Your resume should under NO circumstance be more than 2 pages, and preferably 1 page. Follow this rule and you are already better than 50% of the resumes out there.
I interviewed around 400 people in last four years, never hired/rejected anyone based on number of pages in resume. This is just a myth
Once I got a 14 page long CV with less YoE. I also do not reject anyone based on CV length, but there is a limit...
Unless you're applying for Director+ roles, there is a big risk of age bias if you show more than 10 to 12 yrs of experience on the resume.
i don't care about your role 10 years ago, show me something you did recently. nobody is hiring the young, motivated you from a decade ago
Career trajectory matters. If you are actually a hiring manager, you suck at screening resumes.
Summarize anything more than 10 years back. It may be important to you, but it's not to the HM. A recruiter and much less an HM does not have time to read 4+pages.
Never. Respect people's time by picking the best bits
It takes less than 1 min to scan another page, lol, probably more like 10-15 seconds. If you can't take another 10 seconds out of your day to scan a resume, why would I want to work for you? How will you treat me when I'm hired and need help?
I have a 2 page as I've been in my career for 15+ years. But I do have a 1 page version just in case.
Me too, and keep going back and forth. Which one do you use to apply? I generally go with the one-pager and in the form where they ask for more attachments I put the 2-pager. Got more luck with the latter though, so not sure?
I only use the long resume as a reference to tweak the one-page resume, adding or removing the jobs and/or bullet points that are more relevant for the job I’m applying to.
I have a two-page version that I customize and submit for individual job descriptions. I also have a more complete 8-page version that covers full career path but leaves out anything except the absolute top highlights along the way. I offer this one to the HM/recruiter after getting past the initial screen, if they would like a more complete understanding of my background. I also used to keep a “full” 12-page version that went into even more detail. I don’t keep this one updated any longer. Too much of a pain, and very few people asked for it (mostly out of curiosity I think). Is very difficult to sufficiently express your breadth and depth of relevant experience when you have over 30 YoE in tech, 20 of which was in high-end consulting (full career trajectory there), touching nearly every industry and every job function. Thankfully AI tools makes it much easier to whittle it all down to the most relevant for a given job posting.
Would love to see what the trajectory of a 30+ yoe looks like if you don’t mind sharing an anonymized version.
On the panel I don't look a resume often, but sometimes I do, and I see someone who can't communicate their best work Summary in 1 page as a poor communicator. Summarize anything in 1 page is a huge life skill. If you want detail put an explicit appendix section and link details from the first page
Good point. While my “short form” resume is still 2 pages, the first half of page 1 is always a super condensed high-level summary that specifically targets the main points of the job description. The rest of the resume is there to back it up with detail if any of the summary is in question.
It does not matter how many Yoe or accomplishments you have had. Whatever a hiring manager needs to know about you can fit in a 1 page resume. If you want to keep a record of all accomplishments and work experience, you can maintain a detailed LinkedIn profile page or a personal website and link to it.
TL;DR I have experience & results that confirm you should keep it two pages or less. Ensure every character is in increasing the chances a recruiter calls you back. Long version: Your ability to concisely describe in written format why the recruiter should contact you is a test of discipline and your understanding of what experience is relevant for the role. I've helped over 60 people rewrite their resumes & land jobs. It's always shorter than when it started. One person went from 1.5% to 30% response rate. It averages about 450 word count. The resume is really a tool to get the recruiter to contact you, most experienced interviewers don't want to read it too much, because it introduces bias and distracts from asking the exact same questions of every candidate. 26 yoe in tech
How to compress everything into 4 or 5 lines per company
Practice and focus on measurable biz impact. The goal isn't to fully explain everything, it's to get a recruiter to call you back.
If you are a junior level pleb. If you've actually accomplished something in your career, 2 is fine.
What you did 10 years ago doesn't matter, or at least is far less important. Summarize more the further back you go.