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Your resume is your ticket to a job interview, so if it doesn’t impress, you won’t proceed to the next step. If you’ve been applying for jobs, but hearing crickets, there’s a chance it’s either too short or too long.

There’s no set standard length for a resume, but a common misconception has led job seekers to believe crossing the one-page mark is a major don’t. In some cases this is advisable, but there’s no hard-and-fast rule to resume length.

Just as your resume should be tailored to fit the company you’re applying to, its length should be customized to accurately portray your skills and experience. Here’s a look at recommended resume lengths for every career stage.

Entry-Level Job Seekers

If you’re fresh out of high school or college, you probably haven’t had enough career-related experience to require a resume that exceeds one page. The exception would be if you’ve held several internships, on-campus leadership positions, or completed multiple relevant volunteer projects that would boost your candidacy. In this case, it’s okay to craft a two-page resume, but don’t go beyond that.

Experienced Professionals

You’ve been in the workforce for several years — or decades — so you have a lot to talk about. Chances are, you’ve had multiple jobs since joining the workforce, making it impossible to dedicate a few bullet points to each applicable position, without submitting a two-page resume. You can try to condense it onto one page, but you’ll be selling yourself short, and that won’t help you get hired.

Executive-Level Candidates

Making it to the C-Suite required a lot of hard work and effort, but you did it. You know landing a new job won’t be easy, so you want your resume to reflect the depth of your experience. The thing is, when it comes to resumes, longer isn’t always better. Every opportunity is different, but as a standard rule, consider submitting no more than a two-page resume, and including an addendum that highlights things like prestigious awards, publications you’ve written for — or were featured in — and conferences you’ve spoken at.

One rule to remember is never submit an additional page that includes just a few lines of text. This looks bad no matter where you are in your career. If you find yourself in this predicament, condense your content down to lose the extra page.

Not quite sure how to write a great resume? PrideStaff Northern Kentucky is here to guide you through every step of the job search process. Contact us today to find a temporary, temp-to-hire or direct hire position that makes you feel happy and fulfilled.

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