One Page vs. Two: The Great Resume Length Debate for JavaScript Engineers

Outcome first: read this and you’ll know whether to ship a one‑page resume or a two‑page resume for the role you want - and you’ll get a clear plan to make every line earn its place.

The short answer up front

Early‑career JavaScript developers (0–5 years): favor one page. Keep it lean and focused.
Mid‑level to senior engineers (5+ years) with product impact, architecture work, or open‑source contributions: two pages are fine - when every item is relevant.
Always tailor. If a role asks for a short summary or emphasizes quick screening, submit a one‑page. If the job asks for deep technical breadth, supplemental projects, or leadership examples, use two pages.

Read on for why this matters and exactly how to make each word count.

Why the debate is so loud in tech

There are two competing realities:

Recruiters and hiring managers often scan quickly - studies and industry reports show resumes get a few seconds of attention in initial screens, so concise clarity helps (The Ladders eye‑tracking study is commonly cited).
Software roles - especially senior engineering and staff roles - require nuance: architecture decisions, tradeoffs, measurable impact and technical breadth that frequently can’t be summarized in one paragraph.

So the question becomes: do you compress nuance and risk losing signal, or expand and risk losing the skim reader? The right answer is: both, but strategically.

Who should absolutely aim for one page

New grads, bootcamp grads, and juniors with only a few roles or internships.
Candidates applying to startups where speed and a single clear example of impact matter.
When a role explicitly asks for a short resume or a one‑page submission.

Why? One page forces prioritization. It forces you to highlight the most compelling evidence: recent experience, a standout project, and links to GitHub/portfolio for deeper detail.

When two pages are appropriate (and necessary)

You have 8+ years of experience or multiple leadership roles.
You’ve led cross‑functional projects, migrations, team or platform design, or have notable open‑source contributions.
You’re applying for senior/architect/staff roles where design rationale and scope matter.

Two pages are fine when the second page contains relevant depth: architecture diagrams described succinctly, quantified outcomes, and unique projects or publications.

ATS and formatting realities (don’t ignore them)

Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) parse resumes for keywords and structure. Two practical ATS rules:

Use standard section headings (Experience, Skills, Education).
Avoid exotic layouts, images, or text embedded inside images - ATS will miss information.

For a deeper dive on ATS behavior, see guides from Jobscan and recruiting advice on Indeed.

Content strategy: what to show first

Lead with impact. That’s the simplest and strongest rule.

Header (top): name, role headline (“Senior JavaScript Engineer - React, Node, TS”), city or ‘Remote’, email, portfolio, GitHub, LinkedIn. A one‑line headline helps set expectation and filters you for quick scanners.

Summary / Professional profile (optional): 1–3 lines. Only use if it adds signal - e.g., you’re switching domains, open to management, or have a strong multi‑disciplinary profile.
Core technical skills: grouped (Languages, Frameworks, Tools, Testing, DevOps). Keep it keyword‑rich but curated.
Experience: reverse chronological. Focus bullets on outcomes, not tasks.
Selected projects & open‑source: give links and a 1–2 line summary for each.
Education & certifications: keep short unless you’re a fresh graduate.
Extras: speaking, publications, patents - only if relevant.

How to make every bullet earn its place (formula + examples)

Use this compact formula: Action + Context + Result (quantified when possible). Start with a strong verb.

Verbose: “Worked on migrating a legacy app to React and improved performance.”
Impact version: “Led migration from jQuery to React + TypeScript for a 200K‑monthly user product; reduced bundle size 45% and time‑to‑interactive by 30%.”

More examples tailored for JavaScript engineers:

“Architected micro‑frontend system using Webpack Module Federation; enabled independent deployments for 6 teams and reduced release conflicts by 60%.”
“Implemented SSR with Next.js for e‑commerce checkout flow; improved SEO conversion pages 18% and reduced server CPU costs 22%.”
“Reduced client crash rate by 70% by introducing stricter TypeScript rules and CI type checks across monorepo.”

Always quantify impact when possible (percentages, time saved, revenue uplift, latency reduction, team size, scale of users). Numbers make otherwise generic statements memorable and defensible.

Trimming techniques - cut the fluff without losing signal

Remove outdated or irrelevant technologies (e.g., ‘Perl’ from a modern JS resume unless it’s relevant).
Turn early, minor roles into a single line or an “Additional experience” block.
Favor active, precise verbs. Replace long role descriptions with 2–4 impact bullets each.
Move long sample code, extra screenshots, or detailed architectural docs to your portfolio and link to them.
Combine short bullets into one powerful bullet with multiple quantified points if necessary.

If it’s not relevant to the role, delete it.

Layout and visual tips for readability

Font size: 10–12 pt for body text, larger for name.
Margins: keep readable but avoid tiny margins; white space helps quick scanning.
Bullets: 3–6 bullets per role.
Chronology: keep dates aligned and consistent.
Export to PDF (unless the job requests plain text).

Prefer simple, ATS‑safe templates. Visual flair is fine for portfolio sites, less so for resumes intended for ATS parsing.

Two practical resume outlines (templates)

One‑page (early career):

Header (name, title, links)
1‑line summary / headline
Core technical skills (compact)
Experience: 2–3 roles (3 bullets each)
Selected projects / GitHub (2 entries with links)
Education / Certifications

Two‑page (senior):

Header repeated on page 2
2–3 line professional summary
Technical skills (grouped & keyworded)
Experience: 4–6 roles (3–6 bullets each - more depth on recent, leadership, or architecture work)
Selected projects & open source (links + 2–3 lines each)
Speaking, publications, awards
Education & certifications

When more than two pages is okay

Very rarely. Use >2 pages only if you are submitting a curriculum vitae for academic or government roles, or if a recruiter explicitly asks for exhaustive publications, patents, and project lists. For normal industry roles, keep it to two.

Use LinkedIn and portfolio to expand - don’t cram

Treat your resume as a highlight reel and your LinkedIn/portfolio as the dossier. Put a short, persuasive sentence or two on your resume and link to deeper case studies, architecture notes, or GitHub repos.

Tip: include a short URL to a one‑page portfolio that mirrors your resume but allows for expandable detail.

Quick checklist before you send

Is every bullet relevant to the target job? If not, remove it.
Are the measurable outcomes present? Replace vague words with numbers.
Did you use a simple layout and export to PDF?
Is there a live link to code/portfolio? Does that link work?
Did you tailor keywords to the job description (without keyword stuffing)?

Final verdict - practical rule you can apply right now

Default to one page if you’re early career or applying where quick screening matters.
Default to two pages if you’re senior and the additional content is directly relevant to the role.
Always tailor. Remove filler. Quantify impact. Link to a portfolio for full context.

Do this, and you’ll stop worrying about page count and start focusing on what actually gets interviews: clear, relevant, measurable impact.

References and suggested reading