Shortening your resume can feel like an impossible feat, especially if you’ve been staring at the same document for weeks, months, or even years.
What’s the ideal length for a resume, and how do you know if yours is too long? Plus, how do you decide what to keep and what should be cut?
I’ve got you covered. In this article, I share:
- The ideal length for your resume
- How to determine whether you should shorten your resume
- Over 30 strategies for making your resume more concise
These techniques for shortening your resume span three primary areas: formatting, semantics, and content. Let’s dive in!
How Long Should My Resume Be?
For starters, the length of your resume will depend on your industry, target role, and years of experience.
For recent graduates and those early in their careers, a 1-page resume is ideal. In contrast, resumes for managers or executives typically extend to 2 pages.
What Is The Maximum Length Of A Resume?
Simply put, a 2-page resume is the ideal length for most professionals and executives. While a 3-page resume may be appropriate for those with extensive careers or multiple job changes, it is definitely the exception rather than the norm.
In fact, over 90% of the resumes submitted by my senior manager and executive clients, including C-suite individuals at Fortune 100 companies and hyper-growth startups, adhere to the 2-page guideline.
Should I Shorten My Resume?
If your resume exceeds 2 to 3 pages, it’s time to revisit your content and trim unnecessary details.
Important note: While there are exceptions for highly technical roles and certain industries, this advice applies to most tech leadership positions in the U.S., which is my zone of genius as a career coach.
Focusing on relevant experience and achievements will help ensure your resume remains impactful and engaging for potential employers.
Quick Formatting Tweaks To Shorten Your Resume
While you want to avoid making your resume content too dense, you can also make quick formatting changes to save space and reduce the length of your document:
Remove columns.
Removing columns from your resume is a quick way to save space. This change also improves the readability of your document and ensures it’s parsed correctly by the applicant tracking system (ATS).
Keep contact info to a single line.
Some of the fancy resume templates found online may extend contact info to 3 to 4 lines (or more), which is unnecessary. You can keep all your contact info on a single line.
Keep the company name, job title, and dates of employment on one line.
You can keep the company name, job title, and dates of employment for each entry on a single line too. For your education, condense this information into a single line as well. If it has been several years since you graduated, it typically makes sense to remove your graduation year.
Reduce the font size.
Changing the font size is a quick way to reduce your resume length. However, you want to be mindful of readability. Keep the body text to at least 10-point font, and use a larger size for headers to help the reader easily locate information. The exact size will depend on the font you choose for your resume.
Change the font.
Speaking of which, changing the font is another quick way to reduce the length of your resume. Calibri is easy to read yet saves space. Aptos, Arial Narrow, and Verdana are also great fonts for your resume.
Adjust the margins.
You can reduce your margins, but they should be at least 0.5 inches. Anything less and you risk content getting cut off when printed (and yes, many recruiters and hiring managers still print resumes).
Use single space.
Keep your document single-spaced. While most people do this by default, some documents may be inadvertently set to 1.15 or 1.5 line spacing, which can quickly consume space.
Remove logos and images.
Logos and images, including headshots commonly used in Canva and other resume templates, should be removed.
You don’t need logos to represent the companies you worked for; the name alone suffices. Including logos wastes valuable space, and many recruiters and hiring managers consider their use a pet peeve, since they can easily read the company name on your resume. Plus, logos won’t be parsed by the ATS.
I’ve seen more resumes than I can count and cannot recall a single instance where a logo or image added value.
Skip the skills bar.
Similarly, you can skip the use of graphic skills bars, which visually represent your skills.
Reduce unnecessary formatting.
Lastly, be mindful of your formatting, as excessive styles can take up space and make your resume harder to read. Many of the resume templates on the market feature elaborate headers that can occupy a 1/4 of the page or more.
Please don’t hide behind “fancy” resume formatting; let your content shine and speak for itself!
Quick Semantics Changes To Improve Your Resume
Adjusting your writing style is another quick way to shorten your resume and make it more skimmable.
Skip the articles.
You can save considerable space by removing articles (a, an, and the). This not only conserves valuable space on your resume but will also make your writing pithier and punchier.
Minimize adjectives and adverbs.
Adjectives and adverbs have their place in writing but rarely add value to a resume or LinkedIn profile. Use them sparingly and only if they truly enhance your message.
Instead of relying on adjectives and adverbs, provide specific examples that demonstrate your strengths and talents in action.
Cut the fluff.
Finally, take a fine-toothed comb to your resume and eliminate unnecessary language or details that don’t add value. Every piece of content should improve your chances of landing an interview.
Remember that the purpose of your resume is to secure an interview, not a job. Including too many details can hinder this by making it more challenging for the reader to identify your relevant experience, knowledge, and skills.
Make it as easy as possible for the recruiter or hiring manager to determine whether they want to invite you for an interview. Unnecessary content and fluff only complicate the process.
Eliminate orphans.
Try to keep bullet points to a maximum of 2 lines. If you notice orphans (words by themselves on a line), edit the sentence to eliminate the orphaned word.
Use numbers.
Instead of spelling out numbers, use the numeral, even for numbers smaller than 10. Numerals stand out by drawing the eye of the reader.
Keep in mind that this is a resume, not an academic paper, so you can bend traditional writing rules to make your document as impactful as possible.
Leverage acronyms.
After you spell out a term for the first time, identify its acronym and use it throughout the remainder of the document. For example, replacing “Human Resources” with “HR” and “software engineering” with “SE” after first use can save a lot of space.
Using acronyms is also beneficial for the ATS, as you can be found under both the fully spelled-out keyword and the acronym.
