Imagine creating a resume and wondering if you should stick to one page or extend it to two. The ideal length of a resume is a common question among job seekers. This article will explore what experts recommend and what hiring managers think about resume length. We’ll also discuss how to use AI to create a resume.
If you’re using our AI resume builder, you might be wondering how it affects the length of your resume. Don’t worry, we’ll address that too.
How Long is a Resume Supposed to be?
The Gold Standard: One-Page Resumes
One-page résumé is the gold standard, especially if you’re a student, a fresh graduate, or in the early stages of your career with one to ten years of experience. Now, why is this one-page rule so sacred?
Hiring managers and HR folks are busy people. They often have just a few seconds to look over each résumé they get. A one-pager lets you present your most relevant and impressive achievements. It’s like a quick, easy-to-digest snapshot of your professional life.
Flexible Guidelines: One to Two Pages for Most
While one page is the ideal length, the reality is that for many job seekers, a résumé that’s one to two pages long is perfectly acceptable. The goal is to ensure you include all relevant experience, skills, and accomplishments that make you a strong candidate for the position you’re applying for.
When Three Pages Make Sense
There are exceptions to the two-page limit. Suppose you’re a senior-level professional with over 25 years of closely related experience or in a field like:
- Academia
- Research
- Medicine
In that case, a longer résumé may be well justified.
How Far Back Should A Resume Go?
Keep It Relevant: Why Limit Your Resume to 10-15 Years?
How far back should your resume go? A good rule of thumb says your resume should only include the last 10 to 15 years of work experience. You might wonder why that timeframe is so important. There are a few reasons:
Reflection of Skills and Abilities
Your most recent jobs are more likely to reflect your current skills and abilities. For example, if you’re applying for a sales position, the account executive job you held two years ago will be more relevant than the telesales role you held 20 years ago.
Most employers are focused on your recent work history and will be more interested in those jobs. Older positions could dilute the focus on your most relevant qualifications.
Conciseness of Your Resume
Limiting the timeframe of your work history will help you keep your resume to a reasonable length. Recruiters only spend a few seconds reviewing each resume. Including every job you’ve ever held might result in a long document that no one has time to read.
Showcasing Significant Accomplishments
Your most recent roles are probably where you’ve had the most significant responsibilities and accomplishments. For example, if you’re in a mid-level management position, you likely have more achievements to showcase than you did in entry-level roles. Highlighting your last three positions will help you paint a clear picture of your career growth and development.
Considering Older Experience: When Should You Go Back Beyond 15 Years?
Including work experience older than 15 years on your resume can be beneficial in certain situations. Suppose you’re applying for a position in a field where you have previous work experience that is over 15 years old and have no recent experience in that area. In that case, it’s better to include that work experience than to leave a gap.
- If you worked in a specific industry or role highly relevant to the job you’re applying for, including that experience can help demonstrate your qualifications.
- If you held a prestigious position more than 15 years ago, such as being the CEO of a major company, it can still be advantageous to include it on your resume.
These high-profile positions can enhance your credibility and qualifications, even if they are from the past.
Resume Length By Level Of Experience
Crafting the Perfect One-Page Resume for New Grads
If you’re just starting out as a new grad or early-career professional with less than five years under your belt, you’ll want to use a one-page resume to focus on your:
- Education
- Internships
- Projects
- Skills
- Entry-level work experience
A concise, well-crafted, one-page resume catches the eye of hiring managers. Highlight the skills and experiences that are most relevant to the job you’re applying for. List your education, primarily if it’s directly related to the role. Use bullet points to outline your achievements and contributions during internships or early jobs. Ensure to emphasize any technical or specialized skills that make you stand out.
Mid-Career Resume: Finding the Right Balance
Once you’ve gained around five years of experience, fitting everything on a single page becomes a challenge. A two-page resume allows for a more detailed summary of your:
- Professional experience
- Key projects
- Accomplishments
Prioritize your most recent and impactful roles, and limit early jobs to just the basics. Focus on achievements that align with the specific job you’re pursuing. Keep the format clean and easy to read. If the industry values skills, consider including a skills summary section at the top.
Late-Career Professionals: Showcasing Your Expertise
A two-page resume is typically the sweet spot if you’re a late-career professional with over 10 years of experience. A longer resume helps outline major roles, key accomplishments, and specialized skills gained over a decade or more. Summarize early career roles to avoid redundancy. Emphasize accomplishments that demonstrate:
- Leadership
- Specialized knowledge
- Industry expertise
Guide the reader through each section with clear headers, bold text, and consistent formatting. Avoid going into too much detail about less relevant positions from early in your career.
