How long should a resume be?
The answer depends on where you are applying and how much relevant experience you have. Here is the guidance for seven markets, each with its source.
Use as few pages as your relevant experience needs. One to two pages is the usual range for US and Canadian resumes, UK guidance says ideally no more than two, Australian resumes can run longer, and federal jobs applied for on USAJOBS have a hard two-page limit since 27 September 2025.
Resume length by country
Where no official or widely recognised career service publishes a page count, the row says so and gives common practice instead.
| Market | Guidance | Source |
|---|---|---|
| United States (private sector) | One to two pages is the usual range: one for students and early careers, two when more relevant experience needs the room. | Coursera, How long should a resume be? |
| US federal (USAJOBS) | No more than two pages. Effective 27 September 2025, a resume over two pages makes an applicant ineligible when it is the only resume submitted. | OPM, Two-page resume standard |
| United Kingdom | Ideally no more than two pages. | Transport for London, Writing a CV and cover letter |
| Canada | One to two pages: one for a short work history, two for a longer one or for extra material such as volunteer work. | North Island College, How many pages should my resume be? |
| Australia | Longer is accepted: no more than four pages, depending on the extent of your experience. | ASIC Careers, Resume tips |
| India | No official length. Common practice is a short resume for freshers, with length added only for experience relevant to the role. | No official source; common practice |
| Singapore | No official length from the Ministry of Manpower or MyCareersFuture. Common practice follows the concise, achievement-led style multinational employers expect. | No official source; common practice |
The two-page rule for US federal jobs
The Office of Personnel Management introduced a two-page limit for resumes submitted through USAJOBS, effective 27 September 2025, as part of the Merit Hiring Plan. If you have an older, longer federal resume, it needs cutting before you apply.
OPM's agency guidance says the limit covers resumes uploaded, built in the USAJOBS resume builder or stored in a profile, and that positions requiring a curriculum vitae are treated separately. Check the announcement for the role you want, then cut to the experience that matches its qualifications.
How to decide for your own resume
- Start with the market and the posting. A federal announcement or an employer's stated limit overrides any rule of thumb.
- Keep what a recruiter for this role will ask about. Older or unrelated roles can shrink to a line or go.
- Fill the last page at least halfway, or cut back to the previous page.
- For what to include as well as how long, see the format guides for the US, UK, Canada, Australia and Singapore.
Questions
Resume length questions
Sources & further reading
The length guidance on this page draws on these sources.
- OPM, OPM implements two-page resume standard to streamline federal hiring, the USAJOBS limit and its effective date
- OPM, Agency guidance on the two-page limit on resume length, scope of the limit and the CV exception
- Transport for London, Writing a CV and cover letter, UK length guidance
- National Careers Service, CV sections, what a UK CV should contain
- North Island College, How many pages should my resume be?, Canadian length guidance
- ASIC Careers, Resume tips, Australian length guidance
- Coursera, How long should a resume be?, US private-sector length guidance
Make every page count
The free check shows which sections a parser finds and what is missing from each, so you know what to keep and what to cut.