If you're not applying for an executive position, a management position, or your line of work requires various certifications or detailing projects, you can try to condense your resume into the minimum amount of space possible. One page is ideal.
To do this, you need to carry out a synthesis exercise that allows you to reduce the space as much as possible without leaving out essential data.
It's not an easy task, especially if you have a lot of experience. But don't worry, that's what we're here for. We'll give you a series of tips to help you skype phone number data summarize your resume on a single page. Let's get started!
Advantages and disadvantages of summarizing your resume on one page
Before learning how to make a one-page resume, it is necessary to consider the pros and cons of reducing its length.
Make it easier to read: Consider that, according to a study by the employment advice platform, The Ladder , recruiters spend just over 7 seconds reading a CV. Summarizing your CV on a single page will make it easier for them to locate your information quickly, will make it easier to read and the key words will stand out more clearly.
Highlight qualifications: Summarizing your resume on one page allows you to highlight the most relevant experiences and skills for a specific job opening.
Sign of creativity: Condensing your professional information onto one sheet requires creativity and the ability to summarize, and demonstrates your ability to use space efficiently.
Disadvantages
You have more limited space to include the information
It requires a significant amount of synthesis and writing work.
If you have had to drastically reduce the font size to reduce your resume to one page, you may be compromising readability.
If you haven't done a good job with the layout and you include too much information on a single page, you can end up overwhelming your CV, giving it a disorganized and unprofessional image.
Much more important than shortening the space is knowing how to condense the information and present it correctly. If your CV is difficult to understand, the data is confusing and incomplete, no matter how short it is, your CV will not get the results you expect.
How to make a CV on one page?
Now it's time to find out how to summarise a CV on a single page. To do so, we want to share with you a series of practical tips to achieve the best result.
Eliminate the dispensable
There is information that is not as necessary as you think and that you could remove from your CV.
Some examples of unnecessary information:
Previous work experience that is not related to the offer
Hobbies that do not add value to the job you are applying for. Check out which hobbies you should add to your one-page CV
Academic filler information : it is not necessary to include old courses that are irrelevant to the offer, the average grade obtained during the studies, or other qualifications. If necessary, this will be explained during the interview.
Full address of your residence (city and zip code are sufficient)
Employment references (only indicates that they are available upon request)
Our advice? Use a simple structure with the sections of a basic CV , i.e.:
Contact information (brief)
Professional profile
Academic background
Work experience
Skills
Reduce the font size
Good use of font size can be a plus when it comes to summarizing your CV on one page.
Typically, the recommended font size for a resume is between 10 and 12 points. However, to keep your resume to a single page, a font size of 10 points is recommended, no less.
This will keep the information legible and not overwhelming.
Similarly, it is important to choose a clear and easy-to-read font, such as Arial or Arial Narrow, Calibri, Garamond or Times New Roman . Avoid using overly ornate or fancy fonts at all costs.
Don't overdo it with the size of your titles
Here we play with the dimensions of the typography again. As far as the titles of each section are concerned, the font size should not exceed 14 points . A larger size is completely unnecessary and will take up valuable space.
This is a simple but very useful tip. Good management of the dimensions of your section titles will give you more space to fill your CV with useful content.
Use bold and bullets to optimize content
Highlighting what is important when you have little space is essential. An appropriate use of bold will help the employer find the most interesting parts of your CV in the shortest possible time.
In the case of lists and bullets , they allow you to reduce unnecessary words by indicating valuable information such as your previous positions or achievements in a certain position.
Use keywords
This is already a classic piece of advice for both making a one-page CV and any other type of CV you are going to make.
Remember that nowadays more and more companies are using technological tools, such as Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) , for their selection processes.
Among other things, these scan relevant keywords for the offer or job, so make sure to include them in your CV .
Want to learn more? Check out our complete guide on how to optimize your CV for ATS systems.
Take advantage of the margins, skip the line spacing
Regardless of the format you want to use for your CV, you should know that respecting margins is a thing of the past. Use the side margins to add information such as your personal details, your skills or the languages you speak.
As for line spacing, forget about 1.5 or 2 points , you don't need it and it will save you a lot of space. Limit yourself to 1 point of line spacing.
