Length of Experience Descriptions

[Columbia22]

Quick question everyody,

How long are your descriptions for your research and volunteer experiences. I know the character limit is like 1210 or something, but do they really expect this much? I cannot seem to write more than 100-200 characters for most of my experiences. Does this matter? Thanks a lot.

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[jennyboo]

How long are your descriptions for your research and volunteer experiences. I know the character limit is like 1210 or something, but do they really expect this much? I cannot seem to write more than 100-200 characters for most of my experiences. Does this matter? Thanks a lot.

This is essentially the part of your application where you enter your resume, or CV. Thus, the descriptions should be equally as long as needed if you were to write a resume for applying for a job.

Some people have short descriptions and short CVs (1 or 2 sides of a page). Others have long descriptions and long CVs (3 or more). Some people say you should keep your whole CV to one page. Others make theirs longer.

You should include as many words as needed to best describe the job you did and the projects or challenges involved in the job. I recommend not typing your descriptions "off the bat" directly into ERAS, but looking at a book of sample resumes to get an idea of how best to describe your experiences. Write it up, have an experienced person (preferably someone who's hired many people and/or looked at many resumes) review it, then enter the descriptions. They can be as few or as many characters as you need and I doubt anyone really cares, unless your writing looks bad.