Most people in the business world were told when they began their careers not to let their resume exceed one page. Later on they realized that two page formats were not only acceptable for those with more experience, but actually preferred because the one page limitation tended to leave out so much in the way of helpful information concerning a job candidate.
The same is true for upper level executives. The important thing is not necessarily whether the resume is one, two, three or even four pages long. The important thing is;
- does it convey enough information to give the hiring manager a good idea of the candidate’s qualifications
- will it be read and
- will it result in an interview?
An example of an executive who may be in need of a three page or longer resume would be someone with a Fortune 50 company and 25 to 30 years of experience as a CEO, COO or other responsible position. This person will be competing against others of his same skill level. Each will be listing a great deal of information.
The goal of the resume writer then becomes to ensure that the information on the resume will be scanned first, and then read. This is done through quality writing, use of keywords and dynamic formatting using bullets, white space and short chunks of information to draw the reader’s eye.
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