Comments on: Your Resume: Let’s Get Clear on One Thing

By: resume format

resume format — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 05:09:27 +0000

The “normal” resume length is one page, the one I made online at http://resumizer.com was a one page resume.

By: Jason Seiden

Jason Seiden — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 02:57:08 +0000

Nina—Great question. A few thoughts… and keep in mind, my philosophy is not universally loved here!

1. Wow. Forget the resume… just point people to your comment here. Very impressive.

2. I am a fan of less-is-more. Actually, not “less is more,” but “more focused is more.” In your case, for 2 specific reasons: first, there’s so much too you that stripping things down, or organizing experience in a nested way rather than chronologically, could help provide focus. Second, providing everything all at once is a bit overwhelming… whereas by focusing people on the most relevant information, you not only hook their interest, but you also save some goodness for that all-important follow up conversation.

3. You need a tight story, with a unifying theme that brings all your experience together. A unifying theme could be a single passion or skill you used across all positions; the story about how you were carried by someone/dumb luck/the universe from opportunity to opportunity; or even your super solid work ethic that drives you to fill every waking moment with making the world a better place. All of these options could work, and by putting the theme atop your experience, you not only give yourself focus, but you also provide a framework for others to use when they interpret your story.

Good luck!

By: Nina

Nina — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 02:36:01 +0000

I am now more confused then ever before. Case in point, I am a college grad (2006) with 3years as a professional health educator-volunteer coordinator for a small non-profit, 1year as a government contractor/employee, and 5 years working in an internship/leadership/volunteer position. Some of my job duties overlap positions or don’t fit the position I am applying for today…so I leave stuff out and am able to maintain a 1 page resume. I could list college club activities, former part-time jobs, and short term volunteer work but it was drilled into my psyche less is better. The bullets for each position is about one line long. Now that I am looking for a position after an extended absence…does this make me a potential candidate or do I look inexperienced?

By: Speaking For Change » Blog Archive » Resume tips

Speaking For Change » Blog Archive » Resume tips — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 07:04:08 +0000

[...] One Page. Enough said. [...]

By: Internships Hyderabad

Internships Hyderabad — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 11:12:04 +0000

really interesting and well written article.

By: Carrie

Carrie — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 18:12:22 +0000

I keep hearing that with the added use of online resumes, following the one-page rule is more important than ever — particularly for recent graduates. I just completed my MA degree; I also have a BS as well as five internships plus all my volunteering and other work done. Putting everything on one page would mean little more than listing the companies and my job titles. I have a lot of friends who are in a similar position: as recent graduates, we aren’t expected to have a lengthy resume when applying for entry level positions, but our experience lends itself to a two-page resume.

Having seen one-page resumes, they always look as though the candidate either has no experience whatsoever or the candidate has failed to expand on anything more than a job title. In this time of numerous internships under a graduate’s belt, it’s time to look to that second page of a resume to better understand a candidate’s experience.

By: Laurie Mitchell, CPC

Laurie Mitchell, CPC — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 02:00:50 +0000

I have personally placed 1200+ Marketing and Communications Pros over the last 25 years. Resumes should be as long as necessary to spoon feed the recipient, function as a candidate’s sell sheet and help set the interview agenda.
Any candidate with more than 5 years’ experience who sends me a one-pager is not meeting my need to see a compellingly crafted stand-alone writing sample nor meeting the needs of my clients who want a fully-fleshed out version to facilitate interviewing. And, yes, I want all positions going back to college and the date of the degree. Young HR pros often add 10-20 years to the “age” of a candidate who leaves off the date of the college degree because they assume the “worst”. My candidates must have exquisitely written resumes or else I’m not interested, and they must write their own resumes. I will not entertain a “paid for” resume which I can detect instantly. BTW, the cover letter must also be darn good!

By: Jason Seiden

Jason Seiden — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 02:23:18 +0000

Ben, great point, and I promise you, if this post were written for recruiters, my advice would be to look past nitty details like page length and get the best candidate.

For the job seeker, where this whole discussion led to was, be thorough and be brief—don’t waste words—and as long as you tell you entire story succinctly and clearly, don’t worry about page length.

(Also, since the word go, I’ve always exempted technical experts and executives from the 1-page limit… interestingly, generally when someone cites me an example of a resume that won’t fit onto a page, it’s for—surprise!—a technical expert or an executive.)

By: Ben

Ben — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 22:57:14 +0000

I believe that hiring people using rigid maxims like this one can cause a business or recruiter to miss out on the best candidate for the job. How can you risk missing the best person for the job because they had two pages instead of one? Maybe more importantly, how can you find the best person if you won’t take the time to read a second page?

Just my opinion, Jason, and I appreciate your’s even though it is different! Thanks!

By: Sarah

Sarah — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 21:51:52 +0000

There are definitely two sides to this battle.
In every battle, I always choose the side with the people that are most kind – no matter what the battle happens to be.

For this battle, I’ve found it is those with the 1 page rule that want to ridicule, insult and make fools of the “arrogant and misguided” person who feels they need 2 pages to present their qualifications. I’ve had to hold back tears when being snapped at and scolded for using 2 pages.

These are the people that I would not want to work for in the first place. The character of a person cannot be identified by the length of their resume – but passing such quick judgment based on a trivial factor does, in fact, speak volumes on the character of the speaker himself.

By: Matt

Matt — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 01:34:28 +0000

As a recruiter, why not simply make it more clear in the job posting what your company’s requirements are for resumes? It seems this would be much better than expecting everyone to know and follow a rule that isn’t nearly as universal as we are often led to believe.