Resume/CV Advice

[Yahowho]

In terms of your CV/Resume, how long should one be and how much detail should be included in it for a teaching job? The job involves teaching Math, Science, English and ICT through the medium of English, in the UAE (sorry for posting here - more traffic).

[Yu_Bumsuk]

Ideally all the information should fit on one page. If it were for east Asia I'd include a professional-looking photo at the top but I'm not sure about the ME. Don't include irrelevant work experience unless it's very impressive (e.g. May-August 2007: research assistant, University of Unkonwnplace. Duties: collecting and collating research material). If you want to personalise it and target it to a specific job, attach a half-page cover letter. 

[Mountain Crocodile]

My professional resume is nearly 6 pages.

You can't put a life on one page.

If this is for a proper job, they will take the time to read. 

If not, no real loss to you.

MC

[Davey]

In terms of your CV/Resume, how long should one be and how much detail should be included in it for a teaching job? The job involves teaching Math, Science, English and ICT through the medium of English, in the UAE (sorry for posting here - more traffic).

HR managers and recruiters have short attention spans and even shorter if it's a highly coveted position.  For a teaching position, a two-page resume MAY be acceptable provided that it's justified (i.e., long history of relevant, impressive work experience/accomplishments, etc.). But if you really can fit everything in one page, do it.

[Yu_Bumsuk]

My professional resume is nearly 6 pages.

You can't put a life on one page.

If this is for a proper job, they will take the time to read. 

If not, no real loss to you.

MC

If you can't condense a CV, however glorious, to a page, there's something wrong with your presentation skills. Things like publications and presentations call always go on an addendum if an employer is still interested after page 1.

[JahRhythm]

I disagree. I edited mine down a lot. I think my presentation skills are pretty good.
It's Korean style and concise.
2 pages.
If you have several degrees and several different relevant work experiences to list...1 page ain't gonna cut it.

[Lapomme]

1-2 pages.  More than that is useless and possibly irritating.

[JahRhythm]

BTW, this is another useless poll.
It depends on the applicants age, education and work experience, and the level of the job.
Sure, if you're a recent uni grad then keep it to a page.
If you're pushing 30 or older and applying for competitive positions then 1 page is completely inadequate.

[Lapomme]

BTW, this is another useless poll.
It depends on the applicants age, education and work experience, and the level of the job.
Sure, if you're a recent uni grad then keep it to a page.
If you're pushing 30 or older and applying for competitive positions then 1 page is completely inadequate.

I beg to differ. I worked in a HR Office during 4 years and I can assure you nobody takes the time to read a 6 pages resume. It's supposed to be a summary of your education and work experience, not a full report (after all, resume does mean summary). And believe it or not,  a long resume can blow your chances at getting the job... One could assume thatyou're either a) pretentious or b) lacking synthesis skills.

[JahRhythm]

Alright, then I guess I better use 6 point font and squeeze it all on a single page.

[Lapomme]

Alright, then I guess I better use 6 point font and squeeze it all on a single page.

This is probably ironic but... Remember only your latest experiences are relevant. Everything older can be summarized into 1 or 2 sentences (employer, period, function, brief description)

[JahRhythm]

I have to list a B.A., M.A., M.Ed, a current in-progress M.A. as well as my current job, my previous job in Korea as well as my previous teaching job in the states which is certainly relevant as I was a high school teacher.
You're telling me 2 pages is too much to summarize that?
Or am I just being pretentious?

[Mountain Crocodile]

I have to list a B.A., M.A., M.Ed, a current in-progress M.A. as well as my current job, my previous job in Korea as well as my previous teaching job in the states which is certainly relevant as I was a high school teacher.
You're telling me 2 pages is too much to summarize that?
Or am I just being pretentious?

Your not being pretentious at all.

Kids don't have a professional resume, so they don't have much to put on it.  If you've collected up a large amount of education and experience, it takes time to list things properly and concisely.

People who say you need only 1 or 2 pages are using the basic uneducated look towards employment that resumes should match a cookie cutter approach.

I've used over 4 pages for the past 12 years, and I've never had anyone complain to me it was too long.  If someone did, I would assume they didn't know what they were talking about and were just taking the lazy approach.

MC