How many pages are too many?

[Will Lassalle, PMP, MBA]

Hello all, great forum!

I do some hiring.
On my team at work, when we get resume for new openings some of the guys on the team just toss out any resume over 3-4 pages long. My resume personally is currently 4 pages and I still dont feel that I can include everything hiring managers are looking for without sacrificing something else on my resume that I feel is important.

I have seen 2 page resumes for candidates that leave me scratching my head thinking "thats it?", and others of career long contractors/consultants that are 12 pages long!

I hear all kinds of mixed stories from recruiters and hiring managers with respect to how many pages a resume should be.
From 2 pages to however many it takes to include all your jobs.

So now on to your feedback.

How many pages are too many for a resume???

[Vincent Wright]

Good question, Will.

Briefly:

In general, I vote that 3 pages are "too many". And that for the reason that you want to encourage the recipient to *READ* your resume AND CALL YOU!

I honestly know of no Recruiter/Hiring Manage who looks forward to reading a 12 page resume or learning every possible thing about an applicant from the resume, alone.

Also Will, cultural changes contribute to changing our perception of how we define "too many" or "too much".

Think about it: though books sales are strong, many people prefer articles, short blog posts, and text messaging than reading complex matter such as "War And Peace" or the Mahābhārata.

And think about these three well-known recent success phenomena: Twitter, YouTube, SMS messages. All emphasize brevity. I think their success shouldn't be dismissed as we market ourselves these days. That is NOT to say however, that a resume should be reduced to a 140 character Twitter message. Rather, that we should remember that most people who are likely to read our resumes want (full) communication in as short a time frame as possible.

[Deborah James]

Resume length: As a certified professional resume writer and career management coach, my typical executive resume is between 2-3 pages. Depending on the career focus I sometimes create a Critical Leadership Initiatives page where I focus in on 3-4 top career accomplishments and go into more detail. If need be, I also create an Executive Bio. I'm always glad to critique a resume, so send it on to me at [e-mail]. This can take 3-4 days because of my current workload and crazy 80 hour weeks. BTW, I also write and critique resumes for ExecuNet.com - a fantastic organization !!

Deb James

[Ron McManmon]

A friend and former colleague sent this CV discussion to me as this is a major pet peeve I have had for many years of hiring very large teams for my personal needs as a hiring manager (former VP of Sales and Marketing). Additionally, as an Executive Recruiter and Career Coach for the past decade this continues to be an on going issue....

If any of my hiring managers or recruiters ever nixed a candidate for their CV being too long or recommended to a candidate they either scale their CV back (unless there is fluff or redundant information) or develop a "FUNCTIONAL" CV... I would have to let them go... fishing!

Granted NO FLUFF but I am personally interested in making the best possible hire I can, and it seems to me that the more information the better. Otherwise we are not doing our jobs as RECRUITERS, HR OR HIRING MANAGERS - PERIOD!

[Vincent Wright]

Ron,
You make a valid and correct point. However, as we discuss this, I think it's important for us to try to keep two populations of people and their responsibilities in mind:

Group 1 - Candidates/Resume Writers Group 2 - Recruiters/Hiring Managers

1. a.)Should keep resumes brief 2.a.) A. Should not dismiss long resumes

As a Career Coach, I recommend brevity. But, brevity is not to come at the expense of clear communication.

As a Recruiter, even in the midst of finding the best talent, my job is to reduce the time burden on my client. I put the best talent with the best resume on top of my referral slate.

As a former Manager of Recruiters in both small agencies and multi-national corporations, I wouldn't fire them, I'd coach them. And that for the reason that it's just as hard to find good, talented Recruiters as it is to find any other good professionals. But, other than that difference, I'd essentially do the exact same thing as you: make sure that my Recruiters get me the best talent first. We'll address resume length, later.

Thanks,
Vincent Wright
MyLinkingPowerForum.com
Skype = MyLinkedinPowerForum

[Elaine Basham]

I think that when you're writing your resume, you have to be willing to edit it down. The resume needs to tell your story, but also pique someone's interest enough to want to call you to find out more - and that balance can be tricky. One way to edit is to read every sentence, then ask yourself "so what?". If that sentence is a reason why someone should hire you, leave it in. If not, consider taking it out. Normally, a resume shouldn't be more than 2 pages, unless you have lots of presentations, publications, technologies, etc. that are relevant and important to the job you're applying for.