How long should my resume be?

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Congratulations on your knowledge in even considering how long a resume should be!  This question puts you miles ahead of your competition.  Most people do not consider length in terms of writing a good resume.  The length of a resume is specific to the person and the situation.  Here are a few things that will assist you in determining your personal needs in terms of resume length.

You might consider a one-page resume if:

• You are right out of school or are just beginning your career (less than 10 years).
• You’ve been a loyal employee with only a few jobs.
• You’ve had a position (like real estate agent or mortgage associate) that does not change much in terms of typical responsibilities.
• You are going for a sales-related job.  They prefer a resume to the point with numbers and percentages.

You may want to think of a two-page resume if:

• You’ve had more than 9-10 years of experience relevant to the position that you are seeking.
• You are making a career change and need to explain your career history that will assist you in that effort as well as explain your successes throughout your career.
• You’ve had many changes in your career and have decided on a job that you had in the past.  This layout usually requires a “Relevant Career History” and “Professional Career History” to emphasize the things that will be most important to your next employer.

A three-page resume may be a consideration if:

• You are going for an executive role – Director, Vice President, President or CEO.  Employers looking to fill these types of jobs want to know a lot about their candidates.
• You are a professor, doctor or scientist that needs to list all publications and speaking engagements (usually referenced as a CV).
• You have a lot of technical or engineering skills and you need to list these skills to prove your qualifications for the job.

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