Why You Should Never Use a 2-Column Resume

Many years ago, I learned how to appreciate a good resume while screening them for hiring managers. To date, I’ve helped 185+ people around the world through Resume Rescue and I must declare that I always advise against a 2-column resume because it wastes space!

Space on your resume is precious, especially when everything should fit on 1 page. Choosing a 2-column resume may look cool, but it gives you less room to add in the relevant skills or experiences that could be important to a hiring manager.

I’ve seen so many resumes that were 2-3 pages long with a 2-column template, but after recommending a 1-column template and working some of my magic, everything fit on 1 page and looked a lot more clean and concise.

TLDR: Find a 1-column resume template with simple headings. Prettify it with some colours, but that’s really all you need. Focus more on the content:

  • Every bullet point should be tailored and relevant to the job posting
  • Every bullet point should start with a strong action verb
  • Every bullet point should be 1 line long (be concise and try not to let the words flow over to the next line)

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