How to Shorten Resume

Building a resume can be time-consuming and frustrating. It feels like you never know how much to add, what’s important, or how to make it look professional.

In this article, we’ll talk about how to shorten your resume through a few practical tips like eliminating unneeded content and deleting irrelevant past positions.

Why should you shorten your resume?

Keeping information relevant and straightforward will increase your chances of making the hiring manager read your resume to the end.

If you can get the hiring manager to read your entire resume, you increase your chances of getting called for an interview.

Start with a solid outline, and keeping your resume short and to the point should be easy.

How to shorten your resume –– a handful of helpful tips

Shortening your resume is only tricky if you overthink it. Keeping your resume short and straightforward requires following a few simple tips, such as:

• Use a resume builder instead of Word
• Reduce page margins
• Remove irrelevant job positions
• Eliminate other irrelevant content
• Keep contact info short
• Use bullet points
• Skip common skills
• Shorten your summary

Use a resume builder tool instead of MS Word

One simple way to shorten your resume is by using a resume builder instead of Microsoft Word.

A resume builder will make helpful suggestions as you go and ensure that you don’t overdo it on the content.

Reduce the page margins of your resume to save space

If you can reduce the page margins, you’ll save a lot of space in the long run.

The trick is making sure your resume still looks professional with very little space between headings and descriptions.

Remove any irrelevant job positions

The job you had in high school probably won't help you get your dream position. Don’t feel bad about deleting old experiences that have nothing to do with the job you seek now.

Eliminate other content that's not relevant to the job position

Don’t include anything that doesn’t relate specifically to the job you want. It’s just taking up space.

Keep your contact info as short as possible

Your contact information can be short and sweet. Even putting it in the header might be helpful.

use bullet points instead of full sentences

Wherever possible, list your accomplishments in bullet points. Bullet points save space, time, and words.

Skip the common skills and focus on technically relevant ones

Don’t include skills that are too general or don’t relate to the job. Focus instead on the skills you have spent years cultivating that have prepared you for this specific position.

Shorten your resume summary and list your top accomplishment in there

Your summary can be one sentence if you want. It’s a great place to put the accomplishment you are most proud of without taking up extra space with an entire paragraph.

Takeaways

When you need to shorten your resume, keep a few things in mind:

• A resume outline helps
• Exclude all irrelevant info
• The template matters
• Get right to the point

Following the helpful tips will help you maximize your resume space and ensure the hiring managers are reading clear to the end.