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Résumé length checker

Is your résumé too long, too short or just right? Paste it in to see words, pages and read time, judged against what’s normal for your experience.

Counted as you type. Nothing leaves your browser.

75words · ≈ 0.2 pages

Typical for 2–10 years: 400–850 words (1–2 pages).

On the short side. Add results to your recent roles — numbers, scope, tools — before adding anything else.

Bullets
3
Lines
13
Read time
13s

Word choice

Clichés: “team player”, “results-driven”. Replace them with something you can prove.

Fit your résumé to one page in a click

The editor shows exactly where the page breaks and can tighten spacing and font size to fit — without cutting your content.

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Guide · 4 min read

How long should a résumé be?

The honest answer: as long as it takes to prove you can do the job, and no longer. In practice, that lands in a predictable range depending on your experience.

ExperiencePagesWords
Student, graduate, under 2 years1250–550
2–10 years1–2400–850
10+ years, leadership, academia2550–1,100

These are guidelines, not rules. A page with 600 well-chosen words beats two pages of filler every time.

Résumé length by country

Expectations vary. In the US and Canada, one page is the default for early-career candidates. In the UK, Ireland and Australia, a two-page CV is normal. Much of Europe follows similar norms, sometimes with a photo and personal details. Academic CVs everywhere can run much longer. See our résumé format by country guides for the details.

What to cut first

  1. Old roles. Anything older than 10–15 years can shrink to one line (title, company, dates).
  2. Duties without results. “Responsible for weekly reports” can go. Keep bullets that show a change you made.
  3. Generic skills. “Microsoft Office” and “communication” rarely earn their space.
  4. References available on request. Everyone knows. Delete it.
  5. Clichés. “Hard-working team player” takes up a line and proves nothing.

What to add if it’s too short

Before you add more roles or sections, make your recent experience richer. For each role, ask: what changed because I was there? Add numbers (time, money, users, volume), the scope (team size, budget, markets), and the tools you used. Projects, volunteering and relevant coursework are good additions for early-career résumés.

Does length matter for ATS?

Applicant tracking systems don’t reject résumés for being two pages. They parse the text and match it against the job. Length matters to the human who reads it next. What does matter for ATS is a clean, single-column layout and the right keywords. Check yours with the free ATS résumé checker.

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