How long should your resume be?  Look to your experience for guidance in this matter.  A 50 year old professional will obviously need a longer resume than a 20 year old college student.  A college professor requiring a CV will probably need something longer and more complicated that his or her administrative assistant.  Your profession and your experience level – both life experience and professional experience – will determine the appropriate length, and a professional resume writer can guide you through that process.

Many people think that a resume should be only one page.  That misconception comes from the many resume books that concentrate on the new college graduate, many of which are very old and have not kept up with the times.  If a new college graduate has only part-time jobs and internships to list under experience, then a one page may work very well.  But, many active college students have advanced internships, volunteer activities, summer jobs, and other activities that will benefit them if listed.  The two page format for the college graduate may, in many cases, be the best choice.

For the business professional the rule of thumb is to go back in employment history as long as will actually help.  Many people think that only the previous ten years should be listed, but if a person has 20 years experience in a field and is going after a higher level job, then listing all of the experience that will provide benefit is best.   Remember however, that the longer a resume is, the less likely it is to be completely read. So if a three page resume is used the most important information should be on page one and page two, and the least important on page three. Remember also that a professional resume writer can help you to determine the length and the type of information to list.

Popularity: 5%