Is your resume too short?

Business guru and one of my favorite bloggers, Guy Kawasaki tells us Everything You Wanted to Know About Getting a Job in Silicon Valley But Didn’t Know Who to Ask.  His advice includes some tidbits you probably already employ like showing up early for the interview, demonstrating passion when speaking about the job and company, and researching the competition.  He also offers some less obvious advice like preparing a strong and memorable answer to the standard ice-breaker “How are you?” and utilizing the first interviewer to better prepare yourself for the rest of the interview day. 

I mostly agree with Guy’s advice except for his recommendation that your resume should only be one page long, regardless of your experience or expertise.  “If you can’t … pitch yourself in one page, your idea is stupid and you suck, respectively,” writes Guy.  Whoa, harsh.  And wrong.

The one-page resume is not the golden rule anymore.   It’s not nearly as hard to scroll down in Word as it was to flip to the next page, I guess. :)   A two or three page resume is fine these days; in fact, if you compress your experience to one page for the sake of keeping folks like Guy happy, you may not effectively market your skills to the majority of your audience.

Utilize that 2nd or 3rd page if you need, but keep the juiciest information on the first page … even the top 2/3 of the page to ensure a quick glance in Word gets your point across.  Depending on your industry and your specific background, the information you choose to include on the 1st page can vary.  Think about what you want potential employers to know most about you.  Is it your most recent employer or work experience?  What about education?  Maybe it’s a list of skills or accomplishments?  Highlight that information first, and then use the next couple pages to clearly and concisely cover your other key accomplishments.

But remember:  concise is the key.  Use only the space you need, and don't go overboard. :)  Even the most experienced executives don't need more than 2-3 pages. 

Posted by Gretchen Ledgard

Comments

[Louise Fletcher]

I completely agree Gretchen. I detest this one-page advice. It's fine for some people but most people need 2 pages and it's nuts to try and force everything into a too small space.