Is it okay for resumes to be two pages?

For so long the standard was resumes should be only one page. However many people are now doing two pages. My experience seems limited when on one page. What is the current standard? What do you (as a recruiter) prefer?

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When you have enough experience to warrant it, having a resume on 2 pages is fine. Try to eliminate a lot of repetition of tasks (ie: created linesheet layouts) and place those in a SKILLS column, so you can focus more on the accomplishments of each role.

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Only with 10+ years of experience; never 3 pages.

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I also have a 2 page resume. With over 10 years of experience, I pared it down as much as possible. I included info graphics, blurbs, side bars to help cut the text and keep open space on the pages.

i had 5 at one point as i was told my entire career should be on it. In the spring got it down to 3 pages, most recently got it down to 2, but only putting duties for the most recent and just title and company for the remaining.

Be careful with graphics, etc - they could prevent your resume from getting past the ATS. Resume format should be very simple, & make certain the font you use is ATS compatible. You can always take a more interesting, self-expressive hard copy resume to an interview. First make certain you get past the ATS.

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You absolutely can have two pages. I write 250+ resumes every year for retail leaders and 90-95% of them are two pages. The one page rule is a myth.

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I have a resume that is two pages with 30 years experience.
The employer just quickly looks at all the companies I have worked for and it’s been
an easy “in”. They know I have the job experience and they know I am a “job hopper”
At some point I would just guarantee the company 2 years and they seemed to be OK with that.
If you have been in Industry long enough, everyone knows why you moved on. It’s no secret that
there are lots of bad work situations out there. On some level, it’s harder to get jobs because they know they can BS the new comers and don’t want to hire people they can’t push around.

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Yes, two pages is fine. Your resume should always try be 1 page whenever possible, - unless you do have 10+ relevant years and have no way to possibly edit it down and cannot take out your extremely important achievements. For most jobs employers will typically not look at more than the first page if you send a resume with two pages. If you want the hiring manager to be overwhelmed among the stacks of resumes they are getting, go for 2 pages. They might not even notice you have a second page in some cases, so always put the most important stuff on the first page. If it’s a job where the employer will not be getting many applicants, such as a job where you are asking for more than a $100k yearly salary, you should definitely have 2 pages to fully explain who you are and why you deserve the job, listing your skills. Always put your name and at least one type of contact information on both pages, in case they want to print out your resume and then they accidentally drop everything on the floor, scattered everywhere. Don’t make the font so tiny you need a magnifying glass to read it. These are (hopefully) real people reading your resume, so if you try to squish it all into one page in a tiny font, it might work against you.
(I’m not a recruiter…just been in the office enough times when my manager was looking to fill some roles)

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I used to have a 2 pages resume, but I just changed it to 1 page. This is why:

  • the jobs I did over 10 years ago are not relevant anymore in my career path
  • ageism is real, so if you held a manager role in 2001 for instance, and show it on your resume, it may give the recruiter an idea of your age
  • in many cases, positions someone held 15 years ago or so, are not relevant anymore and not of a recruiter’s interest.
    Also, I’ve seen resumes with like 8 or 10 bullet points for each position and I think it’s unnecessary IMO.

It also depends on what kind of position/job you are applying for though. If it’s senior roles like GM or COO, VP etc., two pages maybe make sense, but for lower positions such as Manager or even Director not so much, in my opinion.

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