Have you ever wondered, how long is too long for a resume? You’re not the only one. There’s always been some confusion around this topic. Today, career experts J.T. O’Donnell and Dale Dauten clear things up. Dear J.T. and Dale, How long is too long for a resume? I remember being told that my resume should be one page. Recently, my employer was hiring and we were getting 2-3 page resumes. One person even had a section with her personal information: kids, hobbies. What are the rules? - Shilo According to O’Donnell, the meat of the issue is that there are no rules when it comes to resumes, which is why everyone is confused and on different pages when it comes to content, length, formatting, and so on. She recommended that your resume be no longer than 1-2 pages. Studies show that recruiters spend about six seconds scanning a resume, so you want to make sure you’re making it easy for them to find the right information as quickly as possible. So, there are two things you should do when writing a resume. First, simplify the text. Don’t try to fit in too much, and don’t worry about including irrelevant experience. In the end, that’s not what recruiters are looking for when they read your resume. They’re looking for specific information about you that proves you can do the job they’re looking to fill. “Stick to the facts,” said O’Donnell. “Get rid of all of that flowery language.” Second, make sure the font is at least 11 point. If you make it too small in an effort to fit as much as you can on a page, it’s going to be hard to read and difficult for the recruiter to find what he or she is looking for within that six second period. “Do your best to simplify and think about that reader,” O’Donnell said. “Less is more.” However, Dauten suggested that there’s no harm in having a longer resume (2-3 pages). Dauten argued that including hobbies on your resume, which can make it longer than it needs to be, might actually help to strike up conversation and connection during an interview. “I don’t see that it hurts anything [to have a longer resume],” said Dauten. “And maybe you have a chance to make that personal connection.” Unfortunately, there's no solid answer to "How long is too long for a resume?" However, in the end, it’s all about the content and how you present it to the recruiter or employer. Are you making it easy for the reader to find what he or she is looking for? Want to ask J.T. & Dale a question? Email your question to advice@jtanddale.com
I recently came across a resume that listed a summer cashier position in 1976 as part of a person’s “professional experience.”
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While it may seem a little strange or ridiculous to include an irrelevant position from over 25 years ago, I can tell you it’s actually not that uncommon to come across something like this.
A lot of people think they literally need to include everything they’ve ever been involved with on their resumes, and I can assure you not only do you not have to follow suit, you also don’t really need to go back any longer than 10 years.
The main goal of your resume should be to impress the reader with the specific qualifications and experiences that make you fit to be hired for a desired position.
That being said, the reader is most interested in what you have done recently, not in what you did over 10 years ago. The bulk of your resume should be devoted to the last few years of your working history – this is what potential employers want to know about.
If you’re like most people, you’ve probably held a number of jobs over time if you include the part-time and casual positions. If you wrote a little bit about each one of these, your resume would probably near the four page mark in experience alone.
Considering it shouldn’t be longer than two pages, this is far from ideal.
When it comes to listing your professional experiences, stick to the most recent and relevant positions. There is no need to include everything, and writing about too much will sometimes blur your positions together and detract from your real qualifications.
Unless you’ve held the same position for over 10 years, there is really no reason to go back any longer than this, and employers don’t even expect to go back that far on your resume anyway.
If you do have quite an extensive work history of relevant positions, focus on the most recent ones and then simply list the earlier positions under a new category for “previous or other employment.”
Just remember there is such a thing as “too much” on a resume.
Focus on what the hiring manager wants to see, not on how much information you can cram onto it.
