Make Use Of All Space
Your resume could have extra white space that you could be using more effectively. Though professional margins are typically one inch all the way around, you can expand your margin to fit more on the page. You can also add your contact information, skills, volunteer work or certifications in the margins, then fill the main portion of your resume with important information. You can alter your margins and move content as needed until you find a visually satisfying result.;
When Should Your Resume Be Two Pages
Most resumes should be two pages long. Two pages are the standard length in 2021 to fit all your keywords, work history, experience, and skills on your resume.
Here are some situations that indicate you should use a two-page resume:
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You are not an entry-level candidate.
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You have enough relevant skills, experience, and keywords to fill at least a page and a half.
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Youâre submitting a resume online.
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Youâre handing a resume to a hiring manager.
If youâre concerned a two-page resume will slow down a hiring manager during their six-second resume test, remember that this âsix-secondâ figure comes from a review after an ATS scan has determined your fit for the position. If youâre able to bypass an ATS, one study suggests that when time constraints are not an issue, recruiters are 2.3 times more likely to prefer a two-page resume.
How To Format A Resume That Goes On To A Second Page
It can be hard to fit all of your relevant experience on a one-page resume after you have been working for awhile. Two-page resumes are acceptable as long as they are formatted to be easy to read. Be sure you really do have enough information to require a second page, however. If you cannot fill at least half of the second page, it may be better to condense the details so your entire resume can fit on a single page.
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Creating A Multi Page Resume
In some cases, you might need an even longer resume. For example, a three-page resume is common among candidates for executive positions, like CEO.
And if youre applying for a graduate program or teaching position in an academic setting , youll need to create a curriculum vitae instead of a resume.
These two documents are similar, but a CV also includes sections for your publications, conferences youve participated in, and research projects.
Knowing how a CV compares with a resume is important if youre still unsure which application document you need.
Finally, another case where a resume can be more than two pages long is if youre writing a federal resume. This standardized resume type is used specifically for federal jobs, and requires many more details than normally needed.
When Is It Not Acceptable
From an;entry-level candidate to a professional with less than 20 years of experience, a 3-page resume is neither necessary or wanted.
Keep the information you include on your resume relevant and powerful.;
So you have a general idea as to what resume length to aim for in correlation with how much experience you;have.
How do you make sure that your content is eye-catching and engaging?
We’ll walk you through that now.
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What About The Extra Space
If the text on the second page is only one or two lines, you may want to consider reformatting and sticking to the one page rule. Otherwise, dont be overly concerned about the extra space on the second page. Recruiters have short attention spans and wont want to scan more information than they have to.
But if you feel compelled to fill that space, be strategic and make sure the information is relevant. If you havent already done so, add information on your leadership, organizations, volunteer work, hobbies, or sports activities. This will show employers you have a life outside of work and give some insight into your personality.
Also keep in mind that this information doesnt have to be in text format. Ive seen some great resumes recently that have outlined these items using pie charts, timelines, and graphs. Just remember these fancy formats dont always translate well when applying online and can wind up a jumbled mass of code.
So, whats the moral of the resume length debate? In the digital application world, size doesnt really matter. As long as you tell a compelling story about your employment history thats easy on the eyes, your page breaks will be forgiven.
When To Use A Three
Most people believe resumes should fit on two pages max, no matter how long youve been working. However, as with all rules, Yang says there are some exceptions.
For example, if you work for the federal government; youre a senior-level manager with a long track record of accomplishments; or youre writing an academic CV for a research or scientific position and have an extensive list of publications, speaking engagements, professional courses, licenses, or certifications; then you may need to extend your resume to three or more pages.
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So Is It Okay To Have A Three
It depends but generally no, a resume should almost never be more than two pages long.
Why?
A hiring manager only skims a resume for a few seconds before deciding to either look into it in more detail or send it to the rejection pile. You want to give them a resume thatâs clean, concise, and relevant. There is just no reason to take more than two pages to do that.
Hiring managers often have hundreds of applicants per job posting, and may be hiring for multiple positions at a time. A long resume might annoy a hiring manager, since the information is likely not all relevant.
Generally, your goal is to effectively communicate that you’re right for the job in as little space as possible.
