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2 page resume ok?

 
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I'm a senior in college and am going to graduate soon. I am submitting my resume through my school's Career Services. They say that a resume should be only one page.
However, I have had two internships, two summers worth of research and another job, along with other categories of Honors, Education, Professional Summary, Activities.
At size 12 font, my resume stretches to two pages.
I wrote a Professional Summary in the beginning instead of the usual Objective statement because I thought it would add a more professional flavor.
Is this ok, or does it look like I'm just trying to BS some stuff on my resume (which I'm not, but I just read in these forums that you can't have 1.5 pages. You must have either 1 or 2 full pages)?
Thanks yall.
 
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Don't care for people who generalize. If you think you need 2 pages and some different format, please go ahead. You are the best judge of your abilities and presentation needed for that. But be open to changing and experimenting if you find that it's not working. Also make sure its not working due to resume format and not due to something else because in present market conditions NOTHING is working. In fact if its different u stand a better chance of being noticed.
-Shashank
 
Christophe Lee
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Judging from the recruitment list coming to our university (UofArizona), I think people are still hiring. However, I just heard from Intel that they are interviewing for new recruits for after May,2002 graduation.
All the major companies that typically come for MIS grads (Anderson, PWC, Intel, IBM) are still on the list. I think the only thing is they're looking for more quality candidates than before and pushing the start date a bit back, and no bonuses.
But I'm a little concerned my resume might standout as being too verbose. I should have a career counselor check it out tomorrow.
Just wondering if any recruiters out there care about length.
I would think a longer resume would be better since it would mean more experience and more detailed explanations.
 
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One page,
with a URL to the longer version.
(I am not HR or a recruiter...)
 
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I am a corporate recruiter and see resumes of all
shapes and sizes from IT people. I just got an 8
page resume the other day. I think it's becoming more
important to include all the technologies with which
you've worked, because many recuiters don't *understand*
technology, they just work from a laundry list.
Now, whether you do this in brief project summaries or
lengthy ones is up to you. If you can accomplish the
same thing in less space, please do so. If you can't,
nobody is going to toss a resume because of length, not
in java and related technologies.
As a college grad, if you do have extensive hands on
experience most definitely emphasize it--the practical
experience is what's going to set you apart from your
peers in this tough market.
Scott
 
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Without having seen your resume - here are some generalizations and pointers that may help. I am writing this from the perspective of a potential employer.

To shorten your resume:
- Leave off the activities - no one cares. This is why they have interviews. I don't care if you scored the winning touchdown at the Rose Bowl. We only have a ping-pong table at our office and you have to sign up in order to use it. Company policy dictates that you have to provide the paddles. We call it cost cutting.
- Leave off the honors - unless it's something that is immediately reconizable. If it is just some scholarship - particular to that university - no one cares. Yeah, it's important to you - but I don't care. Again, work it into one of your success stories that you will tell at the interview.
- Back to honors - if you were class valedictorian - you can just write "validectorian" next to the degree. It doesn't need to be more than a one line statement at most. And again, I don't care.
- Leave off classes you took. No one cares. You graduated didn't you? So I assume that you took some computer classes.
- Leave off the references. Hell, I can't call them - legally that is - unless you sign a form giving me permission to do so.
- Do not staple transcripts to resume. I can't read printing that small. Seriously, I have seen this done in the past.
---------
- What you should list:
- Your degree(s).
- Your technical certification(s) - no one cares if you went to truck driving school.
- Go over your projects. Did you use bulleted points rather than 5 sentence paragraphs? Did you you include a technical environment section for each project.
- What languages do you know. Don't list in alphabetical order - but rather in most knowledgeable to least knowledgeable.
For some reason, it's still ok to list Prolog, Pascal, and Lisp. Just list them last.
- I should be able to pick up your resume - and in 10-20 seconds know if I want to talk to you or not. I will not hunt/pick/read sentences in their entirety. And this is the mindset that you (as a resume writer) need to consider. The reson being - most recruiters (initial screening) have about 200+ resumes to sort through - and have about 5 minutes to do it in (seriously).
----------
Two pages or one?
If you did a good bit of work/internships - and are not adding fluff such as your shoe size, health, weight, and your family heritage - then a 2 page resume is ok.
If you have a clean - well formatted resume - then 2 pages is fine. The bozos at the college career center are English majors who couldn't make it in the real world. What do they know about the technical scene - other than what someone wrote in a book?
Unfortunately, it's these career service clowns who can do you favors if you get to know them. Such as getting you into a supposedly closed interview list, or handing your resume to a recruiter - when you were in class. Showing you how to signup for interviews - stuff like that.
My advice - make sure you put "References on Request" at end of resume - so reader knows they are done.

-----
Remember, it's the resume & your degree that get's you in the door. It's the interview that gets you the job.
-----
Don't worry about the other ten thousand schmucks at your college that say the economy is going to pooh. What the hell would they know?
You gotta put on your blinders (as we say), and keep plowing until something turns up.
And no law ever stated that you couldn't look outside of campus recruiting.
------
Enjoy,
John Coxey
(jpcoxey@aol.com)
 
Christophe Lee
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Everyone - I sincerely thank you for your help.
After talking with my school's counselor and reading your VERY helpful hints, I've squeezed my resume down to 1 page (10 pt font though).
I think I WAS too wordy before, describing my projects in full detail rather than bulleting the main points. Also, I had a Professional Summary (1 paragraph) instead of a short Objective statement (1 line).
This is for Scott and John especially (since I *think* they're recruiters?), but can you glance at my resume for 20 seconds and see any glaring good/bad points?
Thanks again.
My resume can be found here.
[This message has been edited by Christophe Lee (edited September 07, 2001).]
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