Two-page resume...

[pallister]

Plus, some of us tend to be career vagabonds, so the work history alone takes up a bit of room.

 

[TyWebb]

Like most of the things I do in life, I model how I apply for a job after Dwight Schrute:

TyWebb professional resume, TyWebb athletic resume and TyWebb trivia.

 

[Paper Champion]

I think so, too, pall.

I don't like the idea of "you have to keep your resume to one page; don't make hiring managers work too hard" because the purpose of a friggin' resume is to highlight your experience and expertise.

I think there's a fine line you have to walk, because if you can't concisely summarize what you've done and what you're good at, you're hurting yourself by having a second page.

But god damn, if you've done something worth putting on a resume, then put it on your resume, even if it means a second page. You're the only one who can sell yourself -- ain't nobody else gonna do it for you.

I’m certainly with you not to sell yourself short.
But why not treat resumes like stories? You have a certain inch count, in this case one page, so find a way to get your best stuff in.
We manage space for a living everyday. How is this any different?

 

[pallister]

Are you saying your career is a 12-inch gamer as opposed to a 30-inch Sunday takeout?

 

[Write-brained]

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

 

[sportschick]

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

 

[pallister]

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?

 

[imjustagirl2]

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.


:(

 

[sportschick]

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?

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

 

[buckweaver]

I’m certainly with you not to sell yourself short.
But why not treat resumes like stories? You have a certain inch count, in this case one page, so find a way to get your best stuff in.
We manage space for a living everyday. How is this any different?

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.

 

[imjustagirl2]

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?

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

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

 

[Paper Champion]

Are you saying your career is a 12-inch gamer as opposed to a 30-inch Sunday takeout?

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. ;)

 

[Jeremy Goodwin]

Like most of the things I do in life, I model how I apply for a job after Dwight Schrute:

TyWebb professional resume, TyWebb athletic resume and TyWebb trivia.

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.

 

[Some Guy]

Thanks for the advice so far. I'll have to cut some stuff.

Omit your award for second-place in the county fair belching contest, and I think you'll see it will all fit on one page.

Excuse me, it was first place and it wasn't even close.

But did your mother feed you chicken beforehand?

 

[oldhack]

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.

 

[HejiraHenry]

I wish my resume took up a full page. Even with four references, it doesn't barely fill a page. I suck.

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.

 

[wickedwritah]

oldhack, what if someone e-mails you seeking confirmation, rather than calls? Does that influence you either way?

 

[oldhack]

oldhack, what if someone e-mails you seeking confirmation, rather than calls? Does that influence you either way?

E-mail works (and probably forces me to look through the pile just the same). But the "did you get my resume?"" phone call can lead to a longer conversation, almost a telephone interview, that can be impressive and help the applicant (guess it could also convince the applicant that he/she doesn't want to work for that old fart).

We all know that e-mail has some real advantages over phone calls, which work only if the person you are calling is in at the time and not on deadline. Guesss I would suggest a couple of phone calls and then an e-mail.

 

[imjustagirl2]

I wish my resume took up a full page. Even with four references, it doesn't barely fill a page. I suck.

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.

I have chron AND skills. I mean, what skills? "I can use a telephone, fly on planes (usually) and also copy edit because I don't have a full-time beat."

 

[forever_town]

Don't the first and last statements here contradict each other? If you don't want him to work that hard, shouldn't you make it so he doesn't have to request references?

I don't think the first and second statements contradict each other. I know first hand that when you get a **** ton of applications, you're looking for something -- anything -- to make you not hit the delete key or toss it in the garbage.

If I'm interested enough in someone's resume, I'll ask for references. I usually do that in the interview itself. I don't need to see them spelled out on a second page of a resume, especially for the kind of jobs I'd hire for.

If I were hiring a news editor or a managing editor at a big daily, THEN I'd give consideration to two-page resumes that have their second page be more than just a list of references. But for an entry-level reporter position that's geared toward people who've just graduated from college, one page is enough. Any more and it's going in the garbage.