Executive Journey: Crafting a Resume that Reflects Leadership
If you’re an executive or a senior professional, you might need to go beyond two pages, but do so carefully. Your resume should showcase your leadership skills, measurable achievements, and strategic initiatives that significantly impact businesses. Highlight achievements with quantifiable results, like:
- Revenue growth
- Cost savings
- Successful product launches
Consider including a summary section at the beginning to capture the reader’s attention with your key accomplishments. Avoid going into too much detail about positions over 10 years ago; instead, focus on more recent achievements. If necessary, you can include a third page to list notable:
- Board memberships
- Publications
- Key presentations
Pursuing Academia or Research? Here’s How to Create a CV
If you’re pursuing roles in academia, research, or scientific fields, your resume length needs a boost. A detailed CV should include multiple pages, sometimes extending beyond 10-15 pages. In these fields, a comprehensive CV is required to detail your:
- Publications
- Research projects
- Grants
- Teaching experience
- Professional affiliations
Organize your CV by sections:
- Education
- Research
- Publications
- Teaching experience
- Relevant awards
Provide a full list of your publications with complete citations. Include conference presentations, patents, and any professional memberships. Make sure your CV is neatly formatted to maintain readability.
10 Tips To Get Your Resume To The Right Length
1. Leverage an Online Résumé Builder
Using an online résumé builder with pre-set templates can save you a significant amount of time and ensure your résumé stays within one to two pages. Many free resume templates are optimized for length, making it easier to avoid unnecessary spacing issues. These templates can also simplify font and formatting choices so you can focus on content while the builder fits everything neatly into a page or two.
2. Limit Bullet Points to 3-5 Per Job
It’s too easy for résumés to become cluttered, especially in the work experience section. Limit each job entry to 3-5 bullet points to keep your résumé focused on your most relevant accomplishments. Too many details can overwhelm readers, so consolidate similar points to maintain clarity. For instance, if you have two bullet points focusing on project management, combine them to avoid redundancy and improve flow.
3. Focus on Achievements, Not Just Duties
One of the best ways to make your résumé impactful and concise is to prioritize achievements over duties. Instead of listing out daily tasks, highlight specific results you achieved. For example, rather than saying “managed project timelines,” you could write “led a cross-functional team to complete a project two weeks ahead of schedule, saving $10,000.” This approach makes your contributions clear and tangible for hiring managers scanning for results-driven candidates.
4. Use Active Language and Be Concise
Active, action-oriented language helps make your résumé both concise and engaging. Use strong action verbs in the resume like “led,” “developed,” and “improved” to describe your accomplishments, and avoid filler words. The more direct and descriptive you are, the easier it is for hiring managers to understand your impact. For instance, “coordinated and led weekly team meetings” is more effective than “was responsible for coordinating and leading team meetings.”
5. Only Include Relevant Experience
Every job application is unique, and only some of your past experiences may be relevant for each position. Tailor your résumé to the job by omitting roles that don’t showcase relevant skills or achievements.
For example, if you’re applying for a senior role, consider omitting entry-level positions that don’t directly support your candidacy. Be cautious about leaving gaps—if omitting specific roles would create unexplained time gaps, consider keeping summaries of these positions.
6. Include Relevant Keywords for ATS
With the use of Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) on the rise, tailoring your résumé with keywords from the job description can make a big difference. These systems scan for specific skills and experience, so using relevant keywords can help ensure your résumé reaches hiring managers.
Avoid keyword stuffing or adding unrelated skills, as ATS may flag or discard such résumés. It’s strategic to include keywords in your summary section to capture major competencies early, in the skills section to list hard skills quickly, and to use them in the work experience section to emphasize context and accomplishments.
7. Remove the “References” Section
Hiring managers don’t need references at the application stage, and the phrase “references available upon request” is often redundant. Save space by creating a separate reference document for when it’s requested later in the hiring process. This keeps your résumé focused solely on your qualifications and impact.
8. Skip the Hobbies and Interests Section
Hobbies and interests can sometimes make a candidate memorable, but they can also be risky if they reveal personal biases. Instead, use LinkedIn or platforms like Quora to share insights and passions publicly, where hiring managers can look you up if you are interested. This keeps your résumé professional and focused while allowing you to share your personality elsewhere.
9. Remove Graphics for ATS Compatibility
Graphics like icons, logos, and headshots may look appealing, but they can disrupt ATS readability. When applying online, keep your résumé clean and text-based to ensure it passes through automated systems without issue. Save visual elements for your LinkedIn profile or a printed résumé for in-person networking.
10. Tailor Your Résumé to Every Job Application
It’s crucial to tailor your résumé to every job you apply for. Review each line to ensure it’s relevant to the specific role you’re applying for. Remove any details that don’t showcase your fit for that position. This might mean omitting skills or experiences that, while impressive, aren’t directly applicable to the new role.
Get An Interview for Your Dream Job with Ease with Our AI Resume Builder
Your resume needs to grab attention immediately in job applications. Resumonk is an AI-powered resume builder that streamlines this process. Imagine having a tool that helps you create stunning resumes and optimizes each entry with smart AI rewriting and suggestions. Resumonk offers 20 premium resume templates and matching cover letters, ensuring your application stands out visually and content-wise.
Resumonk simplifies the often tedious task of resume creation with features like:
- LinkedIn profile importing
- Existing resume uploads
- Multiple resume management
Whether you’re a detail-oriented job seeker, a student, or a seasoned professional, our intuitive platform transforms resume building into an intelligent and seamless experience.
