IT Résumé - More than one page?

pjbsod

Hi everyone,

Is it just a big overall no-no to have a résumé more than one page (two pages), even if it's information worth noting?

I generally hear more than one page is bad, but I also at times here any more than one is fine as long as the information is worth reading. I wonder though if most don't even bother reading if they see more than one page?

Just wondering what everyone's opinions are.

Regards,

Patrick

devils_haircut

When I was working with a recruiter from TEKsystems, he said put everything on there (assuming it didn't go over ~5 pages). I had originally come in with a 1 page resume.

wallpaper_01

I used to have 4 pages but went to an interview, the guy had printed it out, he was flicking through them and looked a bit frustrated. Anyway since then I lowered the font size and spacing a little and got straight to the point. 2 Pages max for me at the moment.

BGraves

Typically, the recommended amount of pages depends on your previous experience, skills, projects, etc.
If you're just starting out in IT, a one page resume keeps it short and sweet.
If you have 5-10-20 years in IT, you're going to need more room.
I typically try to keep my resume to 2 pages but at some point I will have to break it over in to more.

*Overall,the point is that the resume doesn't need to be your life story and every single thing you've ever done...it's should be designed to be eye catching, get a potential employer interested in reading it and then call you in for an interview so you can sell yourself at that point.

You can always post it here, people are always willing to give feedback or suggestions.

da_vato

Years back I went to a professional resume writing seminar and their guidance on the matter (or general rule of thumb) was to have one page for every ten years. I adopted that rule and has payed off for me.

Shdwmage

da_vato wrote: »

Years back I went to a professional resume writing seminar and their guidance on the matter (or general rule of thumb) was to have one page for every ten years. I adopted that rule and has payed off for me.

I'm 30 and my resume is 2 pages plus an attached reference sheet bringing the total to three pages. Of course I have more than the recommended 3 references. I have 6 professional and 2 personal. I try to have one from every job I've ever held.

networker050184

Depends on how much quality info you have to put in your resume. Don't fill up two pages of crap that could be fit into a single page.

jvrlopez

I do 2 pages down to the very last line.

IMO, 1 page is just not enough to be specific enough.

N2IT

I go two, I just can't stomach doing 3 or more. That's just me though

BradleyHU

the more jobs you have, especially relevant ones, the more space you're gonna need.

and plz dont make your font 8 or smaller just to fit stuff into 1 or 2 pages...that is tiny, and no manager wants to struggle to read small font...

lsud00d

Remember to always tweak your resume for the job you are applying for. This way you only include relevant information and it can help keep it at 1 to 2 pages.

BUT

An exception to this rule is providing a recruiter with a detailed "projects list" type resume so they have on record everything that you have worked with. This can make it easier for them in placing you for jobs or keeping an eye out for the type of position you want.

Hatch1921

I'm far from an expert when it comes to resumes... however, I recently had a college class with a hiring manager from a major IT company and he passed on some valuable information. He mentioned he spends about 30 seconds on a resume. My resume is 2 pages and I asked if that was longer than it should be and if I should scale it down to a single page. The answer was no... the length didn't matter so much as the content was more more important. Do not use "fluff" and make sure to be concise. In 30 seconds he looked for key points which matched the position the person is applying for... if you didn't hit on the main points which highlighted your experience/skills/education clearly... he passed and moved on to the next candidate.

30 second resume test ... 1:30 is a good place to start https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bk2h_s8J3NA

For the interview process he used the STAR format Using the Star technique to shine at job interviews: a how-to guide | Guardian Careers | Guardian Professional

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=star+format+interview

Not sure if this helps or not... my suggestion would be to put information on there which is concise and paints a clear picture of you. Leave off any fluff...or anything which might be considered weak.

Hope this helps.

GarudaMin

Three total for me. First two pages contain summary of qualifications, detailed descriptions of current job and previous job, and just title/company name/duration for prior jobs. Third page has all certifications and education info.

blargoe

Mine hovers between 2 and 2.5 pages. I'm at a point now where my early IT position descriptions/bulletlists have been truncated to more of a summary and time in position.

pjbsod

Thanks everyone for the replies! Really great discussion we have here.

Mine is currently/just barely 2 pages, so I think I'll keep it that way after reading some of the replies here. I plan on posting it here to get tips, advice, etc, in another thread... just in case I can slim it down.

rowelld

I think it's okay to go over 2 pages. I've interviewed folks with 4 pages and didn't really care. If your previous experience is relevant to the job you're applying for then I will ask you questions about what you did for those employers.

Over 4 pages is a bit much.

yzT

I think that if you go over two either you are not going to the point on the job description or you are writing there old jobs.

What's your opinion about listing the past three jobs and then add something like "more employment information at my LinkedIn profile"?

xenodamus

I recently decided to take mine from 2 pages down to 1 and see how it works out.

Condensing to 1 page really makes you scrutinize every piece of information you put on there. With the limited space, I use a format of responsibilities/achievements. The responsibilities section stays high level, mainly listing the technologies/vendors I worked with. The achievments section lists major projects/builds/migrations that I've done.

Things like:

"Migrated a 1000 seat VDI deployment from ESXi 5.0 to XenServer 6.1 with zero user downtime"

You don't have to list every piece of hardware that touched that deployment. I feel a statement like that should make it clear that you know what you're doing and warrant an interview.