Last updated: September 18th, 2023
The ideal length of an Australian professional resume is two pages. True? False. And yet, CV writers and career coaches all over Australia keep repeating this myth in the vast echo chamber of the internet.
Let me set the record straight.
Australian hiring managers care a lot less about your resume’s page count than its ability to showcase your work history.
This means you should obsess less about how long your resume should be and focus more on:
- Crafting razor-sharp achievements
- Front-loading them with powerful action verbs
- Removing buzzwords
- Using a modern resume template
Expert Tip.
The longer your employment history is, the longer your resume should be.
By the way, do you want to ensure that your resume is the right length and doesn’t take weeks to write? Consider using my:
- free resume builder, if you’re on a budget
- professional resume writing service, if you’re a mid-career professional
- executive resume writing service, if you’re a senior leader
Your Seniority Determines The Length Of Your Resume In Australia.
Junior job seekers will have the shortest resumes while the most experienced professionals will have the longest.
Resist the temptation to include every single detail on your resume. Highlight the main points, support them with evidence and save the rest for the job interview.
What If You’re Applying For A Job Outside Australia?
Different countries have different rules. American hiring managers typically expect a one-page resume while their UK counterparts are OK with quite a few more.
How Long Should An Australian Graduate Resume Be?
As an entry-level employee or a graduate with 0-2 years of experience, you will typically have a one-page or a two-page resume.
Running out of things to write? Don’t forget that you can include details of your key skills as well as your:
- volunteer work
- school leadership programs
- participation in the debating team
- sports achievements
Did you overcome seemingly insurmountable odds? That shows resilience, so be sure to tell that story. Or perhaps you grew your YouTube channel to a few thousand subs? Tell that story, too.
Recommended reading: What Is The Best Font For An Australian Resume?
How Long Should An Australian Management Resume Be?
As a mid-level employee with 3-6 years of experience, you’re likely to have a two-page or a three-page resume.
Squeezing all of your technical and/or management skills into a shorter document is out of the question. Australian employers want to see evidence of your ability to solve their commercial challenges.
This is particularly important if you’re applying for roles in academia, medicine or the sciences.
How Long Should An Australian Executive Resume Be?
As an executive-level employee with 15+ years of experience, you’re likely to have a resume that’s between three and five pages in length.
Because you have such a wealth of experience, you must ensure that your resume writing stays on point.
Read the job description and make sure that you’re only highlighting aspects of your experience that are relevant to the job you’re applying for.
Important!
How much of your work history should you include? The rules are not set in stone, but if you aim for 15 years, you’ll be fine. If you have a complicated employment history or are in doubt, ask a good resume writer for advice.
My Final Word On Resume Length In Australia.
As Australians, we’re not very good at selling ourselves. We get taught from birth that boasting is bad and blending in is good.
(Yep, the good old tall poppy syndrome).
This is the underlying cause of long, bloated resumes.
- When we sit down to write our own resume, we end up going around in circles, rambling, afraid to sell ourselves in a concise, assertive manner.
- Yet, we never quite get to the point. Instead, we give in to the temptation to include more peripheral points.
If your resume is longer than 5 pages, stop. It’s highly likely that you fell into this trap.
What’s the antidote?
Cull. Remove all buzzwords, fluff and cliches. Then, go through my guide on how to write a resume, step by step.
– Irene
P.S. Want to know more about how long an Australian resume should be? Maybe you’ve got some ideas for how far back an Australian resume should go? Give your opinion in the comments! Let’s start a conversation!
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