How Long Should a Resume Be? How Many Pages Should a Resume Be?

This article gives the Rule Of Thumb regarding the resume length.
Many a times, when constructing a resume, questions that might pop are:

• How long should my resume be?
• Is there any basic guideline to follow regarding the number of pages for a resume?
• If you have lots of information to communicate, should you extend the resume to more than one page?

Resume Length Tips – Resume Length Guidelines

The Content, Not Number of Pages
Both writing experts and employers themselves agree that the resume length itself does not matter.
What matters is that your content is relevant, honest, neatly expressed without typos, and is impressive or at least indicative of potential.

What Employers Expect
There is no set standard for how many pages your resume should be exactly. No attentive, discerning employer judges you by a specific, set number of CV pages.

Instead, the employer expects to see verifiable, well-organized, honest information, impressive achievements, and positive character traits reflected in the content as well as the clarity and professionalism of the writing.

Catch Attention of Employers
Employers never immediately read the entire resume. They look it over for interesting details. If they find it, they go on reading.

So the important thing is not whether your resume is one page or two three pages. The important mission is to catch the attention of the employer on the first page, then present just enough relevant information.

How long should it be – How many pages should your resume be?

How Much Is Enough
So how much is too much? That depends.

• If you have tons of it, select only the best and most relevant information.
• If you have little to no experience, try to stretch it so it still appears decent and honest, not padded out.

The # of pages is not as important as the relevancy of information and how well it is organized.

Remember that – The amount of information depends on the position you are seeking, your work history (i.e. professional experience) and any application guidelines the company itself might have given you in the job description.

In the end, whatever goes in, must be well-organized, verifiable and relevant.

How long should your resume be? Think of its relevancy.

Again, for many professionals one page resume length is too short – The blanket is too short for them.
Therefore, if you have many years of professional experience, plus you are a good fit for the position, you’re not expected to write it all in one page.

If you have less professional experience under your belt, give related information. Information that does not immediately appear to be relevant to the job can often be formulated so that it does.

However, do not pad out your resume with irrelevant information just because you think it is too short – irrelevant information is easily noticed by experienced employers and they are not impressed by it.
An inexperienced honest applicant will always be preferred to an inexperienced applicant who pads out his/her resume.