How many pages should a resume be in 2024

One of the frequently asked questions that has been asked for years is whether a resume should be one page or several pages long. Much has been said on this topic, but few people know exactly what is required. To answer this question, we need to look at the different sections of a resume.

What should be on a resume

There are several sections that should be included in a resume, regardless of the candidate:

Contact Information

You wouldn't believe how many resumes are written without contact information. Be sure to include at least a cell phone number and email address. This is the bare minimum that a potential recruiter needs to get in touch with you.

Emphasize your skills

Your skills are what you need to "sell" to land your dream job. As Stephan, an HR director with 20 years of experience, regularly reiterates, it's your skills that will get you hired. But this is only possible if those skills and know-how are sufficiently publicized.

A candidate may have the best professional qualities, but if he or she does not know how to demonstrate them, make the most of them, they will never be known to the person who receives the resume.

For example, if a person is fluent in English but indicates this in the miscellaneous information section, the recruiter may skip that section and the skill will not be highlighted.

Therefore, you can imagine that highlighting skills on a resume can take up a lot of space, and in some cases require the document to take up several pages.

Highlighting knowledge and skills

In order for the application to be given the attention it deserves, knowledge and skills must be effectively emphasized. As with skills, you need to think about what you know how to do. This knowledge could relate to office automation or languages, for example.

It's important to be precise when talking about your knowledge; don't just say you're good at Word or Excel, but be specific about your level of expertise and feel free to give examples of what you can do (e.g. direct mail, pivot tables).

Emphasizing professional experience

Young people often feel they don't have enough experience, while adults over 50 may feel they have too much.

Notably, both of these categories of people are convinced that their level of experience is the real barrier to finding a job. Obviously, the more experience a candidate has, the more space they will occupy on a resume.

Similarly, the more companies a candidate has worked for, the more space their experience will take up. For example, a person who has worked for the same company for 30 years in the same position will take up one line on the resume. On the other hand, a young person who has worked for 5 years, but in 5 different companies, will have much more space allocated to experience than a more experienced person.

So, you can clearly see that there are no real rules when it comes to the amount of space allocated to work experience.

Hobbies and other activities

This part of the resume can be important if you include things that are meaningful and can benefit you. If you just write, "I love to read, travel, and go to the movies," for example, it won't make sense.

A recruiter will only be interested in your hobbies if they allow you to be more efficient or effective in your job.

If you are the president of an association, for example, it makes sense to indicate that for a management position, but if you like to store, it doesn't make sense.

Always keep this in mind on your resume, in all sections, and only include things that can make you stand out and add value to your application. For example, there is no way that a section on hobbies should take up more space than a section on professional skills.

The length of a resume

The length of a resume depends on a number of criteria. Going back to the question of the number of pages in a resume, the answer is simple: it depends. There are two main criteria: readability and candidate experience.

The first criterion: readability of the resume

A resume is all about communication, so it is important that it is not only legible, but also pleasant to read. To make it pleasant to read, the layout should be well thought out, with an attractive design and, above all, good spacing between sections.

In addition, the font size should be large enough (at least 10 pt) so that the recruiter does not strain their eyes when studying it. Don't force yourself to fit everything on one page, as this will put your application at a disadvantage.

If you are not very tech-savvy, you can download modern resume templates. All you need to do is fill it with your details.

The second criterion: the candidate's work experience

As we have seen earlier, the longer the experience, the more space it will take up in the resume. Nevertheless, it is important that your skills and knowledge are emphasized. However, there is no point in writing them several times just because you have used them with several employers. The recruiter just wants to know if you have mastered them or not.

However, the content of the skill needs to be accurately stated. Don't write "accounting skills" but write "compiling purchase orders," "reconciling bank accounts," "bookkeeping," etc.

It will take up more space, but it will emphasize and explain to the recruiter exactly what you can do and what the job is all about.

Bottom line: the accepted length of a resume

As you have already realized, there is no single answer to this question. You can start your career with a one-page resume and gradually increase it to two pages. Do not go beyond these limits, as it may be too much, but perhaps the situation will change in the future.