Executive Resume Too Short? Here Are Some Ways to Lengthen It

There are many challenges to being an executive job seeker. It’s likely that one of the biggest is that you have been employed for so long that you don’t remember how to search for work anymore. Not to mention that the job-seeking world may have changed significantly since your last seeking experience.

But another challenge some executives struggle with could be unique to others: the short resume. If you are a candidate who has experience with only one or two companies, you may feel uncomfortable submitting a resume that looks like it could belong to an entry-level professional.

It’s true that executive resumes are typically a bit lengthy due to the excess of qualifications acquired over the years. So if you’re working with a one-pager, here are some ideas to help stretch it out.

Spread Out Your History

If you are working with the history of only one or two employers, it’s possible that your entire resume may stretch out to only one or one and a half pages. In order to give your resume some length (and depth), it’s good to dig into your history to find ways to spread it out some.

For instance, rather than listing only your executive positions in your resume, provide an overview of your rise to the position by listing your roles within the companies you worked for.

List each position, the title, and years worked—then note any top-notch accomplishments that helped you to get promoted. Be sure to briefly explain what it was that helped bump you up to the next level. This will not only stretch out your resume but also give employers greater insight into why your career has been so successful.

Choose (Slightly) Larger Font Sizes

If you are utilizing two or three different font sizes throughout your resume, consider upping the size of each one—little by little—to see how much length you get. Start with just a one-half font-size increase (i.e., 11 to 11.5) to see how much the resume stretches. Then step it up another half-point to see the difference that makes.

Of course, you don’t want to make the resume fonts too large because then the hiring decision makers are likely to notice—so be careful not to increase the sizes too much.

Increase Line Spacing

Another way to give your resume more length is to increase the line spacing. Whether you’re jumping from single spacing to 1.5, or only adjusting the spacing between paragraphs, these subtle changes can make a difference in the length of your resume, and can even create more white space—which is a good thing.

But like font sizes, avoid increasing the spacing too much. It’s much better to add more content to your resume than to rely on formatting tricks.

Unfortunately, the job-seeking world is one that judges books by their covers more often than not. So while your history as an executive might be very impressive, the appearance that you have no history at all could stop your search in its tracks.