Recruiter asked for more detailed resume?

Not sure how to respond to this one as it's a first for me. I recently trimmed my resume of all jobs over 10 years old and condensed things down to just over a page. Still, I feel I put a decent level of detail in my job descriptions.

I just got an email from a recruiter saying she thought my resume would be a good fit, but she was wondering if I had a more detailed resume that goes into more depth? Is that a thing these days? To have multiple resumes: one short and one long?

I don't mind expanding on things, but I'll have to take some time and give it some thought. Just wondering if this is a normal thing to hear from a recruiter.

She also asked about scheduling a phone call. What's the normal convention for response time to something like this? For instance, today is Thursday--is it reasonable to say Monday for the call, or is that too long?

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soccarplayer29

I don't know if this is a "thing". But some people maintain a full super lengthy version of their resume and then they tailor (cut) for specific applications. If it's just an initial phone call with HR/recruiting then I'd just do it tomorrow/monday. If it's with a hiring manager or tech screener I'd push til monday.

EANx

Unless you've had just 1-2 jobs in those 10 years, it sounds like your efforts to trim down to one page might have been cutting too deep. There's nothing wrong with a two-page resume.

thedudeabides

I've had five jobs in the last 10 years. Perhaps I was overly concise.

Danielm7

I'd say so, education, certs, maybe skills section and 5 jobs in 1 page can't leave a lot of detail.

iBrokeIT

I do 1 page for experience and 1 page for education/degrees, formal classes and certifications. Seems to be the sweet spot for me.

PC509

I have one resume listing recent (10 years) positions and another with everything IT related (24 years). I never send out the long one. It's too big and doesn't have relevant stuff for the position. But, it's a record of my employment and comes in handy from time to time. I would have a hell of a time doing anything with Novell these days, but that's what I started with. It also lists a lot of really unnecessary certifications that I've outgrown. I don't need to brag anymore about my MCITP in Windows Vista Support.... Yea, I do. I'm a certified Microsoft professional with WINDOWS VISTA!!!!!!

If they need beyond 10 years, they're either government (FAA requires 10-14 years, I believe) or just curious as to your path to get where you are today.

bjpeter

EANx wrote: »

Unless you've had just 1-2 jobs in those 10 years, it sounds like your efforts to trim down to one page might have been cutting too deep. There's nothing wrong with a two-page resume.

My resume is 4 pages long, but I consider it more like a CV than a resume.

LeBroke

I have a 3 page resume (which I aptly name CV as well) and I prefer it that way as opposed to 1-liners. It gives me a chance to highlight both high-visibility projects I've worked on which look interesting to a human reader, as well as all the technologies I've worked with, which look good for search bots and recruiters.

I think the last time I had a 1-page resume was when I was applying for my first IT job and I only had 1 relevant job to list.

My next job I'll either have to change formatting or make it 4 pages, as I don't like taking out content.

bjpeter

LeBroke wrote: »

I have a 3 page resume (which I aptly name CV as well) and I prefer it that way as opposed to 1-liners. It gives me a chance to highlight both high-visibility projects I've worked on which look interesting to a human reader, as well as all the technologies I've worked with, which look good for search bots and recruiters.

I think the last time I had a 1-page resume was when I was applying for my first IT job and I only had 1 relevant job to list.

My next job I'll either have to change formatting or make it 4 pages, as I don't like taking out content.

Same here. I want employers to know everything about me, all that I have done and accomplished.

EANx

There are times I'll look at a three-page resume, depends on my mood and if I'm having trouble finding a good candidate. A four-pager gets tossed without being looked at. Not saying yours is this way but I find they tend to fit into one of two categories 1) Job descriptions made up mostly of bullet-lists or 2) Using 20 words when five will do. In both cases, they show the candidate doesn't know how to communicate well.

Flyslinger2

My current role required a PhD or 30 years of experience plus a host of certs and the detail to go with it.

I think it is entirely role based and you should tailor your boilerplate resume to what they want.

Never have a resume that is "stock" and as soon as you see an opportunity send it. You have to tailor it to match the requirements in the posting.

thedudeabides

After some edits, mine is a bit longer now, but still in the 2-page range. Before, I just said things like "performed security audits", but this time around I added the names of tools used: Nessus, Burpsuite, Maltego, etc. Also added the model numbers of security appliances I worked with, e.g. Cisco ASA5506, rather than just generically saying "security appliances."

bjpeter

EANx wrote: »

There are times I'll look at a three-page resume, depends on my mood and if I'm having trouble finding a good candidate. A four-pager gets tossed without being looked at. Not saying yours is this way but I find they tend to fit into one of two categories 1) Job descriptions made up mostly of bullet-lists or 2) Using 20 words when five will do. In both cases, they show the candidate doesn't know how to communicate well.

I disagree about the communication part. A long CV could mean the person had a long history.

EANx

You're free to disagree but my opinion is that it shows that a person doesn't know how to be brief. More importantly, you'll find that most recruiters and managers dislike long resumes. Don't believe me? Go Google how long a resume should be. Most answers are that two pages is the optimal length.

Squished

Jumping in on this just to follow along. I recently hired a few firms to redo my IT resume. Not one, but all said absolutely not longer than 1 page and I have 12 years in the industry so that's what we went with. When I asked why, they said most of the HRIS systems are only scanning the first page of an incoming resume and even those sometimes only top 1/3rd of it. Past that it gets discarded. They all said save the details for the interview.

LOTS of interesting schools of thought on this one.

iBrokeIT

+1 EANx

Recent and relevant experience with the right keywords is all you need to land the interview. It is not a competition for the longest resume or who blather on about every technology they touched once. Clear and effective communication is a desired skill for those that work with management and executives on a regular basis.