Q. My resume has grown to four pages and I feel it’s important to include what I’ve done in my past three jobs as well as my relevant college experience and internships. The resume isn’t opening as many doors as I expected and I wonder if it’s too much. Some recruiters say it needs to be one page, and I read where you say two is OK. What do you think; do employers really object to longer resumes? -EW
A. Thanks for the question and for including your current resume. You, indeed, need to cut your resume down to a maximum of two pages. Focus on your most recent job, and include less detail about prior jobs. About half of your resume should focus on your current position, and prior jobs should account for a decreasing percentage of the resume until your very first job(s) could be reduced to a line or two.
Be sure to stress measurable accomplishments, not just bullet points of job responsibilities. Since you’ve had several jobs after college, you do not need to include college positions or internships–unless they are directly relevant to the job that you’re seeking.
Resume format is important; stick with the basics. Microsoft provides some excellent templates, but avoid those that are overly flashy or contain artwork. You also might want to read the tips from a previous post about how to get your resume out from under the stacks of others. Bottom line: Edit away. No resume (other than for academic positions) should be more than two pages. Be as specific as possible about accomplishments, don’t just list duties.
There are also great resume writing services that will give you objective and constructive feedback for reasonable prices. Try betterresumes.com or just googling “resume writing services” for your local city.