How Long Should a Resume Be? One Page or Two?
Short answer: One page if you have under about 10 years of experience or are changing fields; two pages for senior professionals with a lot of relevant experience. Academic CVs and some federal resumes run longer. A tight page beats a padded two.
By career stage
- Students and graduates: one page.
- Up to ~10 years: one page, two if every line earns its place.
- Senior and executive: two pages is normal.
- Academic CV: as long as your publications, teaching and grants require.
- US federal applications: often longer, because they require detail on every role.
What to cut first
- Roles older than 10–15 years — keep a one-line "Earlier career" entry if they matter.
- Duties every candidate in your field would have ("answered phones", "attended meetings").
- Bullets without a result.
- A long skills list — keep the ones the job asks for.
- References — "available on request" is assumed.
- Hobbies, unless they are specific and relevant.
What not to do
Shrinking the font below 10 pt or the margins below about 10 mm makes a resume harder to read and looks crammed. If content still does not fit, cut words rather than size.
In the builder, Fit to one page first reduces spacing, then text size within readable limits, and tells you if it still cannot fit.
Put it into practice
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