Darn my resume!

So I'm trying to send out resumes to land myself a new day job and I have the silliest problem... it's too long! I've actually had too much relevant work experience.

I really don't mean to sound like I'm bragging or anything.... (like 'oh yeah i wish I had that problem') This is a real problem. I mean if I don't show how much experience I've had, I run the risk of getting paid less... but if I show it all, my resume is just pages long... which doesn't really look good either.

Oy, there has to be a better way than this....

How do you have it laid out right now? Do you have each company listed, with all the relevant experience you had there? I used to have mine that way, and it was pretty long.

Instead, I created an area where I listed all my main areas of experience, and then a separate area where I just listed the companies with the years I worked there.

Doing that, I was able to get it down to the right size.

I have the main qualifications listed and then the companies I worked for - along with the names of the positions I held at each company.

I'm thinking if I chop down on the computer experience a little and shift things around I might be able to keep it at two page.... which is still too much, but better...

Honestly, I think I'm just frustrated that I have to do this in the first place which is making me cranky about doing it

BTW: Does anyone know if there is a way to properly list a magazine article you were interviewed for? I know I'm thinking of bibliographies from grade school reports, but I didn't know if similar rules apply.

Thanks!

what i did to shorten mine up was put the 3 last companies i worked for, and add a line saying " more information/ work experience information upon request"

Ooh that could work!

Originally Posted by Liza24

what i did to shorten mine up was put the 3 last companies i worked for, and add a line saying " more information/ work experience information upon request"

Click to expand...

The rule of thumb is to list the past 3 companies (or 5 years experience if you did a lot of qualified job hopping).

Also the resume depends on what you're career is too. I've been told not to write it longer than 2 pages for IT. However I have friends in the medical research were their resumes are 3-4 pages.

Also if its a skill that is outdated or that has been updated, just take it off. I.e. being in IT its pointless for me to list "Word/Excel/Powerpoint/etc" in my major skills since I should know that stuff ( ).

List the qualifications that thy would be looking for in the job your applying for. Then you can put more on request.

I've played and played... there's no way this is going to be less than two pages.

At this point either I lose the part about the article I was in - a trade publication that is very highly thought of in my industry and all the higher ups read... or I lose the computer skills section - which is all industry specific software that companies require and expertise with...

So it's two pages and I'll just deal with it

2 pages isnt bad.

Oh I thought it was 3 pages and you were trying to get it down to 2.

It's not a "sin" per say in the application world if your resume is over 1 page. Actually if you have a bunch of experience and are trying to fit it into 1 page, then don't. You can hurt yourself when applying to jobs if you have a ton of experience, but don't list the major stuff for the job in your resume. In fact it will make you look more "entry level" if you keep it to one. 1 1/2 - 2 pages is kosher.

Originally Posted by lunasmom

Oh I thought it was 3 pages and you were trying to get it down to 2.

It's not a "sin" per say in the application world if your resume is over 1 page. Actually if you have a bunch of experience and are trying to fit it into 1 page, then don't. You can hurt yourself when applying to jobs if you have a ton of experience, but don't list the major stuff for the job in your resume. In fact it will make you look more "entry level" if you keep it to one. 1 1/2 - 2 pages is kosher.

Click to expand...

Oh no... it was 3, I'm now down to two... there's just no way it's getting any smaller than that because I'm just barely at two instead of three

But your right... I hadn't thought about it but something smaller could make me look entry level and that is one thing I am definitely not. On second thought, I want it to be one page... two pages is making me feel OLD!

Hey there,
I'm a professional recruiter of 11 years now. In today's market there's something behind the scenes we call the "15/15" rule, that is, most employers take 15 seconds to read the first 15 lines of a resume. If it doesn't sell you, or create any compelling reason to read further, they don't. I'm a middle market recruiter (positions between $40k-100k) and I will honestly say that resumes are to get the interview, not explain an entire life story. The past 10 years are key or past 3 jobs, whichever is is longer. Also, some candidates tend to "over-bullet" where they use one bullet for one skill instead of grouping key skill sets together; using semi-colons and commas within each bullet and delineating sectors of skills or achievements and duties instead of every little thing. Also, margins can be .8/ea x 4, which will free up some space and your name does not need to be 20 pt font tall. I doubt yours is, just reflecting.

But that said, you are welcome to send it to me with just the text, as I wouldn't want to compromise any privacy of this site and I will send it back free of charge. Every person's resume I've done has gotten the job.
-E.