Have you ever spent a decent chunk of time updating your resume only to review it and ask yourself, “Is my resume too long?” Most of us have been in this position before; it can be challenging to shorten your resume without removing crucial skillsets, achievements, or working experience. Here are a few easy tips to trim down your resume.
Keep your resume objective short
More and more job seekers are including a resume objective, and that’s great. We encourage it, especially if you have been unemployed due to the pandemic. A resume objective is an excellent means to express your career goals, share what you are looking for in a new job, and explain why you may be out of work or transitioning into a new career path. However, an objective should be brief, just a sentence or two in length. If you feel the need to explain anything else, you can easily do so in your cover letter. Keeping your resume objective concise will help you shorten your resume without trimming any of your work experience.
Reduce your education section
Another easy way to shorten your resume is to slim down your education section. Your education is essential, and you should be proud of it, but you can keep it relatively short if you are an experienced job seeker. If you are 5+ years into your career, you can safely remove your GPA, course work, and other details. In most cases, all you need is your university or program’s name, the degree or certificate you received, and the date you completed your education. That’s it! Hiring managers and recruiters don’t care that you took a Macro Economics class if you are applying for a leadership role that has nothing to do with econ.
The only exception here is if you are fresh out of school. If you recently graduated, then you can leave some more details about your education.
Cutback irrelevant working experience
If you still need to shorten your resume, try cutting back some of your more irrelevant working experience. Many job seekers feel obligated to put every single job they have ever had on their resume. Instead, only include relevant work history if you are further into your career. A great example of this is internships or summer jobs. If you are 15 years into your career, you don’t need to put your four-month job at Dairy Queen on there. Remove any unnecessary work experience to make your resume more concise, giving you more room to elaborate on your more relevant work experience.
Remove your headshot
If you are one of those who have a headshot on the top of your resume, you can eliminate that to save some space. Your headshot has no place on your resume, and it can actually hurt your chances of advancing through the interview process. Also, with an increased emphasis on diversity, equality, and inclusion efforts, a picture of yourself can hinder your chances of securing an interview. Plus, it frees up some valuable real estate on your resume!
Does my resume have to be one page long?
So, those are four easy ways to shorten your resume. If you are trying to shorten because you feel your resume needs to be on a single page, stop right there. It is acceptable to have a resume longer than a single page in most circumstances. By keeping it under a page, you can be leaving off valuable skills and experiences. For more details on the one-page resume, check out our blog here.
