How Long Should a Resume Be in 2025? Length Guide by Experience Level

One of the most common questions job seekers ask is: "How long should my resume be?" The answer isn't one-size-fits-all—it depends on your experience level, industry, and career goals. This comprehensive guide will help you determine the perfect resume length for your situation.

The Quick Answer

General Guidelines:

• •0-5 years experience: 1 page
• •5-15 years experience: 1-2 pages
• •15+ years experience: 2 pages
• •Executive/C-level: 2-3 pages
• •Academic CV: 3+ pages (no limit)

However, these are guidelines, not strict rules. Let's dive deeper into when to follow them and when to break them.

Why Resume Length Matters

The 6-Second Rule

Recruiters spend an average of 6-7 seconds on an initial resume scan. In that time, they're looking for:

• •Relevant job titles
• •Key skills
• •Notable companies
• •Years of experience
• •Education credentials

A resume that's too long dilutes your most important information. A resume that's too short may appear lacking in substance.

ATS Considerations

Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) can handle multi-page resumes, but:

• •Longer resumes have more opportunities for keyword matching
• •But also more chances for irrelevant information
• •ATS doesn't care about length—humans do

Recruiter Preferences

What recruiters say:

• •77% prefer one-page resumes for entry-level candidates
• •65% prefer two pages for experienced professionals
• •92% say they'll read a second page if the first page is compelling
• •Only 2% will read beyond page two

Resume Length by Experience Level

Entry-Level (0-2 years)

Ideal Length: 1 page (strictly)

What to Include:

• •Education (prominent placement)
• •Internships and part-time work
• •Relevant coursework and projects
• •Skills and certifications
• •Volunteer work and extracurriculars
• •Academic achievements

What to Exclude:

• •High school information (unless very recent graduate)
• •Irrelevant jobs
• •Every single course you took
• •Hobbies unrelated to the job

Example Structure:

Contact Information
Education (with GPA if 3.5+)
Relevant Experience (internships, part-time)
Projects
Skills
Certifications (if any)

Pro Tip: Use your student projects and coursework to demonstrate skills if you lack professional experience.

Early Career (3-5 years)

Ideal Length: 1 page (preferred) to 1.5 pages (acceptable)

What to Include:

• •3-5 most recent relevant positions
• •3-5 bullet points per role
• •Skills section with 10-15 key skills
• •Relevant education and certifications
• •Notable achievements with metrics

What to Exclude:

• •College internships (unless highly relevant)
• •Jobs from more than 7 years ago
• •Detailed job descriptions (focus on achievements)
• •References section

Editing Strategy: If you're spilling onto page 2:

1. •Tighten bullet points
2. •Remove less relevant positions
3. •Condense older roles
4. •Reduce white space slightly

Mid-Career (5-10 years)

Ideal Length: 1-2 pages

What to Include:

• •Last 10 years of experience in detail
• •4-6 bullet points for current role
• •3-4 bullets for previous roles
• •Quantified achievements
• •Leadership experience
• •Professional development

What to Exclude:

• •First job out of college (unless very relevant)
• •Every responsibility (focus on impact)
• •Outdated technical skills
• •Full street address

Two-Page Threshold: Use two pages if you:

• •Have 7+ years of relevant experience
• •Work in technical fields requiring detailed skills lists
• •Have multiple relevant certifications
• •Made significant, measurable impact across multiple roles

Experienced Professional (10-15 years)

Ideal Length: 2 pages

What to Include:

• •Last 10-15 years in detail
• •Earlier experience summarized
• •Leadership and team management
• •Strategic contributions
• •Industry recognition
• •Board positions or advisory roles (if relevant)

What to Exclude:

• •Roles from 15+ years ago (or condense to 1 line)
• •Entry-level responsibilities
• •Outdated software/tools
• •Excessive detail on older roles

Structure Example:

Page 1:
- Contact & LinkedIn
- Executive Summary
- Most recent 2 positions (detailed)
- Key Skills

Page 2:
- Previous 2-3 positions (condensed)
- Earlier Career (brief summary)
- Education & Certifications

