A fresher resume is generally of one page and an experienced individual chooses to keep the length of two pages as it has an extensive professional history. However, more you shorten your resume by giving the required information, more it would be eye catching and impressive. But the common expected question is how long or short should your resume be? No interviewer has time to go through every bit of your information and hence tips to control the length of resumes workout at that time.
Sentence formation
Sentence formation is one of the most important tips to control the length of resumes. Avoid usage of 'I' pronoun before any beginning of your sentence. Do not use vague words like help, support and contribute, as further they raise a question 'how'. Instead make use of short sentences that explains your details in brief. These short sentences should be bulleted so that the interviewer finds in easy to go through the separate points.
Relevant information
You should provide with information that relates to the job you are applying for. There is no connection between you being any dance professional and applying for financial analyst job. There should be a proper flow in the way you mention about your professional history.
Font and size
The preferable resume font is Times New Roman with font size twelve. Choosing on different fonts and sizes can only lengthen your resume size. Besides, proper use of margins and tables should be made to cut down on extra space utilization.
Roles and responsibilities
If you carry strong professional background, it becomes necessary to mention all of them. In such cases, you can write your roles one by one including the responsibilities related to them. However, make sure you do not exceed writing more than five responsibilities. If they are repetitive, you can skip one of them.
Achievements
You can always mention your latest achievements which are relevant to the job profile. Achievements in schools day or as a student can be voiced. Hence, it is better to mention two or three accomplishments.
Personal information
The basic required personal information includes your first and last name, your contact details and your date of birth. Remaining details like age, nationality, sex, marital status, etc. are irrelevant and good to know information, which can be revealed during your interview rounds.
Academic background
Your academic background should be mentioned in a reverse form. The latest qualification should appear on the top. You merely need to mention the important education details like school grades, graduation marks, master degree and other courses if any. School grades should not include every class grades nor should graduation marks enclose all year marks.
Hobbies and interests
This is an area where you have a choice to mention your hobbies/interests or not. Skipping on the information can certainly help to shorten the resume length. However, if you still wish to include, then write down few of them you are really passionate about.
Majority of the resumes are trashed because of the long length. Above tips to control the length of resumes can be constructive in restricting the length and give interviewers a chance to spend some quality time to go through your short and simple resume. Remember, you want to be called for an interview and so your resume should be flawless.