How Do I Make My Resume Fit On One Page?

What’s going on here?

Most recruiters still judge résumés by that first printed page—even in 2026. Entry-level and mid-career candidates get a little more breathing room, but anything over two pages usually gets the dreaded “next” click. And watch out: fonts below 10.5 points often get flagged by applicant tracking systems these days.

How do I actually shrink my résumé down to one page?

Try these six tweaks to collapse a two-pager into one without making it unreadable.

1. Tighten up those margins. In Word 2026 (build 17723), head to Layout → Margins → Narrow. If “Narrow” isn’t an option, pick Layout → Margins → Custom Margins and punch in left 0.5", right 0.5", top 0.6", bottom 0.6".

2. Dial down the body text. Highlight all body copy and set it to Calibri 10.5 pt. Keep headings at 11 pt bold—anything smaller risks getting rejected by ATS in 2026.

3. Flatten out the bullets. Turn multi-line bullet paragraphs into single-line bullets. Cut any bullet that doesn’t start with a strong action verb or doesn’t quantify a result.

4. Split your latest job into two columns. Select the entire latest job section, then go to Layout → Columns → Two. After splitting, nudge the left column so it ends higher than the right.

5. Trim the contact block. Swap the full address for just city/state, stack email and phone in 9 pt, and drop the LinkedIn URL if it’s longer than 25 characters.

6. Save as PDF/XPS. File → Export → Create PDF/XPS. Double-check the cursor stops at the page break (hit Ctrl+End; Page Up should zip you back to the top).

My résumé still spills onto a second page. Now what?

If you’re still fighting the overflow, try these three backup moves.

• Go full two-column on the whole document. Select all text, hit Layout → Columns → Two, and optionally check “Line between.” Shrink headings to 11 pt bold and body text to 10 pt—this often squishes a 1.5-page résumé into one.

• Combine short stints at the same company. Merge two brief roles under one heading, like “XYZ Corp – Sales Rep & Coordinator (2020–2022)”, then list achievements in a single bullet list.

• Drop the oldest irrelevant role. Focus on the last 10–15 years; anything before 2016 can usually get condensed to one line under “Early Career” or ditched entirely.

How can I stop my résumé from growing out of control?

Build these four habits into your routine to keep future résumés from ballooning.