How Long Should a Resume Be? A Complete Guide

There’s no time to spare! Recruiters spend less than seven seconds reviewing each resume. They don’t have time to read a super long application and if yours is too long, they might skip over it altogether. Understanding the rules of resume length can help you to avoid this common problem.

So, how long should a resume be? In the following guide, we look at the factors influencing resume length, the argument for a one-page resume vs a two-page resume, and general resume formatting tips.

How many pages should a resume be?

The standard resume length is one or two pages. However, there are many factors influencing resume length—as we’ll discuss later in this guide. Additionally, in some careers, the industry standard is to submit a longer resume.

The number one rule here is quality over quantity.

Everything you include adds value to your application. Trying to fill pages with “fluff” for the sake of boosting your resume length is never a good idea. On the other hand, leaving out important information to keep things short and sweet could put you at a disadvantage.

What are the main factors influencing resume length?

When trying to decide how long a resume should be, there are many factors to consider. Ultimately, the decision is yours.

However, we’ve broken down the main things that you should think about:

Career stage

If you’re just entering the workforce, chances are you won’t have enough content to fill two pages. For early-career professionals, you can usually stick to a one-page resume with a clear layout. Equally, if you’re a career changer, you might want to keep things short and use a functional resume layout.

However, if you’ve had a long, linear career, you might have a ton of relevant experience to share. In that situation, you may need to use a full two pages to share that. For example, if you’ve been working in sales for the last 10+ years, you may want to illustrate a wealth of sales-related positions.

Industry expectations

Different industries have different expectations. For example, if you work in academia, you might be required to submit a longer curriculum vitae. This document will cover not only the standard resume sections, but also a detailed account of your academic history, research papers, and publications.

In that case, you can throw the one or two-page resume rule out of the window. Before deciding which resume length works for you, take into account what the expectations of your industry are.

Experience relevance

You might have 15 years’ worth of experience, but is it all relevant to the vacancy? If you started your working life in customer service but worked in marketing for the last five years, only those years count. Put simply, you don’t need to include your part-time job at McDonald’s in your work history section.

Go through your former positions and decide which you need to include. It’s not about showing the hiring manager every role you’ve held. Instead, share only your most relevant experience with them.

Company rules

Finally, before you decide on the right resume length, refer back to the job advert. In some cases, the employer or hiring manager will specify how long applications should be. For instance, the advert may say to “submit a one-page resume online”. Make sure you follow these instructions to the T.

This approach tells the hiring manager two things about you—you read the job description thoroughly and you have a high level of attention to detail. When choosing applications to interview, these attributes put you in a prime position. Always check the job advert before you do anything else!

Resume formatting tips to keep in mind

Whatever resume length you choose, one thing’s for sure: you need to get the format right. These choices you make will impact your resume length.

With that in mind, here are some of the main ones:

Font size

The standard font size for your resume body content is 12pt. However, you can drop that down to 10pt when it comes to bullet-pointed sections. For headers, you should go with 14pt as standard.

Never make the mistake of going lower than 10pt as this is difficult to read. Sure, you might be able to cram more information onto the page this way but the hiring manager will struggle to read it.

Line spacing

Your top priority is readability! To help make your text more legible, go with 1.0 to 1.15 line spacing. This leaves a small gap between sentences making it easy for the eye to follow.

Bullet points

Bullet points can be major space savers. When you want to share a lot of information quickly, these are the answers you’ve been looking for. You can use bullet points in your work experience and skills sections.

When writing these, make sure the language you use is clear and concise. There’s no space to ramble. Always use the least amount of words possible to still get your point across to the reader.

Page margins

White space is vital when formatting your resume. As a general rule, ensure your margins are between 0.5 and 1 inch. Any larger than that, and they’ll be too big and take up too much space.

FAQs about resume lengths

Looking for some additional advice? Check out our frequently asked questions below:

Conclusion

How long should a resume be? The answer depends on what it needs to include. Follow the advice we’ve outlined in this guide when deciding on the right resume length. Remember, there are formatting tricks you can use to save yourself some space along the way. While choosing the right length is important, the most important thing is that every part of your resume is valuable to the employer.

Now you’re well-versed in resume length, it’s time to get working on yours!