Should a new grad resume be a PDF or a Word document?

Submit a PDF unless the application explicitly asks for .docx. PDFs preserve layout and modern applicant tracking systems parse them reliably. Keep the editable Word version for tailoring.

Can a new grad resume be two pages if they had three internships?

Three internships still fit on one page when each is three or four result-focused bullets. Two pages is a signal that the bullets are describing duties instead of outcomes.

Do employers care about GPA on a new grad resume?

Include GPA if it's 3.5 or above, or if the employer asks for it. Otherwise leave it off and use the space for a project or internship result.

For Graduates · 4 min read

New grad resume: one page or two?

Last updated August 16, 2026 · Career First Nexus

Short answer

A new graduate resume should be one page. With under roughly three years of full-time experience, a second page almost always contains coursework, high school detail, or padded bullets that weaken the first page rather than add to it. The exception is a technical or research graduate with genuine publications, patents, or a long relevant project list — those can justify a second page, and even then the first page must stand alone.

What to cut first, in order

High school anything, unless you graduated within the last year and have nothing else.
An objective statement — replace it with nothing, or with two lines of real positioning.
Coursework lists, unless a specific course maps directly to the job description.
Unrelated jobs older than two years, compressed to a single line each.
Soft-skill bullets with no result attached ('excellent communicator').
References available upon request. Everyone knows.

What earns space on the one page

Bullets with a number in them: volume, dollars, percentage, time saved, people served.
Internships, co-ops, and part-time work described as work, not as a class assignment.
Projects with a link and a one-line outcome.
Tools and technologies that appear in the job description you're applying to.

Page count and applicant tracking systems

Applicant tracking systems do not reject a resume for being two pages. What they do struggle with is the formatting people use to squeeze two pages into one: tables, text boxes, multi-column layouts, headers and footers, and graphics. A single-column two-page resume parses cleanly; a cramped two-column one page often does not.

So the one-page rule is a human-attention rule, not a parsing rule. Recruiters spend six to eight seconds on a first pass, and that pass happens on page one either way.

How to get to one page without shrinking the font

Set margins to 0.5 to 0.75 inch, body text to 10 or 11 point, and delete rather than compress. If you're at 8.5 point type with 0.3 inch margins, you have a content problem, not a layout problem. Career First Nexus ships single-column, ATS-safe templates in Word format for exactly this reason, plus a per-application tailoring workflow so each version stays one page.

The system behind these answers

Career First Nexus is a software, behavioral, and education system that keeps recent college graduates on track from graduation to their first offer: a 40-day daily plan, ATS-safe resume templates, an application and follow-up tracker, and a parent view with weekly check-in scripts. $129 once, lifetime access for both people, 30-day refund.