On the thirty-second entry of Tristan's Tips, our special guest Tristan Layfield helps us to determine the length of our resumes. With the average job posting getting 200+ applicants and recruiters scanning resumes for 6 seconds on average, getting to the point is definitely necessary, but he thinks that there is another factor we need to take into consideration - relevancy.

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TRANSCRIPT

Tristan: What is going on, y'all? It's Tristan Layfield of Layfield Resume Consulting, and I've teamed up with Living Corporate to bring you all a weekly career tip. This week let’s talk about the length of your resume.




Have you ever been told that your resume has to be 1-page? I get so many questions during my consultations on how long can their resume be. I think getting your resume to one page is definitely a good goal but I also understand that sometimes that’s just not possible.




I definitely understand the logic behind a 1 page resume. With the average job posting getting 200+ applicants and recruiters scanning resumes for 6 seconds on average, getting to the point is definitely necessary, but I think there is another factor we need to take into consideration and that’s relevancy.




I always tell my clients that there are a two things you want to consider before adding a second page. First, when it comes to things older roles, awards, certifications, and more try to be honest with yourself, are these things adding skills or experience that aren’t already represented by more recent roles OR are you holding on to it due to an emotional attachment. If it’s adding value, then keep it. But if you want it there because you think it brings you some sort of clout then I would reconsider keeping it on your resume because it may land you in the no pile. The second thing you should ask yourself is can you fill an entire page. I’m by no means a 1-page advocate but I do believe that if you are going to use a second page it needs to be filled with relevant content. If you have anything less than three quarters of a page, I would suggest you try to figure out a way to condense. 




While I can definitely see the benefit of a second page, I don’t recommend adding pages beyond that. Remember, this advice is for resumes. If you have a CV, that’s a little bit of a different story.




This tip was brought to you by Tristan of Layfield Resume Consulting. Check us out on Instagram, twitter, and facebook at @layfieldresume or connect with me, Tristan Layfield, on LinkedIn!