The right length for an education resume seems to be one of the biggest concerns of teachers and other job seekers. It isn’t the resume length that should be the first concern; concentrate on the resume content and design.
When developing a resume, people appear to get overly concerned with figuring out if a resume is supposed to be one page or two pages. Let’s try to shed a little light on this topic and hopefully clarify some confusion.
You may have heard somewhere along the way that your education resume needs to be no longer than one page. Ignore this statement; it is not necessarily true. Your resume must be long enough to provide hiring personnel and the school principal with all the vital information necessary to get your foot in the door for an interview.
It may be the perfect time for you to read the A – Z Resume Writing Strategies for Teachers.
To achieve this, does the length of an education resume need to be one, two, or even three pages?
What Hiring Authorities Look for in an Education Resume
School principals and hiring managers don’t necessarily care about the length of an education resume unless it is inappropriate in length, such as five pages. Then again, five pages could be the length of some higher education professors with lots of experience, publications, and presentations.
The reader will care about whether or not it is visually appealing, easy to read, and if they can readily find essential relevant information. So unless the advertisement specifies the length of the resume you must submit, your resume should reflect the amount of related teaching experience, skills, and accomplishments you have.
If you’d like a rule of thumb for the appropriate length of your resume, remember that the length has to do with what is suitable for your experience and background.
That means your years of relevant teaching experience will ultimately determine the length of your resume. The general rule is that you should only need one page if you have less than three or four years of teaching experience and no other work experience.
More than four years, and you will likely need two pages. If you’ve had a long career, are in an education leadership role, or have a lot of extra information to include presentations, grants, and professional development courses, you could need three pages to list it all.
Why It’s Important Not to Focus on Resume Length
The problem with being stuck on having a one-page education resume is that it can hinder your ability to sell yourself.
With such a space constraint put on you, you will have little room to list anything other than the ‘what’ of your education, work history, and courses. You won’t have the chance to include pertinent keywords, showcase your accomplishments, and your core competencies that sell your teaching candidacy.
On the flip side, someone with three years of experience should not include every detail possible to end up with a three-page-long resume. No school principal will want to sift through a lengthy document if the information isn’t relevant.
Recommended Reading: Curriculum Vitae CV or Resume Formats for Teacher Job Applications
When developing your resume, consider how essential each item is to the education position you are applying for before adding it. If it is irrelevant, consider leaving it off to make room for more valuable information about your abilities and accomplishments.
Ultimately, don’t be overly concerned about the number of pages. It is better to have a two-page resume that is easy to read than a one-page resume with the information jammed into a confined space.
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