Two-page resume...

My resume is one page. Trim off some of the old stuff. I do, however, have a separate page for my references.

 

Like Pall, I'm a career vagabond. My resume's two pages, and I seem to have no problem getting interviews.

 

Also, the 8/12 x 11 color photocopies of my tattoos really bulk up my resume. Think it turns some employers off, but you gotta distinguish yourself somehow, right?

 

I've worked at two places in eight years, no internships, no stringing, and no awards.

It takes up about 1/2 a page, and that's with education and skills listed, along with my header information.

 

Hey, if I was hiring, it'd get you a phone interview

 

Because a resume is not a story.

And the fact that Candidate A submits a one-page resume to list experience/credentials and Candidate B submits a two-page resume does not mean that Candidate A can "manage space" better.

It could mean that, but it could also mean that Candidate A hasn't done enough to warrant more space on his resume. I don't think there should be hard-and-fast rules on "one page or two" -- if you're leaving some great credentials out just to fit your resume on one page, I think you're selling yourself short.

I'll give a great story 30 inches if it deserves it. Doesn't mean the 15-inch story is automatically more concise, let alone a better read.

 

Yeah, but it's like 20 pages worth of photocopies for his tattoos.

 

Great comeback! To answer your question I’d probably say my career is a nice 18-inch, midweek feature at this point. Not quite a Sunday blowout centerpiece, but I'm working hard at it.

 

Ty, I'm pretty sure you also need to include "special skills" on your second resume. So, you might include blindfold golfing, thought I guess that is an athletic ability, and measuring other golfers by height.

 

But did your mother feed you chicken beforehand?

 

Interesting how this theme keeps returning, with variations. IMHO, there are a lot of myths out there, and the one-page resume is one of them.

It's not the number of pages, it's the content. I want to see your educational background, your work chronology and what you consider your major accomplishment at each stop. Then I want to see your MAJOR awards and some references. (I will call some of them, but I will probably know some people you haven't listed at some of your stops and I will call them, too; editors who have been around know hundreds of other editors) .

But that's just part of a three-part package.

The first part is a letter telling me why you want to work for me. (And make sure you address it to me, not the last editor on your list.) You need to present a compelling reason why I should be interested in you and why I should spend extra time on your resume and your carefully selected clips. A great letter will make me very interested in you and, to be honest, make me willing to overlook flaws in your resume and clips. You should know something about my paper. Don't ask me what I am looking for in an assistant sports editor or inquire as to the circulation of the paper. You should tell me how you could improve the paper as an assistant sports editor and if you don't know what size paper you are applying to, don't bother.

The resume should give me a good sense of your career. Not only what jobs you have held but what you have accomplished. This is a great way of telling me what kind of experience I am paying for.

Then the clips: no more than six, make them your best, print them out.

Put this in a package, letter first, then resume, then clips, mail it, call me a reasonable time later to "make sure I got it." That will make me look through my pile to make sure, and probably leave it on top.

The package should be a combination of honesty and salesmanship. Never list a degree you don't have or a college you haven't attended or a job you have not held. That may have worked 20 or 30 years ago, but if you get caught at it, it is career suicide and you might as well apply for a job at a shoe store.

There are no tricks to any of this except honesty, clarity and enthusiasm. Make me want to hire you, and I probably will.

 

Then you may wish to consider a different style of resume.

I have long been a proponent of the skills resume, rather than the traditional chronological beast. It gives you a chance to sell what you can do, not just when you did it.