How Long Should A Resume Be
A resume should typically be only one page in length. However, there are certain circumstances under which a two-page resume is acceptable. As long as all the information that is included is important and relevant to the employer, resume length is secondary. Your top priorities when writing your resume is readability and relevance.
Related: How Long Should a Resume Be?
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When Is It Acceptable
Several instances were discussed above where a resume can be longer than 2 pages.
A federal resume is often 4-6 pages long.
If the role you are interested in requires a CV , it will likely be over 2 pages long because of the additional information you will need to include.
As a freelancer or executive, sometimes 2 pages is not quite enough space, and going to a third page is necessary. Just keep the information applicable to the role you are applying to.
Why Your Resume Should Be Three Pages
You could have more than two pages if youâre a high-level or senior-level executive or in a very complex, technical field. For example, a scientist may need more than two pages to showcase background, education, published work, and studies. An executive resume usually shows a clear progression of responsibility and job titles with many related experiences.
Your professional document can be three pages if you are actually writing a Curriculum Vitae . This is more common if youâre applying for jobs outside of the USAâread more about the difference between a resume and a CV here. In the US and Canada, there are some other industries that use CVs such as academia and medical.
Federal resumes also follow a different format and can easily be three pages or more.
For most job searches, you should focus on your most recent 10 to 15 years of experience.
âConsider utilizing your to fit the information that is important, but not strictly necessary on your resume,â suggests Caitlin.
âConsider utilizing your to fit the information that is important, but not strictly necessary on your resume,â suggests Caitlin, a ZipJob career expert and certified professional resume writer .
Read our article on for more information.
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Should A Resume Ever Exceed 2 Pages
While long-time work veterans dont need to compress their resumes to one page, they should still use discretion when putting their candidate documents together, and, as we previously mentioned discretion includes rigorous self-editing. Thats why, in the vast majority of situations, any resume that covers more than two pages doesnt reflect well on the candidate. In fact, many hiring managers may decide to stop reading after the second page, making the third page superfluous. Unless you know for sure that your industrys norms include three-page resumes, you should make every effort to whittle your resume down to two pages.;
Treat The Second Page Of Your Resume As A Place To Feature Additional Information
Using a two-page resume means that you have tonnes of relevant experience. You can push your education and hobbies on your resumes second page, leaving the first one to wow the recruiters.
If you want to include a degree or some other education on your first page, you can do so in the summary section. Weve made a pretty detailed guide on building a powerful summary, so go give it a read!
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How Long Should Your Resume Be
One of the many frustrating things for job seekers is that there arent definitive rules when it comes to resume page count. A few strong opinions aside, the prevailing advice is that your resume should be exactly as long as it needs to be and no longer, while also being as brief as possible without selling yourself short.
This advice is squishy, subjective, and open for interpretation. Most job seekers land somewhere in the one-to-three page range, yet some two page resumes would be much better off as one, and vice versa.
Where exactly should you draw the line?
Remove Irrelevant Or Optional Information
You might have included some optional sections like hobbies and interests or volunteer experience. If this information doesnt make your resume more relevant or valuable to the employer, consider removing it. Here are a few additional pieces of information you might consider removing:
- Proficiency in skills the employer will likely expect you to have like Microsoft suite or soft skills like teamwork
- Phrases such as references available upon request
- Your physical address
- Out-of-date education information such as your high school if you have an associates or bachelors degree
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How Can I Edit My Resume Down
What you ultimately decide to include on your resume depends on the position for which youre applying and what you personally consider important enough to put down in writing. However, these tips may help you screen out less-relevant info and keep the facts on your resume as applicable as possible:
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If youre still including an objective on your resume, remove it right now. Its an outdated resume feature, and it doesnt provide prospective employers with useful or actionable information.;
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Dont include reference contact information on your resume itself. If an employer wants to speak with your references, theyll request that information directly, and you can offer it up then.;
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Focus your resumes job descriptions on accomplishments rather than responsibilities. Unless your responsibilities included unexpected tasks typically associated with jobs more senior than the title you held, its probably not necessary to include a list of tasks; instead, give details about sales goals you hit, management standards you upheld, specific ways in which your work served the companys bottom line, etc.
Can A Resume Be Two Pages
Yes, as long as the extra length is warranted. Heres the thinga two page resume is not an excuse to include everything youve ever done in your career. If youre going to ask a recruiter or hiring manager to look through two pages, it better be worth it!
