When Should Your Resume Be More Than a Page Long?

Your resume length can say a lot about you as an applicant. Short, succinct resumes are sometimes a boon for busy reviewers, but there are cases where resumes over a page long can actually help your chances. In these instances, it pays to deliver both quality and quantity, and three key elements can dictate when you should turn to a greater resume length instead of keeping things short and sweet.

Your experience in the field should be the first driver of resume length. Going over a single page is easily justified if your experience requires it. When you accumulate more than 10 years of experience in a single role or series of related positions, listing your skills and accomplishments in detail is likely to take more than a single page. A two-page resume is often plenty for even the most experienced candidates, so make sure to leave out any self-aggrandizement and focus on your achievements and successes.

The second element that can drive resume length beyond a single page is if you choose to use illustrations. Bar graphs and pie charts often help explain your successes more easily than lists of figures and percentages. These should be used sparingly and kept to the second page of the resume, but they can provide easily digestible information that helps deliver confidence in your abilities. Be careful when turning to charts and graphs in online resume submissions; format compatibility and email spam settings may view attachments as hazardous and reduce them to code or eliminate them entirely. In these cases, it is best to avoid the use of images that may appear as attachments unless you are certain they render properly.

A final driver of resume length comes in the form of a request from the company. If the company has specified information that must appear in the resume, such as dates of education and majors or lists of specific awards and achievements, then you leave them out at your own peril. Adherence to the requests of your potential employer is paramount, even if it drives you past traditional single-page resume length; however, still strive to keep a maximum of a two-page resume submission if possible. Choosing succinct phrases and eliminating extraneous information that does not immediately illustrate your skills or accomplishments can help keep you as close to the optimum resume length as possible.

There are three major elements that can push your resume over the standard single-page length: requests from the potential employer, extensive experience in the position and the inclusion of easy-to-read graphics to bolster your qualifications. Aim to keep your resume as clear and succinct as possible, but do not fear going over the single-page resume length if you do it for the right reasons.

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