A professional resume or curriculum vitae (CV) needs to be long enough to market yourself and stand out from competing candidates. Your resume’s length depends on a few things like your education, history, and qualifications. You’ll need to provide enough information to gain the hiring manager’s attention.
Your resume should be just long enough to give an HR professional enough information for them to see your qualifications for the position for which you’re applying. So how long should a resume be? That depends on you and how much you need to provide to show why you are the right fit for their open position.
Let’s go over what’s needed to get your resume to the perfect length and get noticed.
Why Does Resume Length Matter
A resume should be short, informative, and to the point. You may spend hours writing and tailoring your resume to show all your hard work and qualifications. But the truth is, many recruiters only review resumes for just a few seconds.
You want to be sure they read the most important things that show you are the best fit for the job. If your resume is too long, critical information may get missed. The position you’re applying for may have many other qualified applicants, so you must quickly show what skills and work experience you have and why you are the best fit.
When Should a Resume Be a Single Page?
More times than not, the ideal resume length is one page, especially if you are an entry-level candidate. You want to provide just the right amount of information to show your qualifications and experience to gain the attention of the HR professional. A job seeker’s resume should be one page if:
-You are new to the workforce
-You are a recent graduate
-You have less than ten years of experience
It’s best to stick to a one-page resume if you can get all of your education, skills, and experience to market yourself on it effectively. A single-page resume helps an HR professional keep your information together, quickly read the critical information, and avoid possibly losing a page.
When Should a Resume Be Two Pages?
Previously when resumes were handed in person to an HR professional, one page was always preferred, so it was easy to handle. Nowadays, most resumes get sent digitally, making two pages acceptable and sometimes needed. Your resume should be two pages if:
-You have more than ten years of experience
-You have higher education degrees
-You have a lengthy work history and experience
It’s best to have a two-page resume rather than leaving critical information that shows your qualifications and professional experience when trying to cram it all on one page. Don’t add unnecessary fluff to the second page, though. Be sure only to include relevant data the HR professional should know about you.
When Should a Resume Be Three Pages?
A three-page resume is too long for most professionals, and a hiring manager is likely to skip over it and miss critical qualifications. However, for some, their resume should be three or more pages to list the necessary information needed to show you’re qualified for the position. Your resume should be more than two pages when:
-You have extensive education history such as a Ph.D. or a Doctorate
-You have 25+ years of experience
-You have an extensive work or volunteer history, especially in senior-level positions
If you need your resume to be three pages to list critical qualifying information, it’s acceptable, but only include the essentials. Listing irrelevant information may cause an HR professional to lose interest in reading more and possibly miss vital data.
What To Include in Your Resume for the Ideal Length
It’s critical to include the right information in a resume to show the hiring manager the education, skills, and experience you have and why they should hire you. Let’s go over what to include in your resume to achieve the perfect length that works best for you.
1. Contact Information
Your resume should start with your first and last name, email address, and phone number so they can contact you. It’s best to use a professional-looking email rather than a fun or cute one. You can provide your mailing address if you want, but it’s not essential. If you’re applying for a position that’s not in your area, it’s probably best to leave your address off your resume.
2. Summary
Your resume summary should give a snippet of what makes you qualified for the position and why they should consider you. Briefly provide a professional statement, including a couple of your top skills and qualifications. This summary should be just a few sentences to get the HR professional interested enough to read on.
In today’s job market, it’s best to avoid an objective as it takes up valuable space to provide information about yourself. The objective is to get the job, and HR professionals know that so you can leave it off.
3. Employment History
List your employment history, starting with your latest job and working down in order from there. It’s ok to leave off jobs that don’t add any value to your resume, such as jobs where you didn’t gain skills related to the position you’re applying for. Though, it’s best not to have a long lapse in employment without good reason.
The employment history section on a resume should go over the experience you gained, anything you have done to save the company money or improve processes, and any awards you received. Avoid going into a lot of detail on the day-to-day duties unless it adds some benefit or experience gained.
4. Education
If you don’t have higher education, you can include your high school information and any achievements, honors, or awards you received. If you have higher education, you can leave high school completely off.
Your education should be listed counter-chronologically with your most recent degree first. Be sure to list all of your degrees, certifications, or licenses that make you qualified for the position. It’s a good idea to leave off your graduation year as it might be an indicator of your age.
5. Skills
HR professionals are typically looking for hard skills on a resume. Focus on skills that are beneficial for each position. For example, if you’re applying for a customer service position, you can say something about your people and communication skills. Here are some of the top skills that should be on a resume:
-Problem-solving capabilities
-Verbal and written communication skills
-Computer and software skills
-Leadership skills
-Decision-making ability
-Interpersonal skills
-Customer service skills
-Public speaking skills
-Design skills
-Teamwork skills
-Project management skills
-Negotiation skills
-Marketing knowledge
6. Optional Add-Ons
How long a resume should be also depends on how many optional add-ons you decide to include. If you have an impressive internship, volunteer work, hobbies, or community involvement that shows additional experience, personality, or dedication to success, it should be on your resume.
You may also want to include a link to your LinkedIn profile, a portfolio, case studies, or other valuable information. You never know how many candidates you’re competing with for the same position, so you must stand out.
These optional add-ons are a way to show a hiring manager who you are as a person, your attitude, and culture, so they get to know you a little before meeting you. Today, many businesses understand the importance of company culture and hire based on skills and qualifications and whether you’re a good fit within its culture.
Tips for Tailoring Your Resume for the Ideal Length
-Focus on most recent experience
-Don’t add irrelevant information
-Customize your resume for each position
-Don’t add too many soft skills
-Don’t include more than 15 years of work history
-Adjust formatting, margins, fonts, and font size, and especially use bullet points to break up the text
-Be clear and to the point
-Focus on relevant experience
-Look at resume templates and examples to see how yours could be improved
Tips for Achieving the Best Resume
-Include keywords from the job description in your resume
-Avoid looking desperate but show your level of interest
-Check for spelling and grammatical errors
-Avoid photos and emojis
-Make it just long enough to show your qualifications, experience, and skills
-Provide professional references that will respond quickly
-Avoid hobbies or interests that could possibly have a difference of opinion
-Write in active voice
-Have a professional review your resume
To Sum Up
How long should a resume be?
Long enough to clearly provide enough information that shows your qualifications and skills that prove you are an excellent fit for the position.
How many pages should a resume be?
In most cases, a resume should just be one page, but in some cases, as with a more extensive education or job history, two pages are needed to provide your background efficiently.
When should a resume be longer than two pages?
For some higher-level professionals with an extensive education history or experience, a resume should be more than two pages, as you need to provide essential data showcasing your skills, accomplishments, and qualifications.
Sources:
How to Get Your Resume Noticed (And Out of the Trash Bin) | HBR
7 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Your Job Search | Forbes