Resumes

[DizneyFreak2002]

Has anyone heard of a resume being more than 1 page long??

[DisneyDog]

A resume could be more than 1 page long if there is enough real job experience to document. I've recently helped some folks get their resumes together, and I've seen a lot of junk taking up space that doesn't need to be there. The information on a resume needs to be quantifiable and real. If that information takes up more than 1 page, no one is going to fault you for it. But don't take up space with fluff. A potential employer will just ignore that.

[LauraF]

Resumes, no.
But my CV (Curriculum Vitae) is multiple pages and that is often an attachment to my resume. CVs are usually used in academia and the arts. I've never seen one yet in business, but I don't work in HR, so I don't know if they get them regularly.

My advice - if your resume is over one page, you need to scale back on something. It's not that resumes can't be longer, but you do yourself a disservice with a longer resume. You don't need to list every talent, skill or job - stick with the most relevant and most recent. If that means you have different versions of the resume for different employers, that's perfectly fine.

Good rule of thumb - you have 5-10 seconds to interest the hiring manager. Make it short and brief. You have the interview to go into detail. All the resume does is get you the interview.

[Princess'Mom]

Resumes, no.
But my CV (Curriculum Vitae) is multiple pages and that is often an attachment to my resume. CVs are usually used in academia and the arts. I've never seen one yet in business, but I don't work in HR, so I don't know if they get them regularly.

My advice - if your resume is over one page, you need to scale back on something. It's not that resumes can't be longer, but you do yourself a disservice with a longer resume. You don't need to list every talent, skill or job - stick with the most relevant and most recent. If that means you have different versions of the resume for different employers, that's perfectly fine.

Good rule of thumb - you have 5-10 seconds to interest the hiring manager. Make it short and brief. You have the interview to go into detail. All the resume does is get you the interview.


I concur. As a manager, I look for content that is relative to the position I have open. What really catches a hiring manager's eye is a solid cover letter tailored to the position you are applying for. That has been the hook for me as a hiring manager as well as an applicant. A well worded cover letter goes a long way.

[TinkRocks]

I think that if you have a lot of experience (ie had a few jobs or have a variety of skills, etc.), then it's ok to have a 2-page resume, as long as it isn't filled out with fluff. It's good to display brief descriptions / highlights of responsibilities & achievements, but it's got to be punchy.

If you're just starting out in the working world, then I would agree that a 1-page resume is ok.

[Ian]

The notion of the 1 page resume is pretty outdated. At least in the technology field, a one page resume is not going to get you hired. Almost every resume I've read since becoming a hiring manager has been 2, 3, and 4 pages long.

A greater than one page resume is perfectly acceptable in today's market.

[brownie]

With people holding more jobs these days, and even more than one at a time, I think the days of the 1 page resume are gone. If you focus on your accomplishments over positions, I think it will be hard to keep it to just 1 page. You might have different versions, though, and one of your versions may be condensed to 1 page.

[dnickels]

Mine is over a page, but with the field I work in (patent law), people want to know both your legal background, and the science/engineering background and there's no way you could fit both on a single page.

[DizneyFreak2002]

Thanks Ian... I was wondering because I never heard of a 2 page resume... When the resume reviewer told me to make it two pages, I was shocked... Well, back to typing my resume over...

Thanks for the help everyone...

[conorsmom2000]

The notion of the 1 page resume is pretty outdated. At least in the technology field, a one page resume is not going to get you hired. Almost every resume I've read since becoming a hiring manager has been 2, 3, and 4 pages long.


That's what I was going to say - I've mainly worked in the IT field with consultants - because they have had many assignments, their resumes are normally very long. I've seen resumes as long as 9, 10 pages! But, they always start with a summary of skills that highlight the things you really want a hiring manager to know about you or what you've accomplished. My own resume is 2 full pages and that's mainly from having 3 very different positions in the 8 years I worked at PeopleSoft.

[prprincess]

I agree with the reasons that those who have said that the days of keeping your resume to 1 page is outdated gave.

Also, I send my resume to the Rutgers University Career Center to be updated and critiqued every year and was told that if you have 10 years plus experience, then your resume should be over one page.

[MegaDisney]

I keep a "master" resume that includes ALL of my experience.

I then edit the resume I send to customize it for the position I am applying for.

If someone asks about gaps in employment, I have the full resume available to them.

This has worked well for me.

I actually have a interview for a new position next week and I am MEGA-Nervous!

[Closet Disney Fan]

Last semester in college I took a class called Career Planning that outlined things like this and my teacher, who was formally a "career coach" told us that it was acceptable to have a 2 page resume. she said only do it if their was necessary education or prior work information that was pertinent to the job you are applying for. Otherwise keep it to one because most likely they will not spend much time looking over it.

[HollyB]

Mine is two pages (double sided on one piece of paper if printed). The first page is Experience (i.e. what kind of skills I have: managerial, editorial, teaching, etc.). These are bulleted lists under the above sort of headings.

The back is my awards, computer skills, education and a job history.

I see a lot of resumes like this as the manager of an editorial department.

My husband works in Academia. His CV is longer. The first two or three pages are similar to mine. However, then he has multiple pages of publications, speeches, etc. on his.

[MNNHFLTX]

It depends, I think, on the background of the applicant and the type of field they are seeking employment in. If the job was highly technical, where listing of specific skills would be desirable or the logistics of an initial face-to-face interview prohibitive, then a two-page (or more, in extreme circumstances) resume would be appropriate. However, for many positions and for many people with less than 10 years of experience, a concise one-page resume is still the best attention-getter, IMO. Unless you have human resource people or managers with lots of time on their hands (something I didn't have when I was a nurse manager), sifting through lengthy resumes is not possible. With relevant skills briefly highlighted, there is usual ample time during the interview process to elaborate further. And I agree that a focused cover letter absolutely goes hand-in-hand with the resume in helping to get that initial interview.

If you do go the two-page route, I like the format suggested in Holly's previous post. It would draw attention to your functional employment background, with the necessary education and job history on the back.

[DizneyFreak2002]

I finished typing up my resume... It ends at about a page and a half... I sent it off to a resume review firm, who my old company contracted out to help us with our resumes...

Thanks for all the insight and help...