FOTv IS BACK. And we’re pissed off, and we’re not going to take it anymore.
OK, I jest. A little. But we are eating our own today. The target of our dining experience? Jason Seiden, who had the audacity to say that in order to have a successful resume, you need to keep it to one page. Here’s what the human lighting rod had to say on his own blog on the topic:
“Looking for a job? Submitting your resume to recruiters, hiring managers, and HR departments?
Let’s get clarity around something: your resume needs to be one page. ONE. See for yourself why:
(Note: I assume that we’re talking about a hard copy resume in this video because my experience is that many people still print these things out and read them over lunch or on the train or other places where they are not plugged in. If you think your resume is going to be read online only, then this advice applies double: make all relevant information fit on ONE SCREEN, without shrinking the font to anything below 10 points.)”.
Jason’s, the camera’s on, so defend yourself. All the rest of you, click through to see what the FOT team thinks of Jason’s latest deep thought, and hit us in the comments on who you agree with:
This is truly excellent filming. I really like the introduction (Jay-Z theme) and the way you cut to each team member. I think 1-page resumes are over-rated. If you have the experiences to brag about, then make it two pages. If you don’t, then you will have to have a 1-pager.
Interesting and diverse comments from some pros that leaves me wanting more. I’m not sure I can agree with all of the points made, but it’s obvious that the resume is part of the job hunt, but not the only part. I’d like to hear more about the resume, cover letters, social media and how they all come together as a job search strategy.
Love this segment. Liked that you had brief clips from several different thought leaders. The portfolio idea is interesting. I work in the ad agency business and have spent years reviewing portfolios for our creative positions and I talk about what we’d like to see here in my latest post (http://blog.doeanderson.com/) But I’ve also received portfolios from candidates in positions outside of creative, namely account management and media planning/buying and I love the idea of being able to see the actual work product of the candidate. Now, I still want to see the resume and I’m fine with a 2-page resume if you have the experience to warrant that space, but if you work in a field where you can pull together a visual sampling of your accomplishments, I’d love to see it.
A few things to consider:
¤ Unfortunately for job seekers in many cases their resumes aren’t initially viewed by the hiring manager or senior recruiter – a 1PR will seem light and have trouble getting past the “prescreen” in many instances.
¤ IMHO, in today’s market a 1PR just isn’t enough real estate for job seekers to set themselves apart from the masses.
¤ I prefer to see 7 years of work history in a resume – getting this into a 1PR just means tiny fonts and mashed up bullets. I’ll trade this for a well presented 2PR any day.
¤ It’s not uncommon for people to have more than 2 jobs in the last 5-7 years. A 1PR means you aren’t getting much of a story and could miss some important red flags out front or some great highlights to get them in the door.
¤ ONE page – are we really talking about a “page” – no one’s really printing resumes to read them, right?… RIGHT?! (and if not, who can’t be bothered to hit the scroll wheel once on a solid first page?)
It’s my humble opinion that any recruiter stomping their feet that resumes should be one page is simply being lazy or perhaps dealing with too much volume and not enough time or really just needs a better way to prescreen…
Having said that – job seekers can make the most of their resume real estate by pointing to their LinkedIn profile, updated CV, or favorite social network profile. And yes, in some instances one page might be enough – but to push job seekers to sell themselves short so that it’s less reading on our industry’s part? Sorry – not buying it.
Just my $0.05.
One-page resumes are for one-page lives. This may work for recent grads with limited experience, but surely turning the page cannot be a deal breaker with experienced candidates. Of course, I am an academic so we just LOVE 30 page CVs, it’s a sign of your superpowers…
James Hayton, you rock! Yes, one-page resumes are for one-page lives, and anyone who thinks otherwise shouldn’t be in a position to screen or hire people. I couldn’t have said this better myself…
– John Hollon (The Management Guy)
I am an HR professional, and a recruitment coordinator. I think the “one page resume” requirement is old-school. If you have been in the workforce for a good length of time, then one page just doesn’t give you enough space to sell yourself and your accomplishments. Most professional resumes that I receive are two pages, and some have even gone into a third page. Two is ideal, for me, but its formatting that counts more than length. If there is good flow to the resume and relevant information, I will read it all. As a side note, I have received a resume from a young lady who had such a long resume that she actually created a table of contents….now THAT is overkill!
sorry jason and KD… i’m with james hayton when he says, “One-page resumes are for one-page lives.”
i fancy myself a good writer and i include the past 9 years in my resume – but one page doesn’t do me justice. and yeah, i do think of myself as a good personal brander. i wouldn’t cut myself short, and i don’t like seeing other people cut themselves short. and just like The Recruiter Guy says… is really scrolling your mouse wheel down to get to page 2 that difficult?
Wow, what a heated discussion.
I will say this: what I want in a resume is if there is enough information there you can get an interview you for the company. There are some that have enough info for 1 page and there are others that might take 2 pages. I don’t care how many pages it takes, if you give me enough information for me to ask you for an interview, that’s good; just don’t go over 2 pages.
That said, I would forward this to a job seeker to see the different points of view of recruiters of what they want in the resume. These recruiters gave you an open book of what they want on their resume. So if you want to work where Jason is at, follow his guidelines. If you can’t pull it off, go to the next company.
Different strokes for different folks and if you don’t feel comfortable, go to the next one.
Would you want to see a 300 pound women in a bikini made for women who is 100 pounds? (sorry for the visual). NO of course not. People are different. their job experience is different. A guy out of college for 3 years, would probably be a one page resume. But someone with 15 years experience…what planet are you on dude. Stop thumbing through Rosie O’Donnell’s TMZ beach pictures & get a clue.
FYI: I liked the other Fist Full of Talent commentators viewpoints. They made sense.
Carl Schumacher
Executive Recruiter
Wireless & Digital Content
Electronic Search, Inc.
My Blog http://wirelessexecutiverecruiter.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/wirelessexecrecruiter
http://www.electronicsearch.com
“If you love what you do, you will never work another day in your life.” –Confucius