How to Fit Your Resume Onto One Page: Part I

By: Kandice Thorn

Almost everyone can fit their resumes onto one page without sacrificing important content.  Yet fitting a resume onto one page can sometimes be tricky, particularly for international students who are accustomed to lengthier CVs.  When looking to shorten a resume, there are two things to look at: content and format. 

Is your resume too long because you are trying to put too much content in the resume?  Or is it too long because your formatting is too generous and needs to be cleaned up?  Or (as is most often the case) is it a combination of the two?  Part I of this post will address issues with content.  Part II, which will be posted next week, will address formatting issues.

Shortening Your Resume by Eliminating Extraneous Content

With every item in your resume, you should ask yourself the following question: "What does this tell the employer about me that is important for the employer to know?"  An item or description in a resume might be included because it does one of the following:

• Demonstrates a credential or achievement that is relevant to the position.  
• Fills a gap in time.  
• Demonstrates a skill that is necessary or desirable for the position.    
• Shows that you are an interesting, well-rounded person (e.g., items included in the "Interests" or "Miscellaneous" section).

In a one-page resume, every word counts, so make sure that every word is important.  Try to view your resume through the eyes of the employer.  What would matter to the employer?  

For example, let's say you worked as a waiter in a restaurant.  Should you include that in your resume?  Let's look at it in two different hypothetical scenarios:

Scenario #1: You worked at the restaurant during the summers while you were in college.  After graduating, you worked for a law firm for five years.  Summers while you are in college are not time periods you necessarily need to account for (remembering the rule about leaving no time period unaccounted for).  Working as a waiter in a restaurant does not really demonstrate any important relevant skill (unless, say, you were applying for an in-house job for a restaurant management company), and your subsequent experience as a lawyer in a law firm renders irrelevant your experience as a waiter.  The restaurant experience is not particularly interesting--many people work in restaurants.  In this case, I would leave it out.

Scenario #2:  You worked at the restaurant for two years between your first degree and your master's degree.  After the first year, you were promoted to manager and had substantial responsibilities, including supervision of employees and bookkeeping.  You have minimal law-related work experience, as you have only recently completed all of the requirements for admission to practice law in your jurisdiction.  In this case, your experience in the restaurant fills a gap in time that would otherwise be unaccounted for (the two years between your degrees).  Additionally, showing that you were promoted within the business to a position of responsibility will show the potential employer that you excelled in the position and were a trusted employee. With the level of responsibility that you had, you may also be able to demonstrate some transferable skills (some skills you acquired in that position that may be applicable to the position for which you are applying).  In this case, you should include it to fill the gap in time and demonstrate some skills that are desirable for the position. 

In reality the scenarios might be less clear cut, but always remember to return to the simple question of "What does this tell the employer about me that is important for the employer to know?"  If you are having trouble answering the question, you should look more closely at whether the item should be included.  Note that for a job that you are including merely to fill a gap in time where there are few or no transferable skills, you may omit the job description.