Should you staple your resume and cover letter together?

Answer 1

The USCA.edu resume tips page linked to the right says, "Don't staple your resume (if more than one page) or staple your cover letter to the resume."

AnswerNEVER STAPLE UNLESS SPECIFICALLY ASKED TO DO SO! The reason you should never staple your resume is that is not professional. Multiple papers get stapled by teachers so kiddies don't loose em'. Plus, it's hard to forward copies to any other people in the hiring process if you have to separate the pages to copy them- which most do by pulling them apart, thus ripping your resume, and causing a jam with the top loading document feeder on most copy machines.

Answer 2

I wouldn't suggest using a staple. Some other form of removable clip is more professional and it allows for easier copying of the resume if the employer chooses to do that.

A person's experience is never so broad that two pages are necessary. The only case where two pages are needed, are when you are citing published works.

In reference to the previous answer, many career fields include experience that is impossible to put on one page. There are several schools of thought as to when you should use one or two pages on your resume, but if you can't get it to fit on one page, then you should make sure you fill the second page. That is a good opportunity to list references or other cited works that you have published. It is not necessary to cram ten years of work history onto one page in every situation. Those who say you should do that are narrow minded and likely don't have enough professional experience themselves to fit on two pages, so their answer is largely autobiographical to their own situations.

previous answer ----------

No employer will ever look at the second page. One may flip the page and look at it for a second, but they will go back to the first page. Keep in mind, the average resume is examined for 40 seconds. You want the hard hitting information to stand out. Cut out the weakest information from your resume, because you don't want your humdrum activities to come across as equally important.

People coming out of college make this mistake often. They find five different ways of expressing their GPA. They write down hobbies. They write down the summer jobs they had when they were in high school. These are all resume suicide.

Basically, if you have a two page resume, do not bother applying to the job.

previous answer ----------

If your experience is so broad that you can't fit it onto a single page, a staple is fine.

However, I strongly encourage you to format and edit your resume to fit onto a single page. Creating a crisp and concise resume is essential to landing an interview where you will have the opportunity to share the rest of your two page story. As an employer, I personally tend to dismiss resumes that run on for more than one page.

Answer 3

It is better to have everything on a single page, front and back. It is too long if you go more than that. If you insist on having more than one page, insure that you have your name on every page and that it indicates that it is page 2 of 2 type item.

staple it

Answer 4

That probably is not necessary. In fact, doing so may annoy the employer if there are five or less pages in the binder. Perhaps a unique cover slip or envelope would be more effective at letting your resume stand out from the rest.

Answer 5

Yes, you can. Also put your last name and continued on the top of the second page.

Answer 6

No use paper clip