Resumes Inching Up; Survey Shows Longer Resumes Now More Acceptable

    MENLO PARK, Calif., March 20 /PRNewswire/ -- The "keep your resume to
 one page" rule may be on its way out, a new survey suggests. While more
 than half (52 percent) of executives polled believe a single page is the
 ideal length for a staff-level resume, 44 percent said they prefer two
 pages. That compares to 25 percent polled a decade earlier who cited two
 pages as the optimal resume length; 73 percent of respondents preferred a
 single page at that time. Respondents also seemed more receptive to
 three-page resumes for executive roles, with nearly one-third (31 percent)
 citing this as the ideal length, compared to only 7 percent 10 years ago.
     Both national polls include responses from 150 senior executives --
 including those from human resources, finance and marketing departments --
 with the nation's 1,000 largest companies. They were conducted by an
 independent research firm and developed by Accountemps, the world's first
 and largest specialized staffing service for temporary accounting, finance
 and bookkeeping professionals.
     Executives were asked, "What is the preferable length of a resume for
 staff-level employees?" Their responses:
                                           Current        10 Years Earlier
     One page .............................  52%                 73%
     Two pages ............................  44%                 25%
     Three pages or more ..................   3%                  1%
     Don't know/not sure ..................   1%                  1%
                                            100%                100%
     They were also asked, "What is the preferable length of a resume for
 executives?" Their responses:
                                           Current        10 Years Earlier
     One page .............................   7%                 28%
     Two pages ............................  61%                 64%
     Three pages or more ..................  31%                  7%
     Don't know/not sure ..................   1%                  1%
                                            100%                100%
     "Many employers are willing to spend a little more time reviewing
 application materials so they can more easily determine who is most
 qualified and act quickly to secure interviews with these candidates," said
 Max Messmer, chairman of Accountemps and author of Managing Your Career For
 Dummies(R) (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.).
     Although employers may be willing to review longer resumes, job seekers
 shouldn't go overboard, Messmer noted. "Employers want to see that
 applicants can prioritize information and concisely convey the depth of
 their experience," he said.
     Accountemps offers the following do's and don'ts for determining what
 information to include in a resume:
              Do                                      Don't
 
     -- Describe key contributions you    -- Use exact dates of employment.
        made at prior roles and how          Months and years are
        they impacted the bottom line.       sufficient.
     -- Summarize software expertise      -- Include irrelevant details
        and other specialized skills.        about your personal life or
     -- Devote extra space to                list your hobbies.
        describing work experience that   -- Misrepresent your education or
        is most relevant to the job          career experience.
        description.                      -- Use professional jargon and
     -- Use terms referenced in the job      abbreviations.
        description if they apply.        -- List references or include a
     -- Firms often scan resumes for         lengthy objective.
        key words included in the job     -- Use complete sentences; short
        description.                         bulleted statements are better.
     -- Reference your activities with
        professional civic
        associations, community
        involvement and knowledge of a
        second language -- if they
        relate to the job opportunity.
     Accountemps has more than 350 offices throughout North America, Europe,
 Australia and New Zealand, and offers online job search services at
 http://www.accountemps.com.
 
 

SOURCE Accountemps