Long Resumes Gain Acceptance

One ongoing debate amongst job seekers and resume writers is resume length. Some job seekers swear by the old school mentality that a resume shouldn’t exceed more than one page. Resume writers believe that the resume should be as long as it needs to be to sell the candidate’s qualifications.

According to Accountemps, a division of Robert Half International, Inc., recent survey of hiring executives, this debate can be put to rest. Forty-four percent of executives said two pages is the optimal length for resumes, 10 years ago, only 25% said the same. One-page resumes were preferred by 52% of executives, compared to 73% 10 years ago.

Executive resumes can be longer. Sixty-one prefer two-page resumes while 31% preferring three pages plus. That is an increase of ten years ago where only 7% of hiring executives preferred a three-page resume.