Should Your Resume Be Stapled?

If you have more than a one-page resume, you may wonder if you should staple the two or more pages together.

The question of should your resume be stapled is also assuming that you have more than a one-page resume, which we do not recommend.

However, if you do have more than one-page, you may assume that stapling your resume ensures that the pages remain in a linear and coherent fashion and do not get lost amongst the piles of paper.

However, it is preferred that you do not staple the two pages together.

Ideally, your resume should be a full page long.

It should not exceed the one-page mark and within that one-page, you should list only the most recent, necessary, and important information.

A resume is a template.

It is a living, breathing document that describes your most current work experience and any relevant work experiences over your career.

In addition, your resume should include any pertinent educational degrees and certifications achieved.

When it comes to writing your resume, you want to remain within the parameters of a single page.

The reason is that most companies receive a ton of interest from eligible candidates for a single position.

As-such, when they receive your resume, they have a mere 6-seconds to fully glance over it.

If your resume is over a page, the recruiter or hiring manager may miss any important information you included on the second page.

It is tempting to write-up a resume that exceeds one-page.

Particularly when you have a decade or more of work experience.

In fact, it is very easy to write more than one page.

That is why the one-page resume rule is so important.

It forces you to exclude and cut any information that isn’t important.

Rather than writing more than one page, look over your resume and see if there is room for you to exclude information or make modifications.

Can you remove any obsolete skills?

Is the job you had a decade ago relevant to your current experience?

Can you combine job roles?

If you’re unable to reduce your resume to one-page, then it is better to not staple the pages together.

The reason is that providing the pages individually to the hiring manager allows them to place the pages together side-by-side.

This way, they can take a look at your experience as a whole, without needing to flip between pages.

If you’re worried about the pages being lost or misplaced, simply use a paper clip to bind the pages together.

You can remove the paper clip before providing your resume to the hiring manager.

In-addition, if you do have more than one-page on your resume, you can add a header indicating ‘Page 1’ or ‘Page 2’.

This will help you and the hiring manager not lose any pages and keep track of the order.

While ideally your resume should be one-page in length, you can make due with any additional pages.

Be sure to only list the most important and necessary information.

Remove any fluff or information which is outdated, obsolete, or unneeded.

Feel free to bold or italicize important information and accomplishments which you want to draw attention to.

Your resume is your expression of your skills and experiences.

Always try to remain within the professional parameters, however don’t be afraid to let loose slightly and as you may see fit.

So long as the information you are providing on your resume is important and enhances your accomplishments, then it can make sense to leave it on, even if it goes over a single page.


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