According to industry standards, the recommended length for a resume is 2 A4 pages. Since the average job attracts hundreds of applications, most recruiters and employers scan their resumes for the essentials rather than reading them. Long resumes with blocks of text tend to annoy recruiters. If you submit a resume that is too long, you risk not making it to the first round. Therefore, as a rule of thumb, the shorter the resume, the better!

How long can your resume be?

Answer: it depends on the circumstances. There is no single answer to this question. A 2A page summary is sufficient as a starting point. However, the length of your resume also depends on the industry you work in and your work experience:

If you have little work experience

A one-page resume is usually sufficient for recent graduates or new entrants to the labor market. It is logical that a person with little or no work experience will need less space than a person with more than ten years of work experience.

A CV on one A4 sheet is also not uncommon in retail. You shouldn’t feel pressured to make your resume stretch to two pages. In fact, sometimes less is more.

If you have a lot of experience

If you have a lot of experience, you will most likely need two pages. However, you don’t need to go into every job you’ve ever done or every course you’ve taken. The same as with all other resumes: read the job description and add only relevant information.

If you are applying for an academic position

Unlike other resumes, an academic resume is usually not limited to two pages. In fact, academic resumes can be 3 to 5 pages long. This is because you must include details of your teaching experience, your research, and your applications.