Resume Length

How long is too long?

 

One of the trickiest questions I have come across as a young professional drafting and re-drafting my resume is, "How long is too long, when it comes to my resume content?"

 

I took this question to my panel of experts on the subject and asked them for their perspective.

In researching this topic I learned that resume length is highly dependent on the type of job you are apply to and the amount of experience you have.

• Can I get all of the necessary information from your resume in 15 seconds?

• If your resume needs to be longer than a page, make sure that the first page contains the basic summary and selling points

"What job seekers sometimes do not realize is that recruiters are inundated with hundreds, even thousands of resumes per job opening. In order to maximize the chance of being noticed, job seekers should keep their resumes short and to the point; that is, one to two pages maximum. Use bullet points and be concise; if a recruiter had just five seconds to scan your resume what would you not want them to miss?" 

 - Shereen Perkins, Talent Acquisition Manager

"A resume should be one page. Unless you have 30 years of experience and have commanded a space shuttle launch, keep it to one page. Use a smaller font and less space between lines. Adding a second page wastes the readers time, get it all on one page. The reader will appreciate the conciseness."

- Jesse Lovrien, Company President 

"[It should be] long enough to get the important details but not too long that you're reading a book. 1-3 pages with concise bullet points."

- Josiah Malychewski, Talent Seeker 

• How much relative experience do you have, 5 years or 20 years?

• If you only have a few years of job experience, you don't need to be taking up multiple pages on a resume

• If you have been working for 20 years, you will likely have a lot of experience to write about and it would not be expected for your resume to be as short as 1 page

"Because we are in more of a digital age and not necessarily printing resumes, a shorter length isn't as important as it used to be. Entry-level candidates can probably cover everything in one page. However, individuals with decades of experience and extensive project work may find longer resumes more appropriate. While most are 2-5 pages, I've seen resumes that were 20+ pages in length. The first 1-2 pages should provide a basic summary, with any additional pages allowing for more detailed information."

- Jessica Hanchey, Lead Executive Recruiter

"A person with 5 years of experience can't be held to the same standards as someone with 20 years of experience. When starting your career as a recent grad or with only a couple years of experience its ok to lean on relevant course work to highlight your knowledge to get yourself the job you want, but it should be no more than 2 pages."

 - Shideh Andideh, Energy and Engineering Recruiter

•  How can I apply this in a meaningful way?

• Remember that however long your resume is, the most important thing is that the reader can get the information they need quickly

 

"In general stick to 1 page - the rule of thumb is to only go back 10 years."

 - Cathy MacKinney, HR Coordinator III

"Anything more than two pages is too much, and more likely anything over a page and a quarter is too much. I want to know what information is relative to the job I'm posting, and I really want to know the following things:

1. Can you hold a job for more than 2 years?

2. Are there any long unexplained gaps in your work history?

3. Can you work in a group?

4. Do I need to babysit you?

If someone can say those things through their work experience in ways like ...

Led a team of 4 people to do X,

Or part of a team of 4 to X, responsible for deciding A, B ,C

Most proud of accomplishment Y on Team Z  

... then it shows they are at least good enough for an interview in most cases."

- Drew Felker, CEO/COO/Principal Engineer