Maybe you have 15 years of work experience under your belt. Maybe you’ve had 6 or 7 roles at 4 or 5 companies. The one page resume is no longer needed or expected, right?
There is considerable debate (here, here, and here, among countless others) on this topic, but generally, the prevailing theory is that you should shoot for a one page resume… unless you can’t really get it down to a page.
That’s not helpful.
I’m a big fan of one page resumes for mid-career professionals, mostly because it can have HUGE upsides.
Use the one page resume to focus solely on your achievements.
Stop tweaking the old versions of your resume. Start with a blank document.
- Outline the words or phrases that represent you as a professional that are not limited to a particular job, role, or title.
- List your accomplishments, and the impact those favorable results had on the business. Use numbers where you have them.
Format it nicely. Congratulations, you have a new one page resume!
But can it really be that simple???
Let go of emotional attachments to resume bullets that only have meaning to you and not to potential employers.
Try not to be emotionally attached to what is reflected in your resume.
- Some people remember the long hours and the considerable stress associated with the work represented in those bullets. Dropping them off a resume might feel like you are saying that work and stress was for naught if you can’t leverage it to get a better job.
- A few people feel compelled to communicate everything they CAN do and fear that leaving it off the resume will signal that they CAN’T do something.
- Some believe that the collection of bullets on their resume is the closest thing they have to representing the totality of their professional experience.
The reality is that a resume is none of these emotional things. Focus on your accomplishments; hiring managers recognize what it takes to get those things done.
Keep in mind that the one page resume doesn’t have to represent ALL of you, just the most relevant part of you that will resolve pain points for the hiring manager in any given career or job opportunity.
Don’t sell yourself short by insisting you need to keep a lot of content.
Check out the 6 minute video below to learn more.