Resume Length in Higher Ed- What's the Standard?

[JBums1028]

So this was a question I thought of way back in February after my interviews, but forgot about until just now when I was talking about it with a friend. So I was personally always taught that until you've completed a graduate/professional degree or you have been out of school for a significant amount of time, you should always limit your resume to one page. However, when I was at my interview weekends I saw several recent grads or students still in undergrad with multi-page resumes. Does anyone know what the rule of thumb is, in particular for Higher Ed and Student Affairs?

 

 

 

[Imbasel]

I'm currently a junior and have talked to some professionals in Student Affairs as well as talked to the coordinator of UVM's HESA program. When I asked about the resume she said that anything up to two pages is fine. Mine was around that so I didn't ask what would happen if I went beyond that. However, I would say just shorten the description for different jobs and make them more meaningful so you can fit in two pages.

[JBums1028]

Ah, I was actually in the one page camp this past cycle. Maybe my experience looked lacking compared to others because of that? Not sure...

 

However, with my new position I might be able to extend to two pages. It's just foreign to me since it goes against what I've been taught. Thanks for the input though!

[JBums1028]

Really it is the shorter the better because people just glimpse at it the 1st time.

Mine is 1 and 1/2 pages because it is all direct student affairs experience 

 

That was exactly what I was taugth too! But then when some of the other prospective candidates saw my one page resume, they looked at me kind of funny (it was also the same way when I didn't do handwritten thank you notes- which I started a separate thread on). Which is why I was wondering if more is the norm for higher ed... I do feel like a lot of the people with longer resumes used larger font, weird spacing, had lengthy descriptions for their positions, etc. Mine this time around will probably be close to a page and a half at least since I'll be adding my new job in.

[clairenicole]

Mine was a little bit over one page because I've only had one Student Affairs related job and a couple of internships. I did end up getting chosen for a GA position though, so I must have done something right.

[hesadork]

I think 2 pages is fine for inclusion with the your grad school application package.

 

That said, once you're on the market for full-time employment, cut it back down to a single page.  Campus activities, internships and employment while in UG can usually be condensed (and in certain cases, eliminated altogether) to recover the space.  As a hiring manager, there's nothing worse that looking at a resume from a relatively junior professional who insists on listing, in great detail, all of those experiences -- all it does is reinforce the junior-ness.

[JBums1028]

I think 2 pages is fine for inclusion with the your grad school application package.

 

That said, once you're on the market for full-time employment, cut it back down to a single page.  Campus activities, internships and employment while in UG can usually be condensed (and in certain cases, eliminated altogether) to recover the space.  As a hiring manager, there's nothing worse that looking at a resume from a relatively junior professional who insists on listing, in great detail, all of those experiences -- all it does is reinforce the junior-ness.

 

Thanks for the info! I always assumed that my resume would get longer after grad school but that's helpful info to know for future reference.

[ZeChocMoose]

Usually, I agree with hesadork - but single page resumes for entry level positions post master's is going to look a little light - at least it would at my former place of employment.  I would hope that you would have at least two experiences in your master's program that would be relevant and then hopefully at least 1 - 2 experiences before you entered that would be relevant.  That combined with your education section and your service section (and possibly your skills section if you are applying to research jobs) is going to be over a page.  

 

I think it is reasonable to be around 1.5 - 2 pages after you finished the master's.  The only caveat is that if you are just filling in "fluff" to get it to that length than keep it to one page. Also - the program that you end up going into will hopefully help you with your resume, prepare you for the sometimes multiple day interviews, and provide you information/strategies on how to negotiate salary/start dates in your final semester of the program.

[JBums1028]

Well the majority of the programs I'm looking at require at least 2 internships and offer assistantships. So hopefully I'll have 2-3 experiences by the end of the program. I will have my AmeriCorps experience as well as my upcoming year-long internship for post-graduate experience. I'm also hoping to do NODA next summer, but I'm unsure of the likelihood that I'll get a position without any Master's level experience. So I'll have 2-3 positions then post-bachelors.

 

I'm not super worried yet about post-master's (since that's a long ways off at this point, but I appreciate the info). I was mostly wondering what length is appropriate for someone with just a bachelor's applying to MA programs and internships/employment (since that's most relevant for right now).

 

One last thing though, can you elaborate on what you mean by service section? Do you mean volunteer positions?

[hesadork]

ZeChocMoose - our first discussion board disagreement!  Gads!  Lol

 

Every person is different and will need to make a judgment call about how best to represent themselves.  For some early career folks, that will mean 1 page; for others, 2.  I agree with that.  But for someone with less than 5 years of full time post-UG work experience, I am hard pressed to believe 2 pages are necessary.  Here's why:

 

From the perspective of a hiring manager -- who maybe spends a minute or two per applicant doing the initial (post-HR) cut: listing every club/student activity in which you participated does you no favors.  Using 3-5 bullet points to describe what you did as an RA (a function we are all familiar with) does you no favors.  Summary statements and vanilla skills lists (web browsing, MS Office) do you no favors; if the position requires a specialized skill, it should be noted in the cover letter.  (Exception: *fluency* in a language other than English if the institution serves a population that speaks that language.)

 

One of the reasons I love this field so much is that it attracts people who are *involved* on campus -- we are not just along for the ride.  And our impulse as over-involved people is to explicate that involvement; we want people to understand that we're doers.  And/But, that impulse doesn't always serve when applying for early career jobs.

 

Sorry to have thread-jacked this, JBums!  

[ZeChocMoose]

One last thing though, can you elaborate on what you mean by service section? Do you mean volunteer positions?

 

I meant more service to the institution or the field.  Usually if you hold a position in your professional organization or you are a member of a committee for your department or university, they get listed under service.  You could definitely put external volunteer positions, but I only do that if it directly relates to the job.  This is more for your post master's resume.

 

I'm not super worried yet about post-master's (since that's a long ways off at this point, but I appreciate the info). I was mostly wondering what length is appropriate for someone with just a bachelor's applying to MA programs and internships/employment (since that's most relevant for right now).

 

For your application to your program - I would just make sure you include any experience where you potentially might want an assistantship in that area.  So if you got res life, civic engagement, and admissions - definitely list them all because then you can get offered interviews (and hopefully assistantships!) for all of those offices.