How long is too long for a resume?

Two words, smaller font.

Depends on how long you’ve been in the workplace. You should give objectives, high level summation of what you bring to the table, employment history, education. Unless you’re just out of school, in which case you lead with education after objectives.

By long educational history, to you mean 5 universities to get a four year BA degree, a la Sarah Palin, or do you mean advanced degrees?

Keep it to one page, if you can.

@Season_of_Fall Smaller font will get it thrown in the “round file”, the font should be no smaller a 14.
The resume should be action words and achievements.
How many bachelor degrees or masters do you have?

How to write a curriculum vitae for education positions. It includes directions on when to use 2 or 3 pages.

@Tropical Willie, Ha, I own my own company. I’m the one doing the hiring. You’re cute throwing around all your education. Sorry but I feel quite adequate with my one BS. I reviewed 102 resumes last summer. KEEP IT TO ONE PAGE.

@season of fall lets keep to the question.
Some rules of thumb say keep it to a page. If you have significant education or career depth, you certainly can go over. You need to capture attention during the paper phase. It also depends on the audience too. If this is going to a recruiter that is shopping you around to employers, then you need to detail as much as possible. Let them prune it down as they know their client.
For job boards and self submittals, have several versions of your resume, and fine tune for the position you are seeking.
Always, always, always, put great energy into each cover letter as well. The goal is to have your paper get you a phone screen or face to face. Once you get to each of those levels, you need to know how to sell yourself in each of those venues.
Fitting their culture is also key as they want to make sure that you will fit in.
It is easier to hire someone than it is to hire the wrong person and have to get rid of them.

cv long. resume short. Depends which they ask for.

@blueiiznh is correct, pay attention to the job description and what the position requires, than pick and choose what to include. But go beyond the resume, get in front of them. I first got in my career by networking. Go interview them. Ask them to talk to you about how to get into this type of position and if they know anywhere else you would fit in.

@Season_of_Fall is so right on networking. That is the fast track to getting a face to face or getting your paper to the top of the stack. It really is a small world in most careers even in large job markets.

Oh ya, almost forgot, mail your resume directly to the president, so when it gets to personal all they know is it came from the presidents office. The president that took Ruths Chris Steakhouse public told me that one.

Didn’t I say keep it to one page. That’s all you need to know.

ZEN OUT.

Watch your writing also. It is ” too long a resume” and not “to long of….” “Disclude” is not a word; you mean “omit.”

When you are talking about your education, list your degrees and where you earned the degrees. “A long educational background” makes no sense.

And check to see when to start and stop a sentence. Run-on sentences are not a good idea.

Im still a student and will be for many years. Regarding the education related question, I have several degrees from higher education. It’s a long story, but how do I know what to put on my resume for a general resume that is not targeted to a job? For example, if you are attending a network event and you bring your resume just in case. I dont have a strong work section; thus, my education is important – however, it seems a bit overdone if it lists 5 or 6 degrees. I realize depending on what job you apply to, it is easier to decide, but what about for a general resume? Should I list them all or no?

If you have legitimately earned five degrees, list them. Why would that be overdone? They reflect you and your interests and academic achievements. What specific degrees are you talking about. Bachelor’s, Master’s, PhD’s?

I have many associates (no I did not spend many years at that college) and I am working on my bachelors soon masters (combined fast track program). I realize that after I receive my bachelors and masters my associates wont matter as much, but they are in completely different fields compare to my bachelors major. I mean, they relate, but not the same.

Stick to the main points about yourself and your qualifications. make it as short as possible. only one page will be examined, most of the time. then, they lose interest.

2 pages

2 pages, use a sensible font size (12) and do not ramble. That being said you do need to provide some information. You need to adapt the CV to each job you are applying for. Believe me I have seen countless applications, and it is so obvious when someone is just sending a generic CV which they have not tailored. Spell check the hell out of it. If you cannot even get formatting and spelling in a CV right, you will not get the job. Also try and put the key information on the first page, ideally near the top. After that some people give up reading.

all resumes must be a maximum of one page. It should be a collection of vital information needed for employment purposes. anything more is tedious and unprofessional!!

I was just at a professional resume search and was told exactly what @enspanos said above. One page only.

Welcome to the collective @enspanos