Advantages Of A One Page Resume
Summary StatementRather than using a career objective think about using a summary statement.Recruiters and hiring managers want to know your skills and focus in a nutshell and a summary does just that.
Focus on Recent Job HistoryThe longer youve been working the more likely you have a significant job history.Your recruiter or hiring manager doesnt need to know what you did 10 years ago. Instead focus more on your more current accomplishments and job history. If your job skills are repetitive from one job to another you dont need list of skills repeated. Just say same as above.
Are There Specific Rules About Resume Length
As mentioned above, your resume should be long enough to contain everything that a hiring manager needs to know, but not too long that they fall asleep reading it.
There are certain roles that specify length of resume and if this is the case, then a job seeker would be foolish to do anything other than what has been requested.
There are two golden resume length rules for every job seeker:
Four reasons why employers prefer two-page resumes:
Provide Key Information On Page One
Start your first page with a resume introduction. For experienced job seekers, a resume summary is the best option because you can highlight four or five of your biggest career-related achievements.
However, there are other ways to start a resume, and the best choice for you depends on your professional background.
After your introduction, list your work experience. On a chronological resume, list your most recent job first, and then work backward. You can use your second page to continue your work experience section if necessary, but make sure the listed experience is still relevant to the role youre applying for.
Your resumes skills section should also appear on your first page.
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Focus On The Last 10 Years
Unless there is a position you held more than 10 years ago that you think would help you get this particular job, concentrate your work history on the last 10 years of your career. Within each description, highlight your most noteworthy accomplishments, specifically the ones where you can quantify your results. For example, “Increased sales revenue by 25% over six months.”
When To Use A 1
If youre a recent graduate or a newcomer to the workforce, restricting your resumes length to a single page makes total sense. Resumes should contain the most relevant information about your work experience and skills, and when you have a very light work history , there isnt enough pertinent support for your candidacy to justify a second page.
Some candidates try to stretch out their resume by adding sections like Hobbies or by including longwinded descriptions of past positions, but these artificially-long resumes dont tend to reflect well on these prospective employees. Employers want to know that you have a keen understanding of how to edit yourself, which is why anyone with only a few years of work experience should make every effort to keep their resumes to one page.
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Why Was Adding A Second Page The Right Choice
Showing you who he is
HRs are interested in culture fit to identify whether employees practices and passions align with the employers goals.
Daniel opens his resume with a short summary of his career, and later goes on to provide useful links where the HR can learn more about him .
Using a two-page resume, he didnt have to worry whether including these details would detract from his previous experience.
Is it bad to have a 2-page resume?
Working in technical support and engineering obviously requires a certain level of technical expertise.
Hiring managers need to clearly see the extent of Daniels knowledge on his resume. This means exploring the projects hes worked on and the technologies he has experience with. He dedicates just under two full pages explaining these and highlights his own projects under a Projects section.
This shows the extent of Daniels knowledge along with his initiative and ability.
Resumes Arent The Only Thing Anymore
Your paper or digital resume document probably wont be your first introduction to recruiters and hiring decision makers. Because they search online to source and assess top talent, youre likely to be found by them online before you ever send them your paper or digital resume document.
Your will probably be your first introduction to them. You may even send them a link to your profile, instead of your resume, to introduce yourself. If you fill all the space allowed in each LinkedIn section, as you should, your fully fleshed out LinkedIn profile could easily amount to 3 or 4 or more pages, if you dropped it into a Word or PDF document.
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Should A Resume Be 2 Pages
Much as everyone has their own opinions about job search etiquette, there are very few unbreakable rules about how you present your content. People who insist that resumes should be either one or two pages are likely the same sorts of people who insist that you must wear a tie or heels to an interview.
Your resume can be two pages if you feel that your career story warrants it. Equally, if you decide that you want to go for a focused and powerful impact, one page will often also be enough.
More Room For Resume Keywords
Another benefit of a two-page resume is that you have more space to expand on your most relevant experiences and, inevitably, more room to add relevant resume keywords. By adding more of the keywords that the employer is looking for, you have a greater likelihood of getting past any filters on the applicant tracking system that the employer may use.
Here are some tips to help you create a strong two-page resume:
- Put your contact information on both pages
- List skills and summary statement only once
- Be as concise as possible
- Put the most important information first
- Focus on the last 10 years
- Put education and certifications on Page Two
- If it’s less than 1.5 pages, make it one page instead
- Use two sheets
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Do Not Use A Bitmoji Or Other Alternative To A Photo
âIâm stumped by this trend,â says Caitlin, Zipjobâs Marketing Manager. âI love seeing creative displays of personality on a resume, but Bitmoji are cartoons. Stand out from the applicant pool in other ways that will earn you more respect.â
From a technical standpoint, as with other graphics, Bitmoji turn into jumbled nonsense to an ATS. Unlike logos or artistic headersâwhich can be appropriate for graphic designer resumes in print formâBitmoji never have a place on a resume.
Keep your cartoon self firmly in the realm of social media and informal communication: your professional resume document is neither.
How Long Should Your Resume Be Key Takeaways
Truth is, theres no perfect answer. There are too many factors to be considered to allow for a simple determination. Nonetheless, the strategies and topics discussed will help you in making the decision.