Strategic Content Changes To Polish Your Resume
Although adjusting your font and formatting can save some space on your resume, optimizing your content is where you’re going to see the biggest ROI, both in shortening your document and landing more interviews.
Remove unnecessary contact info.
Remove unnecessary contact info from your document. You only need to include your city and state, not your full mailing address.
Additionally, provide only one email address and one phone number. Or if you’re applying for international roles, you may wish to provide both a domestic and international number.
As mentioned earlier, all your contact info should fit on a single line. If it extends beyond a single line, start trimming!
Scrap the objective statement.
Except in very rare cases, your resume doesn’t need to begin with an objective, as it’s obvious that your goal is to land an interview for the position you applied for.
Instead, use a (brief) career summary to encapsulate your background, experience, and qualifications. Keep it to a maximum of 3 to 4 lines.
Your professional summary can be followed by a “Career Highlights” section that draws attention to impressive experiences. Again, this should be concise, typically consisting of 3 to 4 bullets that are 1 to 2 lines each.
Consolidate your skills section.
While a skills or areas of expertise section can be helpful, avoid a laundry list of 30+ terms. Instead, choose wisely and select a dozen or so skills that demonstrate your qualifications for the role. Limit your skills section to 2 to 3 lines total.
As a bonus, a skills section is a quick way to incorporate skills-related keywords from the job description into your resume, capturing the reader’s attention as soon as they begin reading.
Trim your technology section.
Be mindful of the technology you include on your resume, as it can quickly become overwhelming. Only list technologies that are relevant to the role you’re applying for, and remove any that are outdated.
Prioritize accomplishments over responsibilities.
Now, let’s dive into the meat of your resume: the experience section. Prioritize accomplishments and how you delivered value to the company over mere responsibilities. Begin each entry with a brief overview of your scope, then list your accomplishments as bullet points.
Delete repetitive bullets.
Repetitive bullets can lead your reader to experience déjà vu. While it’s great to show career growth, you don’t want to bore people. Earlier career bullets that are less impressive can often be trimmed or deleted.
For example, if you led teams in multiple roles, you don’t need separate bullets for each position to articulate your people management experience. Instead, you can state, “Managed X direct reports and X indirect reports.” If your oversight grew while employed at the same company, you can say, “Grew oversight from X/X direct/indirect reports to X/X direct/indirect reports.”
Combine similar bullets.
You can also combine similar bullets. For instance, if you implemented 3 PMOs, consider creating a single bullet to highlight this experience instead of listing 3 separate ones.
This approach allows you to craft a powerful story that communicates your unique value proposition (AKA your fabulousness), rather than merely reporting the facts and requiring the reader to connect the dots themselves.
Similarly, if you regularly introduced cost savings initiatives, consider aggregating the total financial impact into one powerful bullet rather than separate ones for each.
Eliminate weak words.
As an interview coach, one of my pet peeves is weak words. Individuals who struggle with interviewing often have difficulty writing their resumes and taking credit for their work. Remove verbs like “assisted,” “helped,” and “supported,” as they don’t convey what you achieved.
Instead of saying you “assisted” or “helped” with a project or initiative, explain your specific role and the results you delivered.
Purge filler language.
In addition to avoiding weak words, you want to remove filler phrases like “Responsible for…” that take up critical space. Instead, clearly state what you did, leading with the result.
[Read: 120 Great Action Verbs For Your Resume]
Remove unnecessary details.
When applying for a position, remove any details that aren’t relevant to the job posting. Use the job posting to determine what to include and what to scrap.
Many of my clients choose to maintain a master resume that they tailor to each role. For example, if you’re applying for both people manager and individual contributor (IC) roles, you can add or remove a bullet regarding team leadership experience based on whether the role requires it.
Combine multiple jobs at the same company.
You don’t need separate entries for each role you held at a company. Instead, include an overarching date for your tenure and list each title you held. Then, develop a short paragraph that summarizes your tenure and progression within the company, rather than describing each role separately.
This approach not only saves space when you have held multiple roles at the same company but also more powerfully highlights your career progression and prevents you from inadvertently appearing like a job hopper if the reader is skimming your resume too quickly.
Summarize your early career.
As a tech career coach specializing in senior managers and executives, one of the biggest mistakes I see job seekers making is providing too many details about early-career experiences.
For example, if you worked as an engineer earlier in your career, a single line summarizing your experience is often sufficient. This might sound something like, “Gained 8 years of on-the-ground software engineering experience at SaaS startup.” That’s all you need to convey to land an interview; you can provide more details later.
Important: While you may have read the advice to remove experience from more than 10 to 15 years ago, I strongly advise against this. Senior management and executive roles often require 15 to 20+ years of experience, and omitting this extra information can make you appear underqualified.
Instead, use the job posting to guide you as you choose how far back your resume should go. At a minimum, include the number of years they list as preferred for the role.
[Read: 6 Powerful Strategies For Overcoming Ageism In The Job Search]
Consolidate your education.
If you have dozens of certificates, you probably don’t need to include every one. Instead, focus on the most relevant certifications and allude to the other ones, such as “XX+ certifications in project management, including Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification.”
Leave references off.
Fortunately, I don’t see references included on resumes as often as I once did. However, I sometimes encounter candidates who haven’t written a resume in a decade or more, and they still include, “References available upon request.”
Employers will assume your references are available upon request. Including them not only wastes space but also limits your ability to strategically select the best ones later on in the interview process, once you have a better understanding of the company and role.
Final Thoughts
Getting your resume down to 1 to 2 pages will take effort, but the strategies outlined in this article should make the process less overwhelming and far easier. If you’d like the support of a trained career coach as you optimize your resume, please don’t hesitate to reach out or schedule a consultation. I’m here for you! You’ve got this!
