how long is your resume?

[tommyj27]

i'm in the process of tailoring my resume for a specific position and I was just curious how long everyone else's is. Mine is crammed on to one page, which is how I've always been told a resume should be. But I've also seen multi-page resumes, especially for people in non-profit for some reason.

 

[greenfreak]

I was always told the same thing but if it's a technical resume with at least three jobs worth of relevant experience, it's impossible. Mine is two full pages but it's easier to read and eye-friendly.

 

[HomeLAN]

Mine just recently moved to two pages, but I've got 17 years of working experience, two degrees, etc. Technical histories also inflate the length, but if you can keep it on one, that's ideal.

 

[tommyj27]

Trying to say everything inside of a page is a living nightmare, required me to employ all manner of document trickery like small margins and fonts. I've tried to offload a lot of specifics into cover letters but then I feel like I'm being under-represented in my resume.

And should a resume be strictly in the third person? First person? my choice? right now it's kind of a combination of the two.

 

[Starya]

I've never actually had to put one together.

 

[HomeLAN]

And should a resume be strictly in the third person? First person? my choice? right now it's kind of a combination of the two.

Third person if possible. DO NOT switch back and forth.

 

[MrBishop]

After having triaged resumés until my ear bled, I can safely say that 1 page for mostly blue-collar work and two pages for mostly white-collar work is the norm. White collar work descriptives require more space, and the level of education takes up some more room. Dont' squeeze the resumé too much...it makes it illegible. I've seen 4 page resumés that were 90% BS, and one pagers that were good as gold.

Legibility and detail (relevant) are most important. Grouping is very important too. I suggest a section for 'skills', one for job history (past 3-4 jobs -detailed before that with less detail), and education. If you like...state hobbies and volunteer work. Sometimes a hobbie will catch the reviewers eye nicely.

Good luck!

 

[abooja]

One page. And, as sorry-ass as my resume is, it was difficult squeezing all the nonsense into that one page.

 

[chcr]

Mine's like GF's, two pages but easy to read. I can't fit 30 years worth of experience on one page. HomeLAN's right about the third person thing. Sounds much more professional IMO. I think we can trust his judgement with all that HR experience.

 

[tommyj27]

Thanks for the hints thus far, I really appreciate it. I let this one bleed onto the second page and things seem much clearer now. I tried to expand on my skills section somewhat, and still keep it concise and organized. Any comment? Too vague? Not organized? Roast me at will.

Qualifications:

· Technical Skills: Experience in Information Systems, using and administering Linux, Microsoft Windows, OpenBSD, Cisco IOS, and the hardware associated with each platform. Has an excellent understanding of network protocols, topologies, and design. Experienced at troubleshooting all manner of network and computer problems. Studied and utilized the subjects covered by many industry certifications including: A+, Cisco CCNA, and Net+. Actively participates in many aspects of the IT community to stay current with emerging trends and issues.

· Communication Skills: Experience in communicating effectively with people of differing technical abilities, in a variety of different situations. Believes in working as a team to accomplish goals.

· Organization Skills: Adept at recognizing and prioritizing tasks. Understands the importance of maintaining, clear, up-to-date documentation in IT. Can concurrently manage routine tasks with other goals.

· Leadership Skills: Earned the Boy Scouts of America’s highest rank, “Eagle Scout”; continues to be active in Scouting as an adult leader. Flexibility to lead and participate in team-based settings, as well as work individually. Has a high ethical standard for personal conduct, and the appropriate application of Information systems to safeguard information.

...and i hate the way vB tries to format text that gets pasted from the clipboard. I've resorted to laundering it in notepad first.

 

[HomeLAN]

Too much passive in there. Get down to the root and make that the active verb. Try this:

Qualifications:

· Technical Skills: Information Systems professional, using and administering Linux, Microsoft Windows, OpenBSD, Cisco IOS, and the hardware associated with each platform. Understands in depth network protocols, topologies, and design. Troubleshoots all manner of network and computer problems. Studied and utilized the subjects covered by many industry certifications including: A+, Cisco CCNA, and Net+. Actively participates in many aspects of the IT community to stay current with emerging trends and issues.

· Communication Skills: Communicates effectively with people of differing technical abilities, in a variety of different situations. Believes in working as a team to accomplish goals.

· Organization Skills: Adept at recognizing and prioritizing tasks. Understands the importance of maintaining, clear, up-to-date documentation in IT. Can concurrently manage routine tasks with other goals.

· Leadership Skills: Earned the Boy Scouts of America’s highest rank, “Eagle Scout”; continues to be active in Scouting as an adult leader. Leads and participates in team-based settings, as well as works individually. Has a high ethical standard for personal conduct, and the appropriate application of Information systems to safeguard information.

BTW, where's the real world experience? You say you've got all these skills, but what have you accomplished with them to date?

 

[MrBishop]

Point form or long hand...not BOTH. I'd go with third-person if you're doing it long-hand only. In point form...there is no hand, just bullets.

