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Kristin Greene

236

Future of Higher Education & Workplace Learning

07/29/20 at 2:40AM UTC

Career

Mentoring help

Hi all. I'm mentoring someone in higher education. He is fabulous and has lots of skills, but has been looking for a job for 15 months. I took a look at his resume and it is 8 pages long! I think he feels like he has to put everything he has ever touched on the resume so people can see how experienced he is. I helped him cut it down to 5, but I really want to push him to get it to 2. I'm having trouble convincing him that more is not necessarily better. Anyone have any ideas how I can convince him? I've tried saying that people spend 7-10 seconds on a resume and that's it. Do people agree with that? Thanks so much in advance for the advice/help! Kristin

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Kristin Greene

236

Future of Higher Education & Workplace Learning

07/31/20 at 12:29AM UTC

Thanks Jana. Very helpful!

Jana Berg

Software Trainer in PA

07/30/20 at 10:46AM UTC

I used to include everything on my resume and just recently went to more of a "summarization" format rather than bullet points listing EVERY single thing I do (or did). I think it's also important to be mindful of what you're applying for and what's expected of that job so that you can showcase the things that are absolutely relevant to that position. Those are the things that are going to stick out to someone who's hiring. Having reviewed resumes in a past managerial position, that's what I looked for...not if someone worked at XYZ place 20 years ago that has no relevance whatsoever. And I agree with the comments I'm seeing here - too many pages in a resume is tedious to look through and if you have a ton of them coming in every day to review it just makes the process all the more tedious.

Jackie Ghedine

5.8k

Coach for Gen X Women | Jack Russell of Humans

07/29/20 at 3:15PM UTC

Two pages are the maximum for resumes. Hiring managers, recruiters and HR professionals all require 2-page max resumes. Need to convince him? Explain to him that editing and organizing thoughts and ideas into something succinct makes it very easy for people to pinpoint how you can fit into their organization. Our job in the search is to make it easy for a hiring manager to understand our key skills immediately. Secondly, everything on the resume needs to 'earn the right to be there.' A resume isn't about listing every single daily task at each job and instead, think about the skills and strengths necessary in the job you're applying for and align your examples up against that for the most recent job.

Kristin Greene

236

Future of Higher Education & Workplace Learning

07/29/20 at 3:54PM UTC

Great points Jackie. Thanks so much for the input!

Kristin Greene

236

Future of Higher Education & Workplace Learning

07/29/20 at 11:13AM UTC

Thanks Barb! Love the feedback. I am going to share this. I thought people only read two pages at most. He doesn’t have research so there is no reason.

Barb Hansen

6.67k

Startup Product, Growth & Strategy

07/29/20 at 6:51AM UTC

I am a hiring manager (been one for years). If someone sends in a resume longer than 2 pages, I do not look past the bottom of the 2nd page (and I would wonder why that person thought that a 5 to 8 page resume was valid). I have been working in my field for over 25 years and I took the time to make sure that my resume was only 2 pages long, so why can't this person do the same? Now, the only caveat would be, if your student had a CV with a lot of research papers on it, then I could see their CV being longer than usual. I would then mentor that person to keep their resume to 2 pages and then create a formal CV with all of their research if they apply for university or research positions.

Dawn S. Cross

1.12k

Goals should scare a little & excite a lot

07/29/20 at 4:26AM UTC (Edited)

If he is open to it, suggest he work with a resume writing company. They will be able to provide objectivity to him more than you since you are a mentor. As someone who interviews people, my biggest suggestion (or downright telling him), is that I don’t see what I want on the first page, the person will probably not make it past the “sending in a resume” process. I need to know almost immediately why I should bring you in for a face to face and what makes you worth potentially hiring. If he continues to push “needing more”, compromise with a 2 page bulleted resume to get his foot in the door and to go in with a more detailed resume as well. The interviewer may take it (and never read or look at it), but he will feel more accomplished. Also let him know that in the interview process, HE needs to stand out, not his resume.

Kristin Greene

236

Future of Higher Education & Workplace Learning

07/29/20 at 11:10AM UTC

Thanks Dawn. A writing company would be ideal, but unfortunately money is an issue which is why I volunteered. Thanks for validating the two pages. I love the idea of two resumes! That just might work.

ShaundaZilich

Helping connect experience to purpose!

07/29/20 at 4:09AM UTC

One of the things I will never forget was when a boss of mine told me that I don't leave any room for questions. I was trying to tell all of it instead of the overview statement and then those listening could ask and probe and feel a part of the conversation. I think this might help him understand why he doesn't have to have everything on his resume. The idea of the resume is to entice and pull in a recruiter, a hiring manager, therefore leaving something where they are a part of the conversation.