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Ask HN: Is there a maximum length for resumes in this new era of ATSs?

by scinadier on 2/27/25, 6:04 PM with 6 comments

Does anyone have any insight in terms of whether an ATS will penalize an applicant for submitting a resume that is more than one to two pages in length?

This standard of adhering to a max length for resumes exists for the sake of a human glancing through a stack. Arguably, this standard is in the process of becoming less relevant. It seems that there will be a point where only a small handful of resumes reaches HR. It makes sense to me that ensuring your resume be a part of this filtered stack is more important than adhering to the whims of the hiring manager not patient enough to look through an individuals' entire work and project history.

What do you all think? I feel that this is a question that should be occasionally assessed. If you disagree with this assertion, do you feel that this shift of appropriate resume length will ever occur?

  • by gregjor on 2/27/25, 7:29 PM

    One page. You send a resume to get an interview, not as an autobiography.

    You stand out by using contacts and professional network, and some ingenuity, to get your resume and yourself in front of the hiring manager. Trying to game an ATS, or getting past HR, describes a losing strategy. Software and HR departments don't make hiring decisions.

  • by andrewpolidori on 2/27/25, 6:11 PM

    I often wonder what are some better strategies for standing out in an application process like this? Resumes being generated by LLMs strikes me as a setback for this type of system.

  • by htrp on 2/27/25, 6:05 PM

    Don't go longer than 1 page. If a person sees the resume, the ATS's usually have shit UI for looking at page 2 of any pdfs

  • by pestatije on 2/27/25, 6:57 PM

    ATS - Applicant tracking system, recruitment software

  • by JojoFatsani on 2/27/25, 11:31 PM

    Two pages is fine. More than three and people will start to roll their eyes