Resume length…what should it be?
June 9th, 2007 by the medical sales recruiter
While we’re on the subject of resumes…I get asked a lot about what the length of a resume should be, and the answer is…it depends. Bill Inman cites an Accounttemps study that says that staff-level employees should keep it to 1-2 pages, and executive-level requires 2 or maybe 3 pages. Katherine Hansen has an article posted on CollegeRecruiter.com has a helpful, really detailed discussion on resume length for a variety of job levels. She says most people need two pages, entry-level job seekers should probably stick with one, and very high-level executives can have 3 or more…but you still better capture their attention in the first third of the first page. In my opinion, most folks with less than 8 years of experience in the medical sales area (like pharmaceutical reps, laboratory capital equipment sales reps, clinical sales reps, etc.)should be one pagers. The rest should be two pagers: that includes all laboratory sales reps, pharmaceutical sales reps, biotech marketing reps, tech support…everyone. No 3 pagers from anyone, please.
Like most matters, and, frankly, QUESTIONS of size, I think this one has a LOT to do with how one was, or was not, blessed by nature.
Most people answer from their own perspective, and, sadly, most of our perspectives are informed, not by logic, not by pragmatism, but my myth, fantasy, history, fear, misinformation, and, sometimes, our magical lucky charms. . .who the hell knows?
The answer, as in so many other things in life is. . .your resume should be PRECISELY as long as it NEEDS to be to tell me everything I need to know about YOU, in order to know whether or not YOU are the man or woman of my dreams, job-wise. PERIOD. That’s it, that’s all.
I agree that the most important information should be first, but as to whether it should be the first third of the first page, or the first three lines of the top half above optical center in 10 pt. Optima, or whatever, I don’t know, and I have better things to do than spend much time navel-gazing over those details.
Here’s the answer: If you want to capture my attention, then CAPTURE MY ATTENTION. If you want me to listen to your story, then TELL ME A STORY THAT WILL GRAB ME. You KNOW how to do it. . .you learned when you were less than two years old. . .EVERYBODY DOES!
Why we have to have such a shrying gevalt over this hoo-hah, ALL THE TIME, frankly, is beyond me.
And, as a recruiter myself, I can tell you what I AM looking for. . .I’m looking for diamonds. But I don’t have time to mine them, rough them, cut them, polish them, grade them, mount them, and THEN select them. . .really I don’t. . .I want to be able to throw the lot of them on a big ole table (covered in black velvet, naturally. . .hey, this is MY fantasy). . .walk around, and find the one that sparkles the brightest, and say “THAT one. . .THAT’s the one I want!”
So, if YOU want to capture MY attention (and I have a shorter attention span than the average two-year old. . .frankly, when compared with the average two-year-old, I don’t come out so good in MANY respects), then you really need to sparkle, and you’d better do it quick. . .because, as captivating as a diamond IS, and they always ARE. . .let’s face it, given the choice between a diamond and, say, Silly Putty(tm), the average two-year old will ditch the sparkly in less than no time, and so will I.
Hi !!
Nice Article.
I see so many Resumes of Fresh Graduates having length of more than 3 pages.As per me, a Fresher should be having a 1 page CV only.
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