Resume question

[gear02]

How many pages should your resume be?

To be more specific, if you're a college grad, how long should it be? How about if you have 5 years experience? 10?

I'll post what I think later.

[RoniMan]

i know that when i'm looking over resumes, i'd like them not to be over 2 pages, but usually i prefer 1. esp if i'm expecting lots of applicants, i don't wanna be going over too many pages.

[MrGreg]

Unless you are going for a job of a "senior manager" type or higher, I wouldn't go over one page. Cut the stuff less relevant to the specific job you are going for.

[psycho-]

I was looking over a few today. Please, no more than 2, and keep it down to relevant information that's easy to scan

[JaQnAbOx]

why does it seem like everyone is looking at resumes and hiring people..they are doing the same at my office right now? does it have anything to do with the fresh new bunch of working people coming out of college soon?

[gear02]

why does it seem like everyone is looking at resumes and hiring people..they are doing the same at my office right now? does it have anything to do with the fresh new bunch of working people coming out of college soon?

Probably. I just got an email from a graduating senior with his resume. That's why I asked. His was, get this, THREE PAGES LONG!

I was taught that UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES should a college grad have more than one pages. Unless you're highly credentialled or experienced, you can have more than one page. My had who has a PhD and about 30 years work experience has a three+ page resume.

There's nothing that anyone with less than 5 years expience can't condense to a one page. Managers who read resumes barely skim them, so having multiple pages is a good way of not getting looked at.

This guy said his dad's friend told him to pad his resume as long as possible. He said his wife got a job with a long resume. I have to call BS on that.

[booger73]

I say:

Nothing more than 1 page
Highlight last jobs and what you did for them
Education/training/skills (degrees, Microsoft training, experience with Stata or SAS, LAN administrator, etc)
References on request..

People looking through 1000 resumes do not have the time to read 2 pages, nor do they want to.
No fancy text or funky script or special pictures, etc

[RoniMan]

I have to call BS on that.

why do u need to call brainsmile? :|

seriously tho, THREE pages is wayyyy too much. when we were looking over applicants for the resident dean, there were over 50+ apps. we skimmed most of them, and if any one of them popped out at us, we just point it out.

[Nija]

Maybe that is why I never get any call backs: my first page is my current job and a listing of everything I can do (i.e. skills)

[Airencracken]

Maybe that is why I never get any call backs: my first page is my current job and a listing of everything I can do (i.e. skills)

So this is on the front page of your resume? :eek3:

http://www.littleboyinc.com/uploader/uploads/darthguy.jpg

[Nija]

Yes

[g222leav]

i've always told, and been told (esp. by college professors and job recruiters) to keep resume's @ one page...most screeners just skim the resume anyways, and as stated above, adding more pages is a sure way to have the person toss it to the side. it may seem like a good idea, usually they have so many resumes to get through that they're not going to be bogged down by an "extended" resume...

also, i'd recommend (especially if you sending out A LOT of resumes) to make your referrences "available upon request"....list your references, but don't include phone numbers...you don't want the people giving you a reference to get 20 different calls about your application...unless of course you notify them, and they're ok with that.

[cheapchinese]

one page

[whitak24]

maybe this varies by profession, but i absolutely do not want to see more than one page, unless, as someone said, you have a Ph.D, multiple publications, and 25+ years of experience. nothing you've done is important enough to take up more than a page.

and please, make it well-organized, pleasing to the eye, and easy to find the relevant information.

right now, i'm on a search committee for an associate pastor at my church. many of the candidates have submitted some of the worst resumes i've ever seen. one dude submitted resumes for both he and his wife, and each was FIVE pages. it's crazy.

[gear02]

Ok...so I'm pretty much on the ball with this. I'm pretty surprised it's not more common knowledge...

[Nija]

Is this a pretty good resume template:
http://jobstar.org/tools/resume/tempfun.cfm

[cheapie]

a couple other points that people might miss. use action verbs. organized. led. created. established. drank. copious. amounts. of. alcohol. in. school.

also, i have found that targeting a few openings you want instead of using the shotgun approach works better. find out who the hiring manager is. leave a voicemail after hours (on a monday evening-wednesday evening) explaining your qualifications and why you should be interviewed/considered. if you don't know who that is, dig dig dig.

if you are lucky enough to get an interview, do a ton of research on the company before hand that you can throw out. i did a bit of research on this company and their competitors out in colorado springs and they seemed somewhat stunned and immediately offerred me the job of vp mktng and bus dev. yay. turned them down after having them fly me out to CO. lol. i suck.

lastly, ALWAYS SEND a thank-you card. in a fedex envelope or registered mail. secretaries will open regular letters and filter it out but they don't usually open fedex or certified mail envelopes.

and yeah, one page if you're beginning.

[Merlin]

As a fresh graduate you should stick to a page. As you become a preofessional it should grow to two. Professional will most likely start after about 5 or so years of upon graduation from graduate school. By that time you should have more to say.

The length of the resume should be appropriate to both yourself and the position you are seeking.

I have not used a one page resume in years and if the company doing the hiring said that was all they wanted I would think twice about them.