Senior/Executive (15+ years)

Ideal Length: 2 pages (occasionally 3)

What to Include:

• •Executive summary highlighting leadership
• •Strategic achievements with business impact
• •Board memberships and advisory roles
• •Speaking engagements and publications
• •Industry awards and recognition
• •P&L responsibility and team size

What to Exclude:

• •Roles from 20+ years ago
• •Individual contributor work
• •Technical minutiae
• •Detailed job descriptions from early career

When 3 Pages is Acceptable:

• •C-suite positions
• •You have board positions, publications, patents
• •International experience across multiple markets
• •Your experience is directly relevant to high-level role

Academic/Research CV

Ideal Length: No limit (typically 3-10 pages)

What to Include:

• •All publications (chronologically or by importance)
• •Research projects and grants
• •Teaching experience
• •Conference presentations
• •Professional memberships
• •Editorial positions
• •Patents

Note: Academic CVs follow different rules than corporate resumes. Length is expected and demonstrates your scholarly contributions.

Industry-Specific Guidelines

Technology/IT

Length: 1-2 pages

• •Include technical skills prominently
• •List relevant technologies and tools
• •Highlight open-source contributions
• •Include GitHub or portfolio link

Finance/Banking

Length: 1-2 pages (conservative)

• •Emphasize education and certifications (CPA, CFA)
• •Quantify financial impact
• •Include deal sizes and portfolio values
• •Conservative formatting

Creative Fields (Design, Marketing, Media)

Length: 1-2 pages + portfolio

• •Resume can be shorter
• •Portfolio does the heavy lifting
• •Include links to work
• •Visual appeal matters

Healthcare

Length: 1-2 pages (or CV for physicians)

• •Include all licenses and certifications
• •List specializations
• •Clinical experience detailed
• •Continuing education important

Education/Academia

Length: CV format (3+ pages)

• •Comprehensive publication list
• •All teaching experience
• •Research and grants
• •Professional development

Government/Military

Length: 2-5 pages (federal resumes)

• •Federal resumes are longer
• •Detailed descriptions expected
• •Include security clearances
• •Month/year dates required

How to Cut Your Resume to One Page

Priority Framework:

Keep:

1. •Most recent 5-7 years of experience
2. •Quantified achievements
3. •Relevant skills for target job
4. •Recent education and certifications

Condense:

1. •Older roles (one line if necessary)
2. •Job descriptions (focus on achievements)
3. •Skills list (keep only relevant)
4. •Education details (just degree, school, year)

Remove:

1. •Objective statement (use summary instead)
2. •References line
3. •Outdated skills
4. •Irrelevant positions
5. •Full address (city, state sufficient)
6. •Excessive white space

Editing Techniques:

1. Tighten Bullet Points ❌ "Was responsible for managing a team of 5 marketing professionals and overseeing their daily activities and ensuring deadlines were met"

2. Combine Similar Roles If you had multiple similar positions at the same company:

Marketing Manager & Senior Marketing Specialist | Company | 2018-2023
• Combined bullet points highlighting progression

3. Reduce White Space

• •Decrease margins from 1" to 0.7" (minimum)
• •Reduce line spacing slightly
• •Use smaller font (11pt minimum)
• •Eliminate extra line breaks

4. Use Concise Language ❌ "Worked closely with cross-functional teams" ✅ "Collaborated with product, design, and engineering"

How to Expand Your Resume to Two Pages

When to Go to Page 2:

How to Fill Page 2 Strategically:

1. Expand on Achievements Don't just list responsibilities—tell the full story:

• •Challenge you faced
• •Action you took
• •Result you achieved
• •Impact on business

2. Add Relevant Sections:

• •Certifications & Professional Development
• •Publications or Speaking Engagements
• •Professional Associations
• •Awards and Recognition
• •Volunteer Leadership (if relevant)

3. Include More Detail on Recent Roles Current role: 6-8 bullets Previous role: 4-6 bullets Earlier roles: 2-3 bullets

Common Resume Length Mistakes

1. Forcing One Page When Two is Better

The Mistake: Cramming 10 years of experience onto one page with tiny font

Why It's Bad:

