Yesterday I asked friends on Facebook whether a two-page resume is acceptable if you have enough experience to warrant it, or is the old notion of one-page-only still valid? I got a lot of replies and as I expected, opinions were split about 50/50. But then I noticed a surprising trend. It wasn’t random at all. All but one of my friends who work in the television industry took the view that a two-page resume is perfectly fine for somebody with 15-20 years of experience and multiple employers. In total contrast, all but one of my friends who don’t work in the television industry took the opposing view that a resume should never be more than one page. Why the unexpected career-related split? Well I’m not sure but I have a theory. Unlike most other industries, specifically non-creative industries, we in the television business have the additional component of a demo reel, also known as a resume tape (although they’re usually on DVD’s nowadays). While a paper resume and cover letter are still an important snapshot, your demo reel literally shows potential employers the quality of your work experience.
So my theory is this:
- In the television industry, a demo reel is at least as important as a paper resume (probably more so) in getting an interview. Since the paper resume isn’t the most important element, the “rules” about them probably aren’t as strictly conservative as in more business-like industries. This notion of being less strict with paper resumes is also supported by the wider variety of creatively designed resumes you’ll find in the TV industry.
- In other “more business” industries, the paper resume is absolutely the most important, if not only element for an employer to initially judge a candidate, and as such an employer won’t be as lenient with what’s been historically acceptable for resume standards.
It’s just a theory, but something was definitely going on with the TV vs. non-TV opinions on this topic.
