Now that AI is screening résumés, it's time to rethink that commandment about fitting all your experience on to a single page

Now that Al is screening résumés, it’s time to rethink that commandment about fitting all your experience on to asingle page

- Callum Borchers

The job seeker's gospel commands that a résumé fit on a single page. It's time to rethink that tenet as artificial intelligence screens more job applications.

A one-pager is designed to highlight your credentials for busy hiring managers who won't take time to read a second page anyway. But there's no need to cater to a human glance if a bot is going to read your submission instantaneously.

In fact, a longer résumé can increase the odds of getting through an initial review by giving you more space for the relevant words and phrases AI is trained to spot.

"A couple-page résumé that focuses predominantly on your impact in previous jobs is extremely important," says Hari Kolam, chief executive of AI recruiting software maker Findem.

Findem combines résumés with public information, like LinkedIn pages and intel on past employers, to generate candidate profiles for clients. It tries to translate jargon into plain language—helpful for everyone and especially those with technical backgrounds, like scientists and veterans. Partners include Recruit Military, which is loosening its one-page résumé guidance.

Kolam says applicants have to make themselves "discoverable" by feeding the AI tool enough info.

If you're a job seeker with a single-page résumé and an inbox full of automated rejection notices, you have permission to scream in rage at this news. Let it out...then start fleshing out that CV.

A word of caution: Don't get carried away. Some software can tell when you're playing keyword bingo.