Help – my four-page resume in now two pages! Is this you? You have been too busy working and now it seems like it would take at least four pages to capture everything you have accomplished over the years.
Now if you have been following my blog posts, you will know that your professional resume is a strategic marketing tool; more importantly, your resume should be a living document that “sells” and position you as the prime candidate for your target positions.
Take a close look at your existing resume and if you are sifting through three and more pages, follow these steps to trim the document. Your goal should be to develop a more streamlined, branded resume that will make a great first impression to employers and recruiters.
1. Avoid building a career obituary
The general rule of thumb is one resume page for every eight to ten years of experience. There are always exceptions to this, but someone with 15 to 20 years or more of steady career progression should have at least a two-page resume. Three-page resumes are best served for C-level professionals. Note: Lengthier resumes/CVs are more common for academia and medical professions.
2. Re-weight your old work experience without deleting it from your resume
You definitely don’t want to put an employment date on a position that is more than 20 years ago, (they are a few exceptions) however you can still capture that experience and relevant accomplishments in a summary paragraph.
Title the paragraph “Early Experience” or “Early Career” and describe your overall achievements and/or experience from that time period without listing dates. Note: If you are engaging recruiters in your job search, they will want a more detailed resume that includes dates on everything including your education.
3. Highlight your recent, relevant education, training and certifications
Showing employers that you stay abreast of industry trends, training and certifications is definitely a plus. However, if all your training programs and advanced coursework takes up an entire page or more, consider developing a separate resume addendum. For example, it would be called “Training & Certifications” or “Technical Profile” for IT professionals. Keep a short list of the most relevant and current courses on your resume.
4. Save your internships, externships and part-time jobs for entry-level jobs
Internships and part-time/full-time positions held in college are often short-term and served primarily as stepping stones in your early career days. Once you have reached close to five or more years experience, your resume should focus primarily on positions held after college.
5. Categorize your project-based and consulting-driven work experience
Those professionals engaged in the consulting profession often find it hard to condense the core details/accomplishments from each project and still maintain a two-page, targeted resume.
Additionally, consultants are often bound by confidentiality agreements that limit the amount of information they can divulge about their clients. The best approach is to focus on your top projects (three to five) by industry. Note: You can always alter your resume to only include the industries you want to highlight.
About the writer
Abby M. Locke (http://www.premierwriting.com/) is a career marketing strategist and leadership brand coach who partners with 6 figure executives and professional MBA women to help them achieve true career mastery and success through cutting-edge, career branded communications, innovative job search campaigns, and proactive career management tools.
Now if you have been following my blog posts, you will know that your professional resume is a strategic marketing tool; more importantly, your resume should be a living document that “sells” and position you as the prime candidate for your target positions.
Take a close look at your existing resume and if you are sifting through three and more pages, follow these steps to trim the document. Your goal should be to develop a more streamlined, branded resume that will make a great first impression to employers and recruiters.
1. Avoid building a career obituary
The general rule of thumb is one resume page for every eight to ten years of experience. There are always exceptions to this, but someone with 15 to 20 years or more of steady career progression should have at least a two-page resume. Three-page resumes are best served for C-level professionals. Note: Lengthier resumes/CVs are more common for academia and medical professions.
2. Re-weight your old work experience without deleting it from your resume
You definitely don’t want to put an employment date on a position that is more than 20 years ago, (they are a few exceptions) however you can still capture that experience and relevant accomplishments in a summary paragraph.
Title the paragraph “Early Experience” or “Early Career” and describe your overall achievements and/or experience from that time period without listing dates. Note: If you are engaging recruiters in your job search, they will want a more detailed resume that includes dates on everything including your education.
3. Highlight your recent, relevant education, training and certifications
Showing employers that you stay abreast of industry trends, training and certifications is definitely a plus. However, if all your training programs and advanced coursework takes up an entire page or more, consider developing a separate resume addendum. For example, it would be called “Training & Certifications” or “Technical Profile” for IT professionals. Keep a short list of the most relevant and current courses on your resume.
4. Save your internships, externships and part-time jobs for entry-level jobs
Internships and part-time/full-time positions held in college are often short-term and served primarily as stepping stones in your early career days. Once you have reached close to five or more years experience, your resume should focus primarily on positions held after college.
5. Categorize your project-based and consulting-driven work experience
Those professionals engaged in the consulting profession often find it hard to condense the core details/accomplishments from each project and still maintain a two-page, targeted resume.
Additionally, consultants are often bound by confidentiality agreements that limit the amount of information they can divulge about their clients. The best approach is to focus on your top projects (three to five) by industry. Note: You can always alter your resume to only include the industries you want to highlight.
About the writer
Abby M. Locke (http://www.premierwriting.com/) is a career marketing strategist and leadership brand coach who partners with 6 figure executives and professional MBA women to help them achieve true career mastery and success through cutting-edge, career branded communications, innovative job search campaigns, and proactive career management tools.
Become a member to take advantage of more features, like commenting and voting.
Register or sign in today!