How Many Pages Make A Good Resume?
Marketing
Bearing in mind that we are creating a marketing brochure, the information needs to be presented in a concise format, leaving no major question unanswered.
Competition
The fact that your resume may be one of 150 others means that we need to ensure that brochure meets the requirements as set out in the advertisement.
Huge Cost of Hiring
This is a big decision being made by the hiring company, with high costs incurred in terms of salary, training and an initial loss in productivity. There’s a lot at stake and its essential that they get it right first time – put yourself in their shoes for a moment.
Example…
Think of a similar purchase that you as an individual might make where you can apply the same thought process to an equally valuable decision. For instance buying a car. You want the one best suited to your requirements. The amount you can afford will determine the range of car you buy. What you’re left with is a handful of brochures, all similar in appearance highlighting their areas of superiority.
Specialisation is Key!
The major disadvantage of those producing car brochures is that they don’t know each individuals essential requirements, they need to generalise to appeal to the mass market. We on the other hand have the luxury of knowing the employers essential requirements and can tailor our brochure so that these are the first areas addressed.
So How Many Then?
How many pages this covers is down to the individual and what one feels comfortable with. One predetermining factor will be the length of ones experience. Graduate resumes with plenty of white space running into four pages never cease to amaze. Likewise, senior executives with a one page resume do not always do themselves proper justice.
For someone with a progressive career, spanning anything from 5 to 20 years, one should attempt to cover it in no more than four pages. Skills based resumes are less repetitious and will naturally be shorter – 2/3 pages is a good guide.
Click for a free personalised assessment on how many pages your resume should be.
