Guide
How long should a resume be?
Updated:
In short
A resume is one page for early-career candidates and up to about 10 years of experience, and two pages when relevant experience does not fit on one. More than two pages is rare and limited to academic or research fields. Relevance sets the length, and years alone do not.
When is one page enough?
For graduates, juniors and anyone with under roughly ten years of relevant experience, one page is enough. Recruiters skim, so a dense, clear page gets read to the end.
When are two pages justified?
When you have long, relevant experience, leadership roles or a project portfolio that matters for the role. The second page must carry new information instead of continuing a list of tasks.
In academic and research fields a resume can run longer, with publications and grants.
What do I cut when it does not fit?
Remove in this order until the text fits:
- jobs older than 10-15 years or unrelated to the role
- bullets that describe general tasks instead of results
- courses and skills the posting does not ask for
- hobbies and "references on request"
What happens with ATS at two pages?
A parser has no page limit. Readability matters: a single column, standard headings and selectable text. Check the export by pasting its text into a plain editor.
Frequently asked questions
Can I shrink the font to fit one page?
Stay at 10-11 points for body text. A font that is too small tires the reader and hurts readability.
Can the second page hold just a few lines?
Avoid it. Either condense the content onto one page or extend to the second with relevant material.
Does length work differently for a cover letter?
Yes. A cover letter is half a page, about 200-300 words.
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