Have you ever wondered why some resumes are read through-and-through, while others are put aside after the first look at them? Are you curious to know what needs to be done to get someone not just to run one’s eye over your CV but to dive deeper into it? In this post, we will answer all these questions and will let you know the optimal length of a professional resume so that it doesn’t bore an employer and still provides all the necessary information. So how long should a resume be? Let us get all this straightened out.
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Should a resume be one page?
It sometimes happens that a 3-page resume is placed on a shelf without being read or being read in less than half. At the same time, an employer may think that a candidate with a CV that is half-page length doesn’t have sufficient experience to apply for a position. They either reject the candidacy or offer a lower salary rate to a candidate. Therefore, you are to make sure that your CV is of the optimal length, no matter how much working experience you have.
So how long should a professional resume be - one page or more? As a rule, one-page CV’s are better accepted by employers. They are neither too short nor too long. A one-pager can cover all the necessary information for an employer to understand if you have the right profile/ background for the position. That’s why we strongly recommend you to stick to this standard and adjust your CV contents based on a vacancy you are applying to.
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How long should a resume be in 2019?
Let’s breakdown some key components of a proper resume. An honestly written CV should start with the goal. If you change your position or are in the early stages of your career with little experience, the goal can help focus the reader and better understand why you are applying for a particular job.
Make sure there is the knowledge and skills section in a resume. This is a great place to highlight specific skills for the job you want to get. You can use a bulleted list, table format, or write them as a paragraph. We advise you not to use paragraphs in your CV as they are hard to read.
The key component of your resume is your experience and achievements; therefore, judging the fight of length against achievements should be the main goal in your CV. In this section, you confirm your claims stated earlier in the document. If you specify something in any of the previous sections, be sure to include it here as well. Therefore, starting a CV with a description of professional experience is the right step.
How far back should a resume go?
How far back should you present your professional experience? The data about it should include the following points:
- name of the company you worked at;
- the geographic location of the company (city);
- title of your position;
- job responsibilities;
- and most important - professional achievements.
Your experience list should start with the last job. Each position must contain at least three of the listed responsibilities. If you cannot come up with more than two relevant job functions, it will not only be bad for your CV but also will be difficult for you to talk about this job during the interview. If you are writing a cover letter, use a cover letter template to draft a winning text that will grab attention from the very first line.
The education section of the resume is fairly simple. Assuming you have a college degree and work experience, put your education at the bottom of the CV. But if you are a recent college/university graduate with no work experience, then place this section right after your goal. You can also place your education at the top of your CV if your new degree helps you move into a new industry.
If you are still studying and have not received your diploma, then indicate the expected date of graduation. Even if you specify dates in the future but without the phrase “expected”, it will look like a completed education and can be taken for a fact, which can cause an awkward situation at the interview.
If you are a volunteer in any organization, then write down all your positions in a short section. Employers want to see you taking up your time with something other than work. Placing such information in your CV will make it clear to the HR department what type of profile you have:
- Demonstrates that you are initiative. You took the time to find an organization related to your views or the industry in which you work.
- Shows that you are interested in developing your career or improving skills in your industry.
- Membership in the organization usually means that you have the opportunity to communicate with other specialists in this field.
In this section, you describe the work that you have done on a voluntary basis. If you have developed a site for any organization, include this in your CV. Were you the captain of a basketball team? The human resources department will evaluate your leadership abilities.
Volunteer work demonstrates managerial, planning, sales, fundraising, and human interaction skills. Providing your volunteer work in this section shows your versatility. It is very useful to indicate volunteering in industry organizations: marketing societies, banking associations, engineering groups, etc. If you are not sure if there is any organization in your industry, then search the Web - and you will be surprised by what you find.
Land a job of your dream
Working on a document with all the significant parts of a resume is far from being the easiest task, and “how many pages should a resume be?” is not the only question you may have. We understand it well. Even if you know the answer, you may still need some guidance with data formatting and statement formulations.
For you not to lose a chance to get a job offer from a reputable company, it would be a great solution to use the services of a qualified writing agency. Our accredited writers do know what employers look at and will make sure your CV stands the competition and brings you a dream job.