Before submitting your resume, use the following checklist summarised from everything in this guide:
- Ive looked at the typical traits of one page, two page, and three + page resume
- Ive answered the who, why, what, and how questions of a resume
- Ive ensured all of my experience is specific, relevant, and measured
- Ive determined the significance of each item included on my resume and believe removing any section would negatively affect my chances of being hired
- Ive consulted other successful resumes to see how others have crafted their resumes for inspiration
- Ive used Enhancvs builder to present all of this information in a sleek way and have capitalized on their unique sections to stand out
If youve followed these steps, chances are you have the perfect resume length for you.
As weve learned from Gals case study, sometimes rules-of-thumb do not fit your situation. Daniels story shows us that sticking to one page isnt always an advantage, and Mia shows us that in some cases, the recommended length is the best length.
As long as youve done the research and followed this guide, there is no right or wrong answer.
Do you agree with our tips? How long do you prefer your resume to be? Share your own insights in the comments below.
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Why Do You Need Two Page Resume
A two page resume is sometimes a matter of choice and sometimes a matter of dignity.
Before the days of email, resumes were faxed, and further back, hand delivered. Pages got separated, particularly off a fax, but also on desktops .
That is the place from where all the “your resume should be one page long” advice ultimately comes from.
In fact, nowadays many people are not required to print the resume unless the recruit needs to take notes on it.
Pages don’t get separated in the digital domain, so 2 pages is OK – provided you aren’t just making it longer to appear more impressive. And if you’re an established professional, even a 3 page resume can be acceptable under certain circumstances .
In fact a resume should NOT be more than two pages. A CV could be more than two pages, but you’re not writing a CV, are you?
Unless your’e targetting jobs around the European continent, you do not need a CV. In fact, a 2 page resume contains almost all the information as does a CV.
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.
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Why Your Resume Should Be Two Pages
Your resume will most likely need two pages to show your career progression. If you have more than 10 years of experience, youâll also want to include a professional summary and possibly a career highlights section. These are both excellent opportunities to fit in more keywords.
For highly skilled applicants, a two-page resume will also fit all your relevant experience, education, certifications, and additional training.
Two Page Resumeexamples And 25+ Writing Tips
Can a resume be two pages? Or should you always make it shorter? The best answer: if your relevant and eye-popping achievements cant fit on one page, write a 2-page resume.
Submit a too-short resume, and they wont think youre worthy.
They wont read a too-long resume.
But how do you know?
Theres a quick way to know how long to make your resume.
- When can a resume be two pages?
- A 2-page resume sample that fills your voicemail box.
- How to write a two-page resume theyll notice.
- How to shorten your resume if its too long.
Save hours of work and get a resume like this. Pick a template, fill it in. Quick and easy. Choose from
What users say about ResumeLab:
I had an interview yesterday and the first thing they said on the phone was: Wow! I love your resume.PatrickI love the variety of templates. Good job guys, keep up the good work!Dylan My previous resume was really weak and I used to spend hours adjusting it in Word. Now, I can introduce any changes within minutes. Absolutely wonderful!George
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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.
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.
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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.
Remember To Include These Features In A Two
Footer
Because your resume has two pages, it is vital that you include a footer on the second page. The footer needs to include your full name and the page number. Some authorities recommend that you use the word “continued” as a footer on the first page as well. However, it is not necessary to designate the first page of your resume as “page one.”
Content at Least Half-way Down the Page
Unless your content reaches the mid-point of the page, it just isn’t worth having a two-page resume. It would be better to experiment with type size or font choices to see if you can reduce the size of the resume to one page and still have it look good. If that doesn’t work, then increase the spaces between headings or increase the font sizes throughout the resume.
Ultimately, you want the person reading your two-page resume to feel that everything had to be there. If you accomplish this task, your two-page resume will not only be optimized, it will land you the interview.
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Objective Statement And Skills
Start the resume with an objective statement that summarizes your career goals. Use this statement to also highlight one or two of your most valuable skills. Instead of listing all of your job responsibilities and expecting the reader to look through the entire resume to find the important details, add a summary section on the first page. Pick out five or six of your most important skills and list them with bullet points. Include any computer software or specialized equipment with which you are proficient that would impress the hiring manager for this particular employer.
Why Are There So Many Opinions About Resume Length
Unfortunately, theres no best answer.
The hiring landscape has changed considerably in recent years. Not even 20 years ago, keeping your resume down to one page was both a strategic and cost-effective move .
Going even further back in time youll read that keeping your resume to a single page is your best option.
Two pages are also acceptable.
But, anything longer makes it too difficult for employers to go through.
Today, these worries are less pronounced. In fact, theres a growing trend of recruiters preferring two-page resumes over single-page ones.
According to a study by ResumeGo, its found that hiring managers are 2.3 times more prone to select a two-page resume format over the one-page resumes. No matter what the candidates professional level is, it doesnt make a big difference.
So why do people still argue for a one-page resume?
In one word: relevance.
Every resume has an audience. But, not everyone will have the same opinion.
And, thats why its difficult to assume what the ideal resume length is.
Some recruiters and hiring managers will follow the one-page rule to the letter while others will think the rule is useless. To help overcome this difficulty, its best to research the hiring practices of the organization youre applying to and see the common traits associated with page lengths.
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