• •Looks cluttered and hard to read
• •Forces you to remove important achievements
• •Appears desperate or inexperienced

The Fix: If you have substantial relevant experience, use two pages with good white space

2. Using Two Pages With Little Content

The Mistake: Spreading limited experience across two pages

Why It's Bad:

• •Appears to lack substance
• •Wastes recruiter's time
• •Suggests poor editing skills

The Fix: If your second page has less than half a page of content, edit down to one page

3. Including Irrelevant Experience to Fill Space

The Mistake: Adding every job you've ever had, including the high school summer job

Why It's Bad:

• •Dilutes relevant experience
• •Makes you appear unfocused
• •Wastes valuable space

The Fix: Include only relevant experience from the last 10-15 years

4. Three+ Pages for Non-Executive Roles

The Mistake: Detailed descriptions of every task for every job

Why It's Bad:

• •Recruiters won't read it all
• •Shows poor judgment about what's important
• •Appears long-winded

The Fix: Be ruthlessly selective about what you include

5. Tiny Fonts and Narrow Margins

The Mistake: Using 9pt font and 0.5" margins to fit everything

Why It's Bad:

• •Hard to read (especially for older recruiters)
• •Looks desperate
• •Won't print well

The Fix: Minimum 10.5pt font, 0.7" margins. If it doesn't fit, edit content instead.

Resume Length FAQ

Can I use a 1.5-page resume?

Not recommended. Either edit to one page or expand to two full pages. A half-empty second page looks unfinished.

Should I include "Page 1 of 2" headers?

Optional but helpful. Add headers with your name and "Page X of Y" to prevent pages from being separated.

What about three-page resumes?

Rarely appropriate. Only for:

• •C-level executives
• •Academic CVs
• •Federal government positions
• •Consultants with extensive global project history

Do recruiters actually read the second page?

Yes, if the first page is compelling. 92% of recruiters will read page two if page one grabbed their attention.

Can I use front and back of one sheet?

No. Always use single-sided pages. Resumes are often scanned or photocopied.

What about PDF vs Word for length?

Use PDF when possible. PDFs preserve formatting across devices, ensuring your carefully crafted one-page resume stays one page.

Resume Length Checklist

Use this checklist before finalizing your resume:

Content Quality:

• •[ ] Every bullet point adds value
• •[ ] Achievements are quantified
• •[ ] Most recent experience is detailed
• •[ ] Older experience is condensed or removed
• •[ ] No fluff or filler content

Formatting:

• •[ ] Font size 10.5-12pt
• •[ ] Margins 0.7-1 inch
• •[ ] Consistent spacing throughout
• •[ ] Adequate white space
• •[ ] Professional appearance

Length Appropriateness:

• •[ ] Length matches experience level
• •[ ] Second page (if used) is at least 50% full
• •[ ] Most important info on first page
• •[ ] Nothing critical on page break

ATS Compatibility:

• •[ ] Standard section headers
• •[ ] Simple formatting
• •[ ] No tables or text boxes for critical info
• •[ ] .docx or PDF format

Using Technology to Optimize Length

Tools like HatchCV help you:

• •Automatically format content to optimal length
• •Suggest what to cut or expand
• •Ensure proper page breaks
• •Preview how resume looks at different lengths
• •Switch between one-page and two-page templates
• •Test readability and ATS compatibility

Conclusion

The ideal resume length depends on your unique situation:

• •Entry-level: Strictly 1 page
• •3-7 years: 1 page preferred, 2 acceptable
• •7-15 years: 2 pages
• •15+ years/Executive: 2 pages (rarely 3)
• •Academic: CV format, no limit

Remember:

• •Quality over quantity—every word should earn its place
• •First page must be compelling
• •White space improves readability
• •When in doubt, err on the side of being concise

Your resume length should showcase your experience without overwhelming the reader. Make every line count.

Ready to create the perfect-length resume? Try HatchCV's resume builder with automatic length optimization for your experience level.