One Page or Two?

Written by Bernie

Bernie Frazier, SPHR is the Founder and President of CAREERCompass, LLC, a speaking and career coaching firm in St. Louis, MO. She also spent almost 25 years recruiting talent to six organizations across four industries and led the talent acquisition function for four of those organizations, including one global team.

For years, one of the most common questions I’ve received from job seekers is, “Should my resume be one page or two?”  When you don’t know, it’s certainly a legitimate question.  My simple response – it depends.  There are a few recruiters and hiring managers who will tell you it should only be one page, but most agree that it depends. 

Depends upon what, you ask? 

 It depends upon the amount of experience you have and the type of position you’re pursuing.  If you’re a recent graduate or you’ve only worked for a few years, your resume should definitely be no more than one page.  However, if you’ve worked for……say 10+ years (approximately) and you’ve had several jobs and worked for several employers, it’s okay to expand your resume to two pages. 

Now, it’s important to note that unless you’re in academia or certain vocations in healthcare (or a select few other vocations), your resume should not be longer than two pages.  Recruiters and hiring managers are extremely busy and very few will take the time to read a 3+ page resume. 

The bottom line is if you focus your resume on what’s the most relevant for the job you want, you’ll do just fine. 

Until next time….