One to two pages. That’s the length most resumes should be in 2019, according to career expert Tom Gerencer. If your resume is any longer than that, you’ll probably want to re-do it and eliminate any non-essentials. Here are some tips to help you with this process to improve your resume dramatically.
Only Keep the Important Stuff
At the end of the day, the purpose of a resume is to quickly show recruiters your background, experience, and qualifications. The key word here is “quickly” because you don’t want to drag on and include information they don’t really need. Workplace writer, Liz Ryan mentions some specific things you can get rid of including:
- Your street address
- A generic summary that doesn’t provide necessary information
- The months you started and ended previous jobs
- Old or irrelevant jobs
- Praising adjectives
These will only add excessive text and weigh your resume down. Instead, focus only on the essentials like:
- Your education
- Relevant skills and experience
- Certifications
- Personal qualities/soft skills that tie into the job you’re applying for
Cut Down Lists of Duties
One way many job applicants clutter their resume is by including a long-winded list of prior job duties. For example, if someone were applying for a forklift driver position, they wouldn’t want to include a massive list of duties like:
- Loading and unloading goods
- Moving pallets and crates
- Stacking pallets and crates
These are obvious and will only waste valuable resume real estate. A better approach is to strictly focus on specific duties a recruiter needs to know and that will distinguish you from other applicants.
Create Multiple Resumes That Match Different Job Types
Another simple way to condense resume content is to create a few different resumes that cover more than one position. Rather than having a three-page resume that mentions every position you’ve worked and all of your skills, you could create three different resumes, with each focusing a specific job type.
For instance, one could be for a forklift operator, another for a production associate and another for a general laborer. Not only will this reduce the length of each resume, but they will also all be extremely targeted, which should help impress recruiters.
Trimming Off the Excess
A well-written resume includes critical information while leaving off needless details. Following these tips should help fine-tune your resume and prevent it from being too lengthy.
Need help with your job search? Get in touch with the experts at Encadria Staffing Solutions today.