How long should your
resume be? It depends.
You know what to include in your resume — but how long should it be?
Don’t worry. Millions of job seekers have asked the same question.
The simple answer — the right resume length is one or two pages. But the exact length will depend on how far along you are in your career.
Want more detail? No problem. This guide will help you:
When you’re ready to write your resume, you may want to consider using a Resume Generator. You’ll get wording suggestions tailored to your work history and expert tips for every section of your resume.
Resume length — your questions answered
Resume length triggers a lot of conversation. Some people argue one page is the ideal length. Others say your resume should be as long as it needs to be. Debates rage over how much you can adjust the margins and font size without raising eyebrows.
We’re here to end myths and misconceptions about resume length once and for all. Here are clear and concise answers to the most common questions.
Does a resume have to be one page?
No! The most common misconception about resume length is that it must be one page long. The reality is more complicated — one page is great for some job seekers, but others may need more space.
OK, how many pages should a resume be then?
Your resume should be one or two pages long.
Whether one or two pages is right for you should be based on a couple of factors:
- How long have you been working?
- How deep is your experience?
If you’ve been working for more than 10 years straight, the chances are you could extend your resume to a second page. If your relevant experience is deep, meaning you’ve held two or three jobs in your industry, that’s even more reason to create a two-page resume.
Is making it longer than two pages ever OK?
No, resumes should never go longer than two pages.
If you work in a field like law, medicine or academia, you may need more space to list your conferences, publications and teaching experiences, in which case a CV may be a better option.
Why does resume length matter anyway?
Resume length is important for two reasons:
- Hiring managers are busy and don’t have time to read lengthy resumes.
- Limiting the length forces you to be more concise and truly focus on your top skills and abilities.
Whether you’re writing your professional summary, skills or work experience bullet points, keeping your resume to one or two pages will help you make a shorter, tighter document.
How far back in time should a resume go?
The rule of thumb on how far back to go on a resume is that experience going back longer than 15 years can be cut without a problem.
The main point is that a perfect resume will focus on relevant and timely experience. The further you go back, the less relevant the experience becomes. However, you can always make an exception for impressive honors and awards.
How long should my resume be as a student?
Most students don’t have much professional experience, so opting for a one-page resume would be the better option. Students may find that even at one page, it can be tough to fill out a resume when you don’t have a work history.
We recommend adding optional resume sections to showcase your non-work experience. These sections include:
- Volunteer work
- Honors and awards
- Extracurricular activities
- Special projects
Anything you did in the course of your schooling that used your specific talents might be a good addition to your resume.
What’s the best resume length with no work experience?
Students and candidates who don’t have work experience often face a similar problem — without a professional history, what do you include on your resume?
As mentioned above, special sections are your friend. That time you volunteered at a summer camp? Put it on there. That school project you helped usher to the finish line? Add it to your resume.
The important part is — employers want to see relevant experience. You won’t always learn things inside the workplace, and that’s OK. Other settings are perfectly fine.
Consider creating a resume outline before you start. An outline can help you build out your resume sections.
What’s the length difference between a CV and a resume?
A CV is much longer than a resume. CVs are frequently used for academic, legal, medical or scientific roles. Job seekers in these fields must include many sections you wouldn’t necessarily find on a resume, like professional associations, publications and conference attendance. Before you know it, the document is running four or five pages long.
In comparison, resumes should be no more than two pages.
4 tips for making your resume length perfect
Whether you decide to keep it down to one page or expand it to two, getting your resume length right is an important step in your job search.
Here are a handful of ways to change the length of your resume to meet your needs.
1. Play with your formatting — margins, line spacing, font size
Your resume length will be affected by the margins, line spacing and font size. You can gain or cut some space by adjusting these elements — as long as you follow resume formatting rules.
For example, your font size should be no smaller than 10 points and no larger than 12 points. If your resume is slightly too long, dropping the point size from 11 to 10 will help you reach your goal.
But be careful. You don’t want to appear like you’re trying to hide a lack of experience by super-sizing the margins or font. Always stick with the guidelines.
Choosing a well-designed resume template can also help. Templates come with preloaded fonts and spacing, and they are professionally designed, so you don’t have to fuss with the formatting. Simply find a style that works for you. Designs are also available for Microsoft Word and Google Docs.
2. When it comes to work experience, achievements beat job duties
Never simply recite your job duties. While you can easily rack up work experience bullet points by citing tasks, that’s not meaningful.
What matters most are the results. How much money did you bring in? How many customers did you serve? How were you rated in your performance evaluations?
By focusing on metrics, you can cut the bullet points that don’t matter. Review our resume examples to see how successful candidates use their work histories effectively.
3. Cut out early, less relevant experience
Every time you refresh your resume, ask yourself whether you need to keep your earliest roles. When you were only five years into your career, it made sense to keep your first job out of college, but when you’re 10 or 15 years deep, maybe it’s time to drop that internship.
You should also take a critical look at your skills. Do you have any out-of-date software programs listed? Some resumes have qualifications that no longer matter — or could even undermine their case to an employer.
Cutting irrelevant info can save space and make you look better.
4. Limit the descriptions of each role
Work experience is crucial, but don’t go overboard. Consider limiting your most recent jobs to three-to-four bullet points per role.
What’s the best way to do this? After you choose a resume layout, review your professional history and prioritize the bullet points that show you made an impact. Results are always more impressive than routine tasks.
After you make your cuts, consider moving some of the skills and qualifications into your resume profile, objective statement or skills section. Don’t forget to show love to every part of your resume.
In the end, what’s the ideal length for a resume?
While there’s no silver bullet for deciding how long your resume should be, these rules can guide your decision.
Your resume should be one-to-two pages long.
Consider adding a second page if you have 10+ years of experience.
Be concise when recounting your work history.
Job seekers with little experience should add optional sections.
We hope our guide will help you finalize your resume.
Don is a Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) with more than 10 years’ experience creating digital content, including four years helping job seekers develop their careers. He holds an M.S. in Journalism from Northwestern University.