· Bilingual – French and English (Written/spoken)

· Lotus 1,2,3, MS Office 97, 2000, XP, WordPerfect 5.1+, MsDOS 3+, Lotus Suite

· Macintosh OS 9.0+, Win 3.0+, NT 4.0, Windows 2000+

· PageMaker v.7, QuarkXpress, Illustrator, Photoshop, MS Publisher, Imageready

· HTML, DHTML, CSS, Java, Web-Design, Dreamweaver, InDesign, FlashMX

· Facility in Internet Data-Mining

· Computerized Statistical Analysis

· ·Self-Reliant and a Team Player

· Learn quickly and can teach what has been learned

· Certified CPR and First Aid

 

[MrBishop]

BTW, where's the real world experience? You say you've got all these skills, but what have you accomplished with them to date?

Good point... though you can seperate a skill-set and 'real world'...the RW stuff'd go in the Job-experiences. Make sure to highlight rewards, raises, promotions, letters from clients etc...

 

[HomeLAN]

As well as increases to efficiencies, bottom line effects, and cost reductions. Make it pay.

 

[greenfreak]

I detest paragraphs on resumes, I always go for bullet points. I've seen technical resumes that have a section up top with two wide columns - one for hardware skills, one for software skills. Then underneath was the work experience, and I thought it looked great. The really important information is right at the top, in an easy to read manner and if they have time, the work experience is below.

If you do go to two pages, make sure your header info (contact info) is repeated on the top of the second page.

In bullets, I put the most relevant work experience at the top according to what they keywords in the job ad. I try to keep each bullet to one line, at the most two lines.

I don't put any "personal" skills on my resume. I don't put lines like "self-starter", "team player", etc. It's just personal preference, I don't think an interviewer for a technical job is going to gain anything from reading that. If it was customer service or help desk or something, I would put something in about communication skills, but otherwise I leave it off.

I can email you my resume if you want to take a look. I have some of the same skills as you. You might be able to glean some "action words" (administered, utilized, processed, etc.) or just get an idea of the "look" I go for.

 

[tommyj27]

Too much passive in there. Get down to the root and make that the active verb. Try this:

good call, it felt like a funeral dirge to write, i figured it had to be about that exciting to read. i hate trying to decribe myself in the 3rd person.

BTW, where's the real world experience? You say you've got all these skills, but what have you accomplished with them to date?

I'm less than a year out of school, so real world experience in a work setting is somewhat lacking. i do have a work experience / past employment section, but i didn't include it because i haven't rewritten it yet. Where I do have applicable experience, I've made note of it. The bulk of my technical experience is all for my personal use, learning and doing things for my own personal benefit.
I've included that later in my resume as a short statement in my interests section about maintaining my own network of computers for testing and personal use. I was going to expand on that as well and make it more positive, should it stay there or get moved somewhere else?

I detest paragraphs on resumes, I always go for bullet points.

I'm more of a paragraph person myself, bullet points make me feel constricted. But short bullet points are easier to absorb in a glance.

 

[HomeLAN]

I'm less than a year out of school, so real world experience in a work setting is somewhat lacking. i do have a work experience / past employment section, but i didn't include it because i haven't rewritten it yet. Where I do have applicable experience, I've made note of it. The bulk of my technical experience is all for my personal use, learning and doing things for my own personal benefit.
I've included that later in my resume as a short statement in my interests section about maintaining my own network of computers for testing and personal use. I was going to expand on that as well and make it more positive, should it stay there or get moved somewhere else?

Your format is OK, so are bullets. That's really more of a personal choice.

The problem with having the majority of your real experience qualifying as a personal hobby is that you're inclined to overstress that. Don't. Even though it's in your area of expertise, they aren't gonna want to hear too much about it. Mention it, but don't overplay it. It's like listing your personal website on a resume'. Even if you're a website designer, what if they think it sucks? That's happened.

If the majority of your qualifications are educational, that's OK. I assume the position you're going for matches that dynamic.

BTW, if that is the case here, two pages absolutely is overkill.

 

[MrBishop]

Self-starter etc...ar good to catch computerized CV-readers, so you don't get tossed out with the chaff.

 

[Huge]

Here's my resume (I need to spruce it up).

I've always been told that your resume should be brief and on one page (depending on what you do). The reasoning is that during the interview, that is when you embelish on your job skills and what you've done in the past.

 

[MrBishop]

Here's my resume (I need to spruce it up).

I've always been told that your resume should be brief and on one page (depending on what you do). The reasoning is that during the interview, that is when you embelish on your job skills and what you've done in the past.

A wee bit more space to differentiate between sections. (End of Experience and beginning of Computer Experience). Include Acrobat as a skill...many companies are looking for this, not to save paper but to increase security of docs across the 'net. Other than that...it looks clean. You can play with the leading if adding a seperator space pushes it to two pages. On your DPO experience (Second one)...can you move the date to the line above? It's kinda 'orphaned'.

As a former reviewer...I prefered to see skills, then application (experience), then Education. Just IMHO...others prefer Edu/Exp/Skills.