How long should a resume be?
One or two pages, for almost everyone outside academia. University career centres in the US and Canada give the same range, and the US federal government now caps resumes at two for most jobs. Within that range, the deciding factor is how much relevant experience you can show for this particular job.
Cornell University's Graduate School describes resumes on its resumes and CVs page as "one or two page summaries of your experience, education, and skills." It adds a firm limit: "Do not exceed two pages." It also says employers "rarely spend more than a few minutes reviewing a resume," which is why it asks for a document that is concise and easy to scan.
MIT's Career Advising and Professional Development office gives similar advice in its career toolkit on resumes. It says to "aim for one page or two pages maximum if you have substantial relevant information." In Canada, a March 2026 resume workshop from the University of Waterloo's Centre for Career Action says that resumes are typically "1-2 pages in length" and "Tailored to a specific field or job."
When is a one-page resume the right choice?
Use one page when your relevant experience fits on it without tiny fonts or cramped margins. That covers most students, new graduates and people with a few years of work. It also suits career changers, whose older experience may say little about the new job, and anyone applying where the posting asks for one page.
A single page forces choices, and that is useful. Every line has to earn its place, so weaker bullets drop out and the strong ones get noticed. If a second page would hold only a short list of old jobs or a hobbies section, cut it and keep one page.
MIT's toolkit offers both "one- and two-page templates" for "different levels of experience." That framing is the most useful one. Length follows experience, and two pages of thin content is weaker than one page of strong content.
When is a two-page resume better?
Use two pages when you have more relevant experience than one page can hold without losing evidence. That is common after several years in a field, for people with publications or licences, and for senior roles. MIT says its "two-page templates are especially useful for PhD students and postdocs with more extensive experience."
The test is relevance, measured against the job you're applying for. Ten years in one field usually produces two pages of results that matter to the next employer in that field. Ten years across unrelated jobs may still fit on one page once you cut what this employer won't care about.
If you do go to two pages, the first page has to carry the case on its own. Put your strongest and most recent relevant work there, and let the second page hold older roles, education and certifications. A reader who stops after page one should still see why you fit.
What are the rules for US federal resumes?
Two pages, at most. Under the Merit Hiring Plan of May 29, 2025, the Office of Personnel Management set a two-page limit for federal resumes. Starting September 27, 2025, USAJOBS restricts all resumes to two pages, and agencies should only review resumes from job seekers that are 2 pages or less.
OPM's agency guidance on the two-page limit says the rule covers "resumes stored in a job seeker profile, new uploaded resumes, resume builder resumes, and searchable resumes." It also says "If the only resume received by an applicant is longer than two pages, the applicant is ineligible for further consideration." So a long federal resume now ends the application.
The same guidance passes on formatting advice from the USAJOBS Help Center. It recommends uploading a PDF to keep formatting and page count, page margins of 0.5 inches, and "14-point size font for titles and 10-point for the main text." The file must be 5MB or less. For jobs that need a curriculum vitae, typically in medical and research fields, agencies may ask for the CV as an "other document."
OPM's "Helpful Hints for Creating a Two-Page Resume" work for any employer. They read: "Prioritize most relevant and recent experience," "Use concise, results focused language," "Align language from the job announcement," "Focus on demonstrating skills and competencies" and "Remove outdated or unrelated experience."
How is a CV different from a resume?
A CV is a longer record of your academic and research background, used for academic, scientific and research jobs. Cornell's Graduate School says "A CV can vary from two pages to several pages," while a resume stays at one or two. If a posting asks for a CV in those fields, the two-page limit doesn't apply.
Some postings outside academia say "CV" when they mean a resume. If you're unsure which one is wanted, follow any length the posting states, or ask the recruiter. The page on turning an international CV into a US resume covers the conversion.
Which length fits your situation?
Match the length to your relevant experience and to any rule the employer sets. The table sums up the guidance above. The first two rows come from the sources cited on this page, and the rest are this page's advice based on them.
| Your situation | Length | Why |
|---|---|---|
| US federal job on USAJOBS | Two pages at most | OPM rule from September 27, 2025 |
| Academic, scientific or research job asking for a CV | As long as the CV needs | Cornell: a CV can run from two pages to several |
| Student or new graduate | One page | Relevant experience usually fits |
| A few years in your field | One page, two if every line is relevant | Length follows relevant evidence |
| Many years in your field, or senior role | Two pages | More relevant results than one page can hold |
| Career change | One page, focused on transferable work | Older experience may be less relevant |
| Posting states a length | What the posting says | The employer set the rule |
How do you cut a resume to fit?
Start by removing what this job doesn't need, then tighten what is left. Cut old or unrelated roles to one line or drop them, merge similar bullets, and rewrite long bullets around one result each. Shrinking the font or margins is the last step, never the first.
- Keep a full master version with every role and result. MIT suggests keeping a full version for your records and a shorter, targeted one for each role. The master resume guide shows how to set one up.
- Mark each line as relevant or not for this posting, and delete the "not" lines first.
- Cut older roles this job doesn't need down to title, employer and dates, or remove them. The page on how far back a resume should go covers this.
- Rewrite each kept bullet as one result with one number, using the XYZ resume formula.
- Check the layout. Keep it to one column with clear headings, as the guide to ATS-friendly resume format explains.
The free resume optimizer rewrites the lines that matter for a specific job and keeps your facts, which makes cutting the rest easier.
How should you lay out a second page?
Put your name and the page number at the top of page two in the body text, so a printed copy stays together. Avoid putting contact details only in a header or footer, because some applicant tracking systems struggle to read them. Start page two at a natural break between roles.
Greenhouse's help page on unsuccessful resume parsing lists "Resumes with the name and contact information in the header, footer, or text box" as one cause of failed parsing. It also lists "Complex resumes with tables, headers, and footers." Keep your contact details in the main text of page one.
Don't leave half of page two empty with a stray section. If page two holds only a few lines, either cut back to one page or move a full section, such as education and certifications, onto it. Once your resume is ready, the guide on how many applications it takes to get a job helps you plan the search itself.