How long should your resume be?
Length matters less than relevance, but readers skim. Aim for the shortest resume that still shows the evidence this job needs.
A practical guide
Students, freshers and people with a few years of experience usually fit on one page. With several relevant roles, two pages are normal. Senior and academic CVs can be longer when publications or projects are relevant.
- Fresher or student: one page
- Up to about 7 years: one to two pages
- Senior or highly technical roles: two pages, rarely more
What to cut first
Remove school marks once you have a degree and experience, old or unrelated jobs reduced to one line, generic objectives, photos, full addresses, and declarations such as “I hereby declare…”. Shorten bullets that describe duties without results.
Never cut real experience just to fit one page if it is what the job asks for. Shorten the less relevant parts instead.
Let each job decide what stays
Tailoring is the best way to keep a resume short: lead with what this job needs and compress the rest. Waywright does this for free from your original resume without deleting your entries, and you review the result before downloading. An account is required.
Put the checklist into practice
Upload your resume and paste a job description. Review the generated draft and approve the changes before downloading. Waywright is free to use. An account is required.
Tailor my resumeRelated guides
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- How to write resume bullet points that show your impact
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- How to write a resume headline (with examples)
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- Resume in PDF or Word: which format should you send?
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