Many of us have spent hours at the computer adjusting page margins, trying to get rid of just one more word, changing font sizes … anything to get that two-page resume down to one page. But is that really necessary? Or in some cases, is the two-page resume more effective?
The answer is simple. It depends. Not sounding so simple? It really is. Rather than having a goal of a certain length for your resume, have a goal of communicating only what your potential employer needs to know. Keep it as concise as possible so that you can maintain your audience’s interest and clearly communicate your skills and experience. Remember, you’re trying to create a picture of you in your audience’s mind, a picture that they can hold up against their image of this job to see if you are a good match.
Still aren’t sure if you need to keep your resume to 1 pages? If you can easily and clearly express your skills and experience within one page, keep it to one page. Your audience will stay focused on you longer and won’t give up part-way through. If you have so much experience that applies to this particular position that you need a second page to list it all, then take the second page. It’s not about rules: it’s about a clear, concise, complete message.