“Should I print my resume on both sides?” — The Answer

Sharing is caring!

So you have a lot of professional experience, and thus you have a two-page resume. Impressive! The most economical and ecological thing to do would be to print on both sides of a single piece of paper… but is this a good idea? 

Resumes should never be printed double-sided. Employers should not have to flip over a page to see new information. Keeping two-page resume on two separate pages allows the employer to see all of the information they need at once. 

 

Doesn’t it make more sense to print resumes double-sided?

While it may seem like you are doing your employer a favor by handing them a single piece of paper instead of two, it could also make things tedious. One-sided resumes are traditional and account for almost all resumes given to employers. If one resume is double-sided, an employer may think a page is missing. 

 

Why don’t employers like double-sided resumes?

Employers are not used to needing to flip a resume upside-down, so it just makes yours look incomplete. It is possible they may think that you only sent half of your resume, which will likely disqualify you from the running.

It also makes it impossible for an employer to view all a person’s qualifications together.

It is best if an employer can garner the employee’s skillset at a glance, and they cannot do this if they constantly need to flip over a paper. 

Keep in mind, it is not a bad thing to have a two page resume.

This is especially true for those who have many years of experience, and many certifications or awards (such as CFA, magna cum laude, etc.). 

Employers want to get a broad sense of your experiences, so don’t be afraid to have a two page resume so long as it is all relevant and impressive information which you’re presenting.  

 

Can I staple my resume?

The rule is that you cannot have a double-sided resume, but can you staple the pages together? The consensus is no. This is because before disposal, documents containing personal information need to be shredded for confidentiality purposes. 

Resumes that are stapled together must be manually unstapled, and this becomes quite tedious.

Stapled pages also run the risk of one end of the staple sticking out and nicking a person’s hand.  Do yourself and your future employers a favor and give them unstapled pages. 

 

How to avoid standing out (in a bad way)

Though these rules seem trivial, it is best that your resume does not stick out for the wrong reasons.

Resumes follow many guidelines because they make it easier for an employer to sift through several hundred resumes quickly.  

Properly listing dates or experiences such as research jobs, using different types of abbreviations, even achievements such as making the deans list all have rules in regards to their proper structure on a resume. 

The only part of a resume which should make you stand out is the experience and knowledge that you have.

Stick to the classic resume structure rules, and never assume that an employer will not be a stickler for these things!