The length of your resume shouldn’t be long enough to bore the reader or short enough and void of information.
Your CV must successfully sell you, which is a lot to expect from a handful of pieces of paper. It should include enough information about you to demonstrate your qualifications for the position you’re looking for without overloading the reader. The question, of how long, should a resume be is solely dependent on varying factors like your experience, your field, and the job you’re applying for.
In this article, we’ll carefully explain how long your resume should be and how to get your resume to the right length. Stay with me!
Table of contents
How Long Should A Resume Be?
The length of your resume should be determined by factors like experience, the job you are applying for, and your overall qualification. Nonetheless, the ideal page length of a resume is two pages. However, in special cases, it can be less or more than two pages.
In a few lines to come, we’ll give instances of when your resume should be one page, two pages, or more.
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When Should Your Resume Be One Page?
Your resume can simply be reduced to one page if that’s enough to market you. One-page resumes make it easy for the reader to scan through the document and grasp the key points with just a look.
This type of resume is most suitable for novices or people who just graduated from college with little or no job experience. In some cases, your industry or target job can also request a single-page resume.
If you already have a two-page resume with no work experience, or perhaps filler words, you may have to cut down the word count and tailor it down to the relevant work experience and details.
On the other hand, if you are making a career switch or starting off as a recent graduate, do well input your relevant transferable skills and abilities, internships, volunteer experiences, etc.
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When Should Your Resume Be Two Pages?
Most resumes that are two pages long appear to be the ideal length as they capture the individual’s work history, experience, and skills holistically. You can use a two-page resume if you are not an entry-level candidate, and if you have enough relevant skills and experience.
When writing the resume, consider the resume reviewer’s perspective. They are searching for someone with certain credentials to fill a position. There aren’t many areas left over for substantial accomplishments once you’ve placed a heading at the top and resume sections—from qualifications overview through experience, education, and abilities.
Two pages provide you more room to persuade the reviewer to invite you to an interview. If you increase the length of your resume to two pages, be sure to include the most appealing material on page one. You want page two to be published. This type of resume is suitable for people with over 10 years of experience.
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When Should Your Resume Be Three Pages?
If you are a high-level or senior-level executive or work in a very complex or technical sector, you may need more than two pages. A scientist, for example, may require more than two pages to highlight his or her background, schooling, published work, and research. An executive CV often demonstrates a clear progression of responsibilities and job titles, as well as several relevant experiences.
However, your resume should rarely be three pages or more. Most of the information for a three-page resume is best suited for a LinkedIn profile or a comprehensive CV.
How To Get Your Resume To The Right Length?
If you find that your resume is too big and you want to get it to a much more perfect size, here are a few easy ways to go about it:
#1 Remove irrelevant information
Your resume should not contain details like your hobbies, date of birth, citizenship, or marital status. Furthermore, adding details like your street address might be irrelevant.
Your prospective employer is interested in seeing your most recent talents and experience. You do not need to add a 15-year-old internship! If you haven’t utilized those talents in a while, they won’t help you get this job.
Typically, you can use bullet points to thoroughly describe relevant accomplishments while ensuring that the information is concise.
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#2 Get to the point
If you’ve hopped about in your career, attempt to minimize or eliminate roles that aren’t related to this job description. Your CV does not have to contain every location you’ve worked or every job you’ve held–this is a widespread misconception that will not help you.
Limit the information you provide with the less-relevant jobs if you do want to cover all of your roles to build a career arc or prevent gaps in your resume. Expand on the significance and outcomes of your most recent and relevant positions, and provide three or fewer bullet points for the remaining material.
#3 Try different margins ranging from .5-1 inch
A resume should have margins of .5, .75, or 1 inch. The objective is to ensure that your material is equally dispersed on the page and not crammed in too tightly. Try changing the margins for each option to see which appears best for your resume. Resumes with less text often have wider 1-inch margins, whereas resumes with more content have smaller ones .75 or .5 margins.
#4 Use an active voice
Your resume should be written in an active voice. This demonstrates that you are a self-starter and that you can relate what you accomplished to the influence it had in prior roles; it also makes your experience more real and effective.
Resumes traditionally aren’t written with any pronouns, so using the active voice simply includes whatever would come after “I achieved…” or “I am proud that I…”
When you start using more active language and quantifiable achievements, you will see that you’re left with a more concise, effective resume.
In addition, try as much as you can to avoid using filler words like; subsequently, eventually, usually, etc.
#5 Keep your objective statement short
Consider utilizing an “executive phrase” – two or three lines that summarize your experience and how your expertise and talents transfer into what you intend to accomplish next. For the reader, connect the dots.
Your objective statement offers you the opportunity to tell the reader who you are. If you provide too many details here, the reader is likely to lose sight of your value and, in turn, may not know where to place you. Tell people what you want them to know most about you.
Also, be objective. Avoid using words like “assertively” or “critical” in your executive phrase. These descriptors take up space and, contrary to belief, undermine your experience and skills. You are putting words in the reader’s mouth and trying too hard. The more objective you are, the more impressive your resume will look.
#5 Exclude references
It is not required to disclose or even mention your references at this stage. Just get them ready so that whenever you are asked to submit them, there will be no hitches.
According to zipjob, references are assumed and don’t deserve to be stated on your resume. Don’t list them out, and don’t add the line, ‘references available upon request.’
Alternatively, you can make a separate reference document to provide when asked. A hiring manager doesn’t need your references early on in the application process. The goal of your resume is to get you a phone call and then schedule an interview.
FAQs On How Long Should A Resume Be
A resume should be 1 page for most, 2 for some, and more for a few. It depends on who you’re sending it to.
Yes, provided you have sufficient relevant experience. However, don’t make it three pages unless every piece of information is relevant to the position you’re looking for.
One page, although two-page resumes for senior-level employees and executives as well as multi-page CVs aren’t unusual.
This type of resume is most suitable for novices or people who just graduated from college with little or no job experience.
Conclusion
When it comes to your resume, less is more. Resist the urge to clog tons of information into the document. Allow the reader to appreciate your greatest qualities. And don’t be concerned if you omit certain details. Use this knowledge in the future to continue offering value and keeping the dialogues interesting.
References
- zipjob.com – How Long Should Your Resume Be in 2021 (Expert Advice)
- indeed.com – How Long Should a Resume Be?
- zety.com – How Long Should a Resume Be? Ideal Resume Length
- monster.com – How long should a resume be?
- themuse.com – How Long Should Your Resume Actually Be? Here’s an Easy Guide to Follow
- thebalancecareers.com – How Many Pages a Resume Should Be
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