What Are The Rules for Resume Length?

"How long should your resume be?"

Our lives are governed by rules. Traffic rules, workplace policies, household no-no's. Many serve a good purpose; others don't.

Such is the case with arbitrary resume "rules."

One would think that an authoritative body governs resume standards and set rules as to length, acceptable categories and formatting. And the fear of breaking one of these "rules" keeps job hunters writing ineffective "Objective Statements," and sticking to other old-fashioned ideas that no longer serve a purpose.

The question of the ideal resume's length, for example, continues to confuse. From bloated seven page resumes to skimpy one pagers, recruiters have seen them all. Ideally, a resume should be as long as it needs to be to demonstrate precisely what you have done in past positions that is relevant to the position to which you are applying. And although some senior executives could justify a seven page resume-most of which could be seen as addendums of training, presentations, authored papers, and committee and board-work-most of us can rarely justify anything beyond two pages.

Here's how to do it:

Concentrate on the top part of page one
Research shows that when inundated with too many resumes and too little time, the recruiter spends perhaps 15 seconds on each resume with the goal of eliminating as many as possible. The reviewer's eyes reliably rest on the top part of page one when conducting this highly competitive purge. Replacing the Objective Statement with a succinct and strategic profile will immediately "sell" the reader on your candidacy.

Avoid repetition with key words and phrases

If you have held three positions, all quite similar, do not repeat identical accountabilities under each position. You are not aiming at recreating your position descriptions in the resume.

To reduce repetition, create a section of your hard skills and competencies. An operational manager might cite "standardized processes," "multi-site management," "cross-training"; a sales professional might state "account development," "solution-based selling," and "exceeding sales goals." Eliminating repetitious text allows you to concentrate on the resume's strong backbone: results and achievements.

Focus on expertise and achievements

Rather than overdoing the general accountabilities of your past employs, focus in on how you applied the skills necessary in the role to improve each employer's bottom line.

Adding specific information that goes beyond that position description list of bullets, and showing how your hire would potentially benefit the employer reliably holds your reader's interest.

Don't date yourself

These days, resumes only go back 10-15 years; anything beyond that is likely outdated in technology or approach. Eliminating a reference to how you could troubleshoot typewriters or of having worked with mainframes that occupied entire floors, frees up valuable resume real estate for more relevant, recent work.

Distinguish yourself from other candidates with the quality of information rather than the length of your resume.

Award-winning and published professional resume writer, Stephanie Clark, is owner of New Leaf Resumes, a full-time resume writing and interview coaching service. Published in several American and Canadian career publications, Stephanie also writes a weekly career article for a local daily paper.

Recently invited to contribute as an Invited Expert Blogger, you can follow Stephanie's interview blog at http://www.careerthoughtleaders.com/blog.

Sign up for Stephanie's monthly newsletter and order her E-books through her website, at http://www.newleafresumes.com/, or by calling toll free (North America-wide) 1-855-550-5627.