How long should a resume be?

[SA_massive]

How long do you think a resume (in English) should be for a teaching job?

I'm looking to get a school or college job after two and a half years at a major eikaiwa/dispatch company.

Going by Australian professional stanadards I would have thought two pages, but an experienced teacher told me only one is better for a teaching job in Japan. He suggested I condense it to one page and get rid of almost everything unrelated to teaching.

What do you think?

[SteadyRollingMan]

I tend to agree. In Japan you want something that shows you have experience in the field you want so go for it. One page must of the dimwits reading them one page is enough.

[zmcnulty]

Why would you have anything unrelated to teaching on there in the first place? So they think you're a well-rounded individual with a diverse background?

I voted for one page. At least here in the US, 2+ page resumes are only for people with publications, doctorates, and/or decades worth of applicable work experience.

Otherwise it's called a CV. I think you'll be fine either way in Japan though.

[Moobies]

How long do you think a resume (in English) should be for a teaching job?

As long as it needs to be. My CV (education, teaching experience, program management experience, presentations and publications) is two pages. I wouldn't restrict myself to 1 or 2 pages though, whenever I get more experience, pubs, or presentations.

I'm looking to get a school or college job after two and a half years at a major eikaiwa/dispatch company.

Don't know if you're looking for advice on that as well, but I don't think people these days are finding it too easy to jump from eikaiwa to college/uni teaching without a graduate degree. It seems from what people talk about on GP tho, you might have more luck moving from dispatch to part-time college/uni work. There's lots on the subject here. Read up on it, prepare yourself well, and good luck.

He suggested I condense it to one page and get rid of almost everything unrelated to teaching.

I would get rid of everything unrelated to teaching, unless that leaves you with absolutely nothing.

[deleted at user request]

however long it is, it's needs to meet the requirements of the job you are applying for. I think two pages is a good length, but i would ad an extra sheet for publications etc

[well_bicyclically]

for the most part, one page in length, with work experience going back for the past ten years.

a lot depends on your background and the job you are trying to get. for eikaiwa, one page. for uni, more pages would be fine.

If you were a teacher for a long time with many different responsibilities at several different locations, and or publications, then you may need to go to two pages.

for teaching positions, I think educational background is given more priority.

If you can have your resume translated into Japanese, it is a plus, but not completely necessary.

cheers.

[Ansony]

How long do you think a resume (in English) should be for a teaching job?

I'm looking to get a school or college job after two and a half years at a major eikaiwa/dispatch company.

Going by Australian professional stanadards I would have thought two pages, but an experienced teacher told me only one is better for a teaching job in Japan. He suggested I condense it to one page and get rid of almost everything unrelated to teaching.

What do you think?

Are they asking for a resume or a CV? As Moobies points out, CV's are as long as they have to be. Resumes are a summary, one page document. I've done a fair bit of hiring over the years, though it's been a while since I've done any for teachers. You won't even get me to look at page two. If you haven't made the sale by the end of page one, you aren't likely to on another page.

Keep the reader in mind. They are often looking at a major pile of resumes. Being clear, concise and brief is appreciated. The initial selection stage consists of a quick scanning of resumes, which are then thrown on the "accept" or "reject" pile.

Your focus is on getting an interview, not a job. The interview is where you get the job.

[Glenski]

Try to keep it to 2 pages. If you have had enough experience, even that may not be enough. Most recruiters and HR personnel advise 2 pages max, but there are exceptions to that.

Figure that the reviewer will want to see some basic info:

1) your nationality and eligibility for visa sponsorship
2) your picture
3) your education
4) a glimmer of your work experience

All that can be seen at a glance. I would think most reviewers would read the cover letter first, and in that case, you can write about details not covered in the resume. The resume only supports the CL by showing your stats. A Japanese resume just says where you worked and for how long, but an English one would be lengthier in order to explain what one's responsibilities were, so it is not hard to imagine going to 2 pages.

[Super Grover]

at uni, people are looking for a specific skill set and/or body to fill in teaching hours. in the latter case, they are likely looking for the youngest, cheapest candidate who fits within their assigned parameters. often proximity to the job site is a factor. in this case, 2 pages might be enough. if they want a specific type of person, then you have to sell yourself, probably based on your publications, experience and your age.

tips: if you have weak experience, a well known place won't hire you except perhaps on a p.t. basis. conversely, if you have tons of experience and apply at a somewhat low ranked uni, they will assume you are going to quit on them.
i have about 20 c.v.s here right now. we will not invite any of the high level phd holders because they are researchers with little teaching experience. we're looking for a great teacher. likely we will hire a former jhs teacher.

length of documents.
personally, i want to see everything so i have a better feel for who s/he is. 2 pages barely whets my appetite.

