hiring managers, and HR professionals, even entry-level job seekers no longer have to use a resume that’s only one page. According to the research, recruiters were 2.3 times as likely to prefer resumes that were two pages over resumes that are only one page, regardless of a candidate’s job level. That means if you recently graduated from college and have a number of relevant internships, co-ops, volunteer work, or extracurricular activities to boast about, then you may have enough information to warrant a second page. If you don’t have those resume boosters, then you’re better off using a resume that’s only one page.
Click on the following link to learn more about how to determine the optimal resume page length.
Read Also: How To Name Your Resume File
You Can Include Less Vital Information In Your Cover Letter As Well:
If there is more information that is not very much crucial, but still you want it to present in front of the recruiting team, then surely you can include it in your curriculum vitae.
This way you will not only able to outline a well informed vitae but will also able to differentiate between what is most important and what is least required.
Does It Mean The One
Thats a no again. A resume should show who you are, detail your experience, and give insight into your potential impact.
If you check all three with a one-pager, why not use it?
Keeping those things in mind, heres how William, Pavel, and Gal crafted the perfect one-page resumes despite their lengthy experience.
Read Also: Bldzety Comresume
Why Was A Three
Readable format
Mia spaced her experience across the three pages to keep from overpacking text in one area while also facilitating detailed discussion where necessary.
Keeping a consistent format meant defined margins, bold headings, and a simple design.
Theres little room to cut down on details in a resume for postdoctoral research every author, every long word, every reference is needed. Restricting her resume to one-two pages would have required leaving off key works.
Is it too long?
Discussing your expertise in immunology isnt something that happens in a few bullet points.
Most publication titles alone are over 10 words long you cant just shorten them down. However, this doesnt mean that Mia was frivolous in her space-usage. Her research has been grouped into eras with the main points discussed.
Mia keeps things short-and-sweet, but she has a lot to mention. Applying for a postdoc, its better to give them everything.
The Resume Is Different From Curriculum Vitae:
For individuals who get confused between resume and curriculum vitae, the thing is simple. There is a very thin line between these two professional documents.
If resume is your marketing tool then Curriculum vitae is the document you need after successful completion of interview.
So, dont try to make your short resume, curriculum vitae that contain details of your previous job and experiences. You need to be precise and brief while creating a resume.
Recommended Reading: Can I Apply To More Than One Position At The Same Company
How To Write A One
Now if you are having a doubt like how long should a resume be? then the answer solution to it is as follows
The length of the resume should be decided depending upon the years of experience or achievements the candidate holds.
The basic idea to prepare a good resume is to get selected and hired for the job. So the length of the resume varies as per candidates. But the best resume length preferably suggested by many experts is one page.
As per a survey done by careeradvice, here are few one-page resume facts
- About 66% of employers prefer entry-level candidates who use a one-page resume.
- About 77% of employers prefer seasoned employees who use a one-page resume.
- Only 33% of seasoned employees use a one-page resume
Be it one page or two pages, the main aim of the resume is to get noticed and impress the hiring manager.
Leave Out Your High School
Very rarely is your high school going to be relevant to a position youre applying for. Unless you went to a very specialized high school, or you know that the recruiter reviewing your application also went to your high school, theres no reason to include it.
Your work experience and college education say a lot more about you than where you went to school when you were 16, so just leave this out.
Also Check: How To Write A Resume Email
When You Should Consider Using A Two
One of the most common assumptions about resumes is that they shouldnt be longer than one page. It is important to keep the information you provide short, simple, and to-the-point. For many applicants though, that cant be achieved in a single page, and its appropriate to write a two-page resume.
For some job applicants, a one-page resume will suffice. These include entry-level applicants, people who are making a career change, and older professionals who have worked at the same company for most of their careers.
Eliminate Unnecessary Section Headers
The summarya three- to four-sentence pitch where you highlight what makes you uniquely qualified for the jobshould appear at the top of your resume, but you dont need to label it summary.Thats just a waste of space, says Ward.
Also, instead of creating separate sections for professional and volunteer experience, combine them under one experience section. Relevant volunteer experience is not something that you should necessarily cut when trimming your resume, says Ward
If youre an entry-level, volunteer work can help boost your resume. If youre more experienced, that volunteer work, like a hobby, could give you an edge over a similarly qualified candidate, if its highly relevant.
Recommended Reading: Gpa On Resume Or Not
Create Quadrants Todivide Your Resume Into Sections
People willgenerally read your resume from left to right. That means a lot of the spacein the right-hand side of the page goes to waste.
The infographic resume template below makesexcellent use of quadrants to divide the resume into different sections andmaximize margin space.
You Have Worked Extensively In One Field
If you have worked in your field for years and gained extensive knowledge and expertise, you may struggle to squeeze it all on to one page amidst all of your education, achievements, and skills.
So, in some cases it may be perfectly acceptable to stretch your work experience section over two pages. While you could attempt to squeeze all of your previous roles onto a single page, you may find that does not leave you with enough space to truly demonstrate your contribution and impact.
If your most recent two or three roles are hyper-relevant to the vacancies you are applying for, then employers will thank you for providing them with more detail on them, and that will lead to more interviews for you. Bulk up those recent roles to show off the skills you used the most. To add to this, include some powerful achievements, backed up by facts and figures. Even the busiest of hiring managers will make time for a two-page résumé if it is packed with proven results.
If you find that expanding on current roles is leaving you with little space on the second page, you can always provide one-line summaries for less recent experience, or even completely omit roles that are no longer relevant.
Also Check: How Many References Should You Have On Resume