The Death of the One-Page Resume?

We've long been told to keep the resume to one page. But now that the job hunt has turned digital, job seekers are left wondering: Does that rule-of-thumb still stand?

While the answer depends largely on who you ask, many career coaches, recruiters, and hiring managers agree on something that comes as a shocker to job seekers who have edited, tweaked, and downsized fonts to abide by what was once regarded as a universal rule. If you need more than one page to showcase your fit for a position, they say, you should go for a second one.

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Comment by Alisa Tazioli on March 18, 2011 at 2:36pm: I wonder if one page resumes are a function of outdated technology that gets easily clogged (perhaps some are still relagated to in-box dependancy) and dare I say the attention span of the recruiter reading it. For the level of candidate I work with, I want and expect the resume will be complete and informative, and yes I read the whole thing. For experienced candidates an appropriate, well-crafted, and professional looking resume can easily be more than one page. I'm with Jerry, length is not an issue.

Comment by Gay Carter on March 18, 2011 at 2:45pm: In response to Comment by Jerry Albright 4 hours ago re One page vs, two page resume . . Believe it, or not, it is still an issue with many candidates. They are programmed to a one page resume, and have to be deprogrammed!

Comment by Helen Beaird on March 18, 2011 at 4:29pm: I think a one page resume is appropriate for candidates who have limited experience in the job they are applying for. However, candidates with extensive work experience for the job they are applying for and need to indicate licenses, languages, education and accomplishment, etc. should use a second page in if they need to, in order to to convey this information.

Comment by Barry Frydman on March 18, 2011 at 4:48pm: It is dead...If I see 1 in a hundred I'd be surprised

Comment by Paul Alfred on March 18, 2011 at 5:09pm: A professional Summary Works folks ... I am with Jerry its a non topic ... a Global Enterprise Architect can summarize his experience in 1 - 4 pages I have seen summaries that are 4 pages and Resume attached over 8 ...

Nothing wrong in sending out a Sample Resume to a Candidate saying this is the kind of resume my client wants to see ... Different skills and experience levels require different types of content it really is that simple...

Comment by Mark on March 18, 2011 at 5:34pm: I don't want to look at more than two pages on a resume; three pages at most. I do want your LinkedIn profile so I can see what you've done at other jobs.

I don't want fancy type faces or colors. I'm hiring engineers, not artists.

The absolute worst mistake? People actually leave their email address off of the resume. Go figure.

Comment by Barbara Goldman on March 18, 2011 at 7:00pm: It's ridiculous information. In scientific recruiting, we may have 20 page resumes. So much advice, so much nonsense.

Comment by Tania Howard on March 18, 2011 at 8:24pm: I wouldn't call it a universal rule given a one page resume has never been standard in our tiny corner of the world (Australia & NZ) here the standard is one page if you're a grad, two pages if you have less than 10 years work experience and up to four if you're senior. But yes just as anywhere in the world they get scanned, not read from cover to cover. The one page resume never lived here, you'd struggle to get an interview with one quite frankly.

Comment by Leah Davis on March 20, 2011 at 4:30pm: I've typically worked with the UK market and the norm has been 3 pages with lots of white space for ease of reading/scanning. Page 2 is the main point of interest containing all work experience. If they pass the test, then you look at page 1 for their contact details. If you want to be picky you look at interests on page 3 to get an idea of team fit.

Comment by Peter Southam on March 20, 2011 at 7:18pm: I'm assuming all of these comments ere from the USA. There is no "one page rule" here in Austalia. The resume needs to be concise with information relevant to the job the candidate is applying for. Any recruiters discounting a resume becuase it is longer that 2 pages but contains relevant information aren't doing there job properly.