[Gaijin 06]

Figure that the reviewer will want to see some basic info:

1) your nationality and eligibility for visa sponsorship
2) your picture
3) your education
4) a glimmer of your work experience

If a resume has a photo on it then I will bin it without reading it. Only about 10% of the ones I see have photo's - in my view it is unnessecary & unprofessional to put one on.

[Super Grover]

Gaijin 06
Agree, but often here they demand a photo.
We had to have photos from our applicants. Why? Because!
In some ways, Japan is so behind the times.

I disagree with some of your posting, Glenski. I'd only provide what is explicitly asked for. Most uni positioins never request visa or nationality info. They usually want much more than a glimmer as regards work experience.

Anyway, OP, it is often such a crap shoot. Good luck.

[Nikay]

My IT resume is 3 pages. But I guess it would be classified as a CV which tend to be longer.

[PanicInducingGaijin]

Glenski, given how long you've apparently been teaching (and publishing, I assume), you might need more, but for someone whose work experience is 2.5 years at an eikaiwa, one page is sufficient.

[Fukudad]

How long do you think a resume (in English) should be for a teaching job?

It should be long enough, but not too long.

[Moobies]

If a resume has a photo on it then I will bin it without reading it. Only about 10% of the ones I see have photo's - in my view it is unnessecary & unprofessional to put one on.

Are you in Japan? If so, that's a pretty daft move considering almost every teaching job in Japan requires a photo and all Japanese 履歴書 do as well.

Outside of Japan, I completely agree.

[Glenski]

Glenski, given how long you've apparently been teaching (and publishing, I assume), you might need more, but for someone whose work experience is 2.5 years at an eikaiwa, one page is sufficient.

Agreed. Trouble is, you know how verbose some people can be...especially if they think their First Aid training program qualifies as "teaching experience", or they write in lengthy paragraphs about how much money they saved GAP as a retail clerk.

at uni, people are looking for a specific skill set and/or body to fill in teaching hours.

Usually, it's just a body, but with a contact within the uni. How else is the review committee going to screen 20-100 applicants? (slightly tongue in cheek here) Plus, we know that the application forms themselves usually ask for a separate list of publications, so that doesn't have to be a part of the resume, thus cutting down on the size of the resume itself.

[Glenski]

I disagree with some of your posting, Glenski. I'd only provide what is explicitly asked for.

Well, of course I'd agree with that. My "list" was meant to show what is requested on the average teacher's resume here. Teacher, meaning at any level, from eikaiwa to uni to business school. If an applicant doesn't supply what is requested, so be it with his chances.

As for uni work:

They usually want much more than a glimmer as regards work experience.

Again, I agree. My statement about "glimmer" was somewhat facetious, and uni's almost always ask for a lot of info to weed people out.

[Thebunnyhauntsme]

My CV is two pages now, down from four when I first started applying. I cut out all non-industry relevant stuff and limited the number of publications, conference papers and the like to the best of the lot. I figure five peer-reviewed publications and five recent conference papers or seminars is enough, and putting any more just looks like you are showing off. Maybe three of each would be even better.

[ruserious]

If you have ten years of experience or less, your resume' should only be one page.

More than ten years, you can have 1.5 to 2 pages.

If you have more than two pages, I'm only going to read the first two.

[Moobies]

If you have ten years of experience or less, your resume' should only be one page.

More than ten years, you can have 1.5 to 2 pages.

If you have more than two pages, I'm only going to read the first two.

Could you please explain for which field/position this advice is for?

Thanks!

[noisms]

From my own experience, and certainly judging by the replies here, the answer is that it doesn't matter, because no two employers are looking for the same thing.

Just make it as long as you think it should be. I go for one page, because even with postgraduate stuff on there, it won't really fill two pages...unless I ramble on and on about what I did in this or that job, which I generally consider to be a pain in the arse. "I proactively blah-blahhed the blah-blah-blah, thereby increasing productivity by blah."

[Marius_JP]

1 page.

Like stated; even with a dr degree you can fit all of it on one page. No need to list that waitress-work, it's more of a con and won't be red anyways.

The specific details of your body of work will be dealt with at your interview. Unless you put waitress in the resume in which case it won't.