One of the biggest misconceptions that people face when it comes to writing their resumes is that they think it should only be one page. It is time to put the page length myth to rest once and for all where your resume is concerned. It’s unfortunate, but a lot of people get extremely bad advice concerning the number of pages that a resume should be. Truth be told, there is no right answer to this because every resume is unique and different. Remember that famous saying— “it all depends”.
When you are writing a resume, it all depends on the number of jobs you had throughout your career and the stage you are at in your career. If you are just starting out and have a couple of part time jobs, then it makes no sense to ramble on for two pages about what you did at each job. Since these types of jobs will not propel your career, there is no added value to include them in great detail. If you are established in your career and you have a handful of jobs with some tangible achievements, then it makes sense to detail these achievements on two pages because they add value to your resume. The jobs will help to further substantiate your background and show why you will be a good fit with another organization. If you are an executive with a long history of success, you will also need ample space to detail your achievements and highlight your proven track record. In this case, it would make no sense to try to stick to one page because you cannot adequately detail a comprehensive career in one page. In fact, you will limit your opportunities and appear under-qualified for jobs simply because you did not substantiate your professional background properly on your resume.
The key to resume writing success is to balance brevity with detail. Instead of getting caught up in what you heard you should do on a resume concerning page length, focus on what you instinctively know you should do on a resume concerning page length. If you feel like a one page resume is wrong for you, then it probably is. If you feel like two pages is too much detail, then it might be. Page length is never a screen out factor with hiring managers, so don’t let page length be your determining factor in how long your resume should be. You need to examine your career and determine what you want hiring managers to learn about you from your resume. Once you figure this out, it should be an easy decision for you when it comes to determining the right page length for your resume.