How to Delete a Page in a Word Resume Template

To delete a page from a Word resume template, select the page’s contents and remove them, then delete any page or section break that is keeping the page in place. In Word for Microsoft 365 on Windows, press Ctrl+G, enter \page, press Enter, and choose Close to select the current page’s contents; press Delete, then check the layout. Save a copy first, especially if the template has tables or carefully formatted sections.

What You’ll Need

The resume template open in the desktop version of Microsoft Word, with editing enabled.
A saved copy of the document, so you can restore the original layout if removing a break changes formatting.
A moment to review the resume after deletion. Removing a page can shift text, tables, headers, and footers on the pages that remain.

Step-by-Step

Save a working copy. Open the template and use File > Save As to create a separate copy with a new name. This protects the original design and lets you undo larger changes by returning to the template. If you are editing a downloaded template, confirm that it is not in a read-only or Protected View state; if Word shows an Enable Editing button and you trust the file, select it.
Identify the page you want to remove. Scroll to the page and check whether it contains resume content, is completely blank, or has only a small amount of text pushed onto it. Note the page number and whether the page is at the end or between other pages. A mostly empty page may be caused by one extra paragraph, a manual page break, or a section break rather than by a full page of unwanted content.
Show hidden formatting marks. On the Home tab, select the Show/Hide ¶ button in the Paragraph group. In Windows, Ctrl+Shift+8 also toggles these marks; on Mac, use Command+8. The marks are not printed. They reveal paragraph symbols, page breaks, and section breaks that can create otherwise mysterious blank pages. Keep them visible while diagnosing the problem.
Select the page’s contents. Click somewhere on the page to place the insertion point there. On Windows, press Ctrl+G to open Go To, enter \page in the page-number field, press Enter, and then select Close. Word selects the contents of the page containing the insertion point. On Mac, use Edit > Find > Go To if that command is available in your version, or open the Navigation pane and use its Go To tab; menu labels and shortcuts can vary slightly by Word version. Check the highlighted area before deleting. If the selection includes content you want to keep, press Esc and select only the unwanted text instead.
Delete the selected contents carefully. Press Delete or Backspace once. Look at the pages above and below the removed page: Word reflows the remaining material, so content that followed it may move up, and a page number or footer may change. If the page contains a resume section you no longer need, make sure the selection has not removed a heading, contact detail, or table row that should remain. Use Ctrl+Z on Windows or Command+Z on Mac immediately if the result is wrong.
Remove a leftover page break. If the page remains, look for a line labeled Page Break among the visible formatting marks. Click just before that marker and press Delete, or click just after it and press Backspace. A page break is only a layout instruction; deleting it joins the material on either side. Review the combined page to make sure the next heading has not become stranded at the bottom or merged into an unrelated section.
Handle section breaks with extra care. A marker labeled Section Break (Next Page), Section Break (Odd Page), or Section Break (Even Page) can force Word to start a new page. Deleting it may also make the sections before and after it share page orientation, margins, columns, or header and footer settings. If the break is clearly unnecessary, place the cursor immediately before it and press Delete, then inspect the document’s layout. If you need to retain separate section formatting, change the section start instead: open the Layout tab, select the small dialog launcher in Page Setup, open the Layout tab in the dialog, and choose Continuous under Section start when that suits the design. Dialog labels can differ slightly on Mac.
Fix an extra blank page after a table. Word requires a paragraph after a table, and that final paragraph can spill onto a new page when the table fills the page. Turn on formatting marks and look for a paragraph symbol immediately after the table. Do not delete the table to remove this mark. Select only the final paragraph mark and set its font size to 1 pt; if needed, set its paragraph spacing before and after to 0. This often lets the paragraph fit on the preceding page without disturbing the table.
Review and save the finished resume. Turn off Show/Hide ¶ if you prefer a clean editing view, then check every remaining page at normal zoom or use View > Print Layout. Confirm that headings, bullets, dates, contact information, and page numbers are intact and that no blank page has returned. Save the copy with Ctrl+S on Windows or Command+S on Mac. If the resume will be submitted as a PDF, export or save a PDF and check its pages too.

Common Mistakes

Deleting the visible text but leaving the break: Removing words from a page does not necessarily remove the instruction that starts a new page. If a blank page remains, show formatting marks and inspect the end of the preceding page and the start of the blank one. A page break or section break may still be there.

Selecting more than the unwanted page: A resume template may use a table to align dates, headings, and descriptions. A broad selection can include a table cell or content on the next page. Check the highlighted region before pressing Delete; when in doubt, remove the unwanted paragraph or row rather than selecting an entire page.

Removing a section break without checking the result: Section breaks can control headers, footers, margins, orientation, and page numbering. Deleting one may remove the blank page but also change how the resume is formatted. Undo at once if those settings change unexpectedly, then consider changing the section start to Continuous instead.

Trying to delete a page as if it were an object: In a normal Word document, a page is created by the text and layout; it is not usually a separate item you can select from a page thumbnail and remove. Delete the relevant content or break, then let Word repaginate the document.

Tips

Use the Navigation pane as a visual aid when the document is long. Open it from View > Navigation Pane, then use the Pages view to locate the page. The thumbnails help you confirm which page you are editing, but clicking a thumbnail does not by itself delete that page.

For a resume that is just one page too long, first decide whether the extra page is truly unwanted or whether content has overflowed because of spacing. If you want to keep all the information, adjust paragraph spacing or remove an unnecessary blank paragraph before shrinking text or margins. Small, consistent edits usually preserve a template’s appearance better than changing the whