How to Write a One-Page Resume (With Steps and Tips)

A one-page resume can help you convey your abilities and work experience concisely, allowing the hiring manager to quickly assess your suitability for the position. A well-crafted resume can help you increase the chance of securing an interview for your dream job. Learning about the correct structure for a resume could help you draft an effective and concise document. In this article, we show how to write a one-page resume, discuss the importance of one and share some tips on writing your own.

How to write a one-page resume

Below are some simple steps you can follow that may help you understand how to write a one-page resume:

1. Name and contact information

At the beginning of your resume, you provide your name, job title and contact details. Providing this information is a good way of ensuring the prospective employer is aware of where they can send an interview request. Include your mobile number and a valid email address.

You may style your name and work title in bold and make the font a few sizes larger than the rest of the text to help these details stand out. Because the recruiting manager may most likely contact you via phone or email, your city and state details can suffice. The personal information and the contact details section are essential parts of a resume, so it's important to ensure this information is current and correct.

2. Include a career objective statement

A career objective is an optional section at the top of a resume that reveals your professional objectives and explains why you are applying for the position. Ensure your career objective statement is relevant to the job that you are applying for. The statement can include a summary of your skills and work experience. You may capture the hiring manager's attention with a well-defined career objective section. You can save space by decreasing the spacing between paragraphs and sections and altering paragraph and bullet point indentation.

3. Academic qualifications

In this section, you can describe your educational background. Write your academic qualifications in descending order, starting with the most recent qualification. If applicable, you can provide your degrees and other academic attainments. This pertains to any credentials and any training you've obtained or achieved. Consider if the prospective employer might have an interest in learning about any further education you've had and whether it can assist you to perform better in the position you're looking for. If so, you may consider listing them.

4. Add your employment history

Employment history can be a vital part of a resume. This section reflects your years of working and the companies that you have worked for. Write your employment history in descending order, starting with the most recent employment.

If you have had more than three or four past occupations, you can consider choosing two that are the most closely related to the position you are applying for. You may briefly describe who you worked for, the role you performed, the period you were there and what you accomplished. The employment section can be a great place to incorporate the use of keywords from the job description of the position you're applying for.

5. List your relevant skills

The skills section in the resume can show the hiring manager the potential you have and your suitability for the position. Soft skills and technical skills are important, as they help you do your duties with ease. You may consider incorporating all of your skills in one line rather than generating a bullet-point list. Doing this can save space and make it simple to show the talents you may provide to your potential employer.

Related: What to Include in a Resume

Tips for fitting your resume onto one page

The following are tips can help you with understanding how to write your resume to fit onto one page:

• Reduce your margins: Shortening your margins can allow you to go into greater detail about your abilities and relevant qualifications. The standard margin for a resume is usually one inch, but you can go as small as 1.3-1.7cm on a resume.

• Make the font smaller: You can consider reducing the size of your typeface from 12-point to 10-point. You may also choose to utilise strong or italicised fonts or reduce the size of your section headings.

• Add bullet points to your document: To minimise space, try to utilise bullet points rather than paragraphs to outline your work roles. Smaller points can bring clarity to your resume by allowing the reader to concentrate on keywords, action verbs and achievements rather than filler words that may add little to your accomplishments.

• Add a separate column: It can be a good idea to have a separate column for something you wish to highlight, for example, skills. You could make this stand out by using colour or a border. This may make your resume look more visually attractive.

• Save the file as a PDF and submit: Next, you can save and submit your resume as a PDF unless the potential employer specifies otherwise. PDF is the preferred file type for resumes since it can preserve the formatting of your resume.

• Make your professional experience concise: To save space, you can reduce the size of your job experience area by listing only the most relevant roles. For each role, consider writing the name of your employer, the address of your employer, your job description and the duration of your position on a single line.

• Reduce your summary and qualifications section: If you need more room to describe your professional experience, you can trim the text in your overview and academic sections. By keeping your education part brief, you can show that you meet the minimum requirements for the job while leaving room for additional significant details.

• Allow the prospective employer to ask for references: Although it can be traditional to include 'references available upon request' on a resume, you may omit this phrase to save space. The prospective employer can ask for references during the interview or in a follow-up letter if necessary.

• Employ industry-standard abbreviations: Utilising abbreviations that are commonly used in your target industry may help you save space. If you're applying for a position in technology, for instance, you can use acronyms like SQL, SaaS and SEO.

• Remove any extraneous words: It can be a good idea to look over your resume for any unnecessary words or phrases you may have included. You can consider removing these words or phrases if the statement still makes sense without them.

Related: How to Make a Resume

Importance of writing a concise resume

A resume that fits on one page can be a lot simpler to read than a multi-page resume. Prospective employers may only have a few minutes to look over your resume. Maintaining a one-page resume can allow them to locate your professional experience and talents quickly and easily. Having a limitation on how much information you can provide can help you choose your strongest qualifications and skills to include. Meeting the constraints of a resume that is only one page long may also demonstrate your resourcefulness, as you can exhibit your skills in a way that saves space.

Single-page resume template

Here is a template you may use to compose a single-page resume:

[Full Name]
[Current profession (if applicable)]
[City] [State]
[Contact information]

Career objective statement

Skills

• [Relevant skill]

• [Relevant skill]

• [Relevant skill]

Work experience
[Company name] | [Dates of employment] |[Job title]

• [Job duty]

• [Job duty]

• [Job duty]

Education
[School name]| [Location] | [Date of graduation|[Degree name]

Related: Formatting a Curriculum Vitae (With Tips and Examples)

Single-page resume example

Here is an example of a resume that consists of only one page:

KATE KATHERINE
Web Designer
Sydney, NSW 2000
katekatherine@email.com

Skills

• High level of communication, teamwork and self-motivation

• Proficient in the use of Eclipse, Photoshop and WordPress

• Confident in technical abilities and computer skills

• Good knowledge of SEO

Work experience
Corp Bank | 2017-Present | Senior Website Programmer

• Monitor the redesign of the company's webpage and also employee training on new features. Since the webpage launched, it has been responsible for generating 40 per cent of the total new accounts created.

• Contribute to the development of useful widgets including an interest estimator, an internet statement reader and a method for setting up automated payment transactions.

• Added SEO tools to increase the searchability of Corp Bank's website. Web traffic has increased by 30% since the implementation.

Corp Bank | 2012-2017 | Analytic Web Designer

• Configured web servers to include more security mechanisms

• Performed basic website management training for in-house staff

Education
Sydney North University | Sydney | 2012 | Bachelor of Web Design