The two page resume is ideal, and even beneficial, for job seekers with five years or more experience in the same career field. Recent college grads and those changing careers will likely be better suited to a one page resume. Still, it can be tricky to know whether or not the two page resume is right for you.
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Should You Staple Or Paper Clip The Resume
Okay, now that youve printed your resume, you have two separate pages that you want to keep together.
So, do you staple or paper clip your resume? We advise you to paper clip it. When stapled, it can be annoying to read, and if handled improperly, it can result in a tearing of the pages.
And thats it! Theres the most comprehensive guide on two-page resumes you can ever read.
Everything from how to staple your resume, to actually properly formatting and using the right font. And if you dont want to spend time tweaking font sizes and margins, then go with the more sophisticated approach and create your first proper resume with Enhancv!
Whats Wrong With A Two
There might be some readers out there for whom two-page resumes are the norm who are wondering why this article exists at all. To those readers, we extend our congratulations so far, youve been lucky enough to avoid lazy or harried interviewers who consistently receive far too many applications for them to read.
While everyone who applies for a given job position deserves a fair shot, the truth of the matter is that at the end of the day, hiring managers and recruiters are just people. And people are flawed, stressed out, and above all usually in some kind of hurry.
Thats why two-page resumes have historically been viewed as bad for a hiring manager at a large company who might typically receive over a hundred applications for any given listing, reading every resume closely just isnt feasible.
But that doesnt mean that two-pagers are always a bad thing. In fact, there are a lot of situations in which a second page might be preferable, even with the added time this might take to read.
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How Long Should Resume Be For Entry
When youre just starting in your career, its tough to score a job interview. But a mistake all newbies make is that theyll put on every piece of experience theyve had in their life.
You have to understand that recruiters are busy people, so if you have less than five years of professional experience, you should keep your resume on a single page. Omit anything that isnt valuable to the recruiter and relevant to the position youre applying to.
The Final Word On Resume Length
In the end, the length doesnt matter quite as much as the content filling the pages. If you can capture your qualifications on one page, great. But if it takes two pages or more, thats OK, too.
Ive had new grads do well with two-page resumes and top executives do well with only one page, Isaacs says.
Just remember: Your resume should be a high-level look at your accomplishments that entices the hiring manager to want to learn more. A resume is like the copy on the back cover of a book, designed to make you want to read the book, Isaacs says. Its not the whole book.
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Make Sure The Most Crucial Information Is Presented On The First Page Of Your Resume
Its only normal for people to pay more attention when theyre reading the first page of your resume. When crafting your CV, present the most important and relevant information first.
For example, your achievements and successes, supported by numbers, should always come first, followed by relevant experience, while leaving the hobby section for page two.
Simple Professional One Page Resume Template
This Simple Professional Resume Template and CV Template is straightforward and effective. It uses design to stand out in a good way. Like the Modern one-page resume template above, its divided for easy readings, with attention-getting headings. The big name and dark heading give it oomph.
Expert Hint: Not all Free Resume Builders are ATS friendly. To make sure your creative resume reaches a human reader, send it directly to the recruiter’s inbox.
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Senior Level And Science Candidates
Executives or senior-level managers often have a long list of accomplishments and experiences that they have to include. The same is true for people in the sciences or academia who want to include their licenses, patents, or publications. These job seekers can write a resume that is three pages long or even longer.
How Long Should A Resume Be In 2020
A typical resume should be one or two pages long.
- One page resumes are ideal for recent grads, entry-level resumes, or in-person networking
- Two page resumes are great for most job seekers, particularly those with five-plus years experience in their current field
- Three page resumes might benefit accomplished senior-level workers or technical professionals with large bodies of work
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Add Other Sections To Your Two
Cutting extras makes the important parts of your resume stand out.
Expert Hint: Not sure whether to cut your two page resume down to size? Look at each bullet as if its the only one. Will it wow this employer? If not, lose it.
Double your impact with a matching resume and cover letter combo. Use our cover letter builder and make your application documents pop out.
Want to try a different look? Theres 18 more. A single click will give your document a total makeover. Pick a cover letter template here.
Expert Hint: Not all Free Resume Builders are ATS friendly. To make sure your creative resume reaches a human reader, send it directly to the recruiter’s inbox.