Employers want to see just the most relevant and crucial material on a resume, so keep it to a minimum.
For recruiters and hiring managers to rapidly scan and identify the credentials, abilities, and experience they’re searching for, this data should ideally fit on a single page. Your CV may be more challenging to read if it is two pages long.
A two-page resume is acceptable if you’ve included just the most relevant and necessary details for the company to understand your suitability for the position. In this post, we discuss proper resume lengths, how to make your resume more succinct, and how to construct a two-page resume.
A resume may be two pages long, but most should be just one page. That holds true for applicants with fewer than five years of experience as well as entry-level prospects.
Write a two-page resume if the position requires accomplishments on the level of Elon Musk or if you can’t fit all of your accomplishments on one page.
How Long Should a Resume Be?
A one-page entry-level resume should, according to 66% of employers that participated in a poll. As for experienced professionals, 77% stated they should have a résumé that is at least two pages long and maybe more. Unbelievably, 39% of seasoned professionals claim that their resumes are just one page long.
Generally, a resume should not exceed one page in length. A two-page resume is appropriate in certain situations, however.
The length of the resume is irrelevant as long as every piece of information is significant and pertinent to the company. Readability and relevancy should be your main concerns while drafting your CV.
Can a Resume Be More than 1 Page?
More than one page may be included on a résumé. But while still demonstrating your expertise, keep your CV as concise as you can. Two-page resumes might be challenging since the majority of managers scan them. However, really experienced candidates are often unable to establish their value without a two page resume.
Can My Resume Be 2 Pages?
Even two pages may be used for a resume. Just be sure that your resume isn’t longer because it contains extra information, such as irrelevant work experience or abilities unrelated to the position you’re applying for. Consider using two pages if you can’t fit your relevant prior employment and abilities on one page after tailoring your resume to the job description. For highly experienced individuals, two-page resumes are normal.
The difference between a resume and a CV may have caused some misunderstanding. Some job seekers are unaware that a resume and a CV are two entirely different documents that are often considerably longer and more extensive than each other.
Tips to make your resume shorter
To make your resume fit on one page, think about doing a couple of the following actions before drafting a two-page resume:
1. Make your ideas more concise
Making your thoughts concise should be your first step in resume editing. In your overview, aim, professional experience, or other parts, you may do this by concentrating on the main concept of each phrase to condense it. When writing a resume for a data entry clerk, you may substitute:
“Demonstrated proficiency in reviewing and entering test requisition form data (400+ daily), identifying inadvertently omitted test codes, and notifying the appropriate department for resolution.”
You could simply say:
“Accurately reviewed and entered data daily from 400+ test requisition forms while identifying and reporting inaccuracies.”
2. Remove filler words
Eliminating filler words or superfluous material is another technique to make your resume shorter. Take note of the following words: “a,” “an,” “to,” “the,” “or,” and “and.” You may make a lot more room on your page by eliminating a few filler words.
For example, in the following example, we could remove the words “an” and “that” so the original:
“Created and maintained an onboarding program for new maintenance technicians that decreased annual turnover by 10%”
turns into:
“Created and maintained the onboarding program for new maintenance technicians, decreasing annual turnover by 10%.”
3. List significant achievements as opposed to duties.
List just your best, most important successes rather than a list of all the work responsibilities you’ve had at each of your professional encounters. So that you may highlight accomplishments the company will find interesting, be sure to examine the job description. When it is feasible, provide numerical examples of your success, such as the number of people you have led, the amount or percentage of time you have saved, or the amount or percentage of money you have earned or saved.
Sinead describes where on a resume to include skills, as well as how to construct a “Skills” or “Core Competencies” section.
4. Delete any extraneous or pointless details.
You may have added a few optional parts, such as ones about your interests and hobbies or your charity work. Consider eliminating this material if it doesn’t help the company see how relevant and important your CV is. You may want to remove the following extra bits of information:
proficiency in the knowledge areas your company is likely to look for, such as Microsoft Office or soft abilities like collaboration
Use of the phrase “references available upon request”
Your physical location
outdated education data, such as whether you graduated from high school or earned an associate’s or bachelor’s degree.
5. Widen the margins
Additionally, you have the option to increase the margins on your resume. You may do this to give the document a little more room, but you shouldn’t make it any smaller than one inch.
It is permissible to send companies a two-page resume if you have followed all of these instructions and are looking for a position in academics or science. Employers will value it if you have the most relevant information.
It’s important to keep in mind that companies only have a limited amount of time to evaluate your resume, so material on the second page can be missed. As a result, make sure to give your most crucial areas, including education and work experience, top priority.
Writing a two-page resume
When writing your resume, be sure to include the following sections:
Your name and contact information
Summary or objective statement
Professional experience
Education
Relevant skills
Optional sections that may or may not enhance your resume include hobbies and interests, volunteer experience, and recognitions and awards.
Resume formats
You have the choice between writing a functional, chronological, or combination resume.
Functional
A functional or “skills-based” resume is good if you have gaps in your work experience or are changing careers, as it prioritizes relevant skills and qualifications.
Chronological
A chronological resume is appropriate if you have several years of experience and have worked consistently with upward mobility in one industry.
Combination
If you have little or no professional experience, you should write a combination resume that both prioritizes your skills and includes relevant work or volunteer experience.
Curriculum vitae
If you are writing a CV for a position in academia or another field, you should also include your publications and other relevant work. CVs are often more than one page because of these details.
Benefits of a Two-Page Resume
Two-page resumes offer very specific benefits to contemporary job seekers as well.
Make it through the ATS.
First off, a longer CV gives you more time to create one that will pass muster with the applicant tracking system (ATS). The overwhelming majority of businesses utilize ATS. They are made to screen out the remainder and choose just those who most closely fit the job description.
If your resume passes the ATS screening, a person will be able to view it. As a consequence, one of your objectives should be to make sure that your resume complies with ATS guidelines.
What are those specifications? The ATS first checks to see whether resumes match the job description’s keywords. You have to match the keywords in order to proceed.
Second, they look for keyword frequency in their scans. Successful candidates must thus make sure that keywords are included and used often enough throughout the CV. Since there are just two (or more) pages, maintaining keyword frequency without becoming monotonous could be challenging.
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