How to format a resume

So first, how long should a resume be? On this you will hear a lot of opinions, one page, two pages “no one wants to read a long resume” the answer is a resume should be as long as it takes to properly outline your background and experience without being repetitive. If you have been doing the same thing for 20 years it will probably fit on one or two pages, if you have had a number of different jobs’ even if they were with the same company, you may need more room especially if you are in a technical role.  Hiring managers really don’t care how long a resume is the most important thing to them is “is this persons experience relevant to the position I’m trying to fill” because if it is not then it does not matter whether it’s one page or ten pages long they don’t want to see it.

How to show your work experience when you have been with the same company for a long time and have had a number of different positions or when you have been with the same company for a long time but it has been bought or sold and the name has changed. Start with the name of the company, if it had been acquired and the name changed add (formerly blank co.) and then the total years you were with them. Then underneath start with the last position you held the dates you held that position and description of what your responsibilities were and maybe something your accomplished in that role then the prior position,  laid out the same way and continue until  you have listed all your prior positions with that company, this way when someone looks at your resume that 20years you spent with ABC corp. looks like one long stay with one company, instead of positions with many different companies.

Also remember when you apply on line to a position the resume gets scanned by a computer, and it populates an application so try to resist the temptation to make your resume multiple Boxes or columns, as it will mess up what information the computer picks up and where it put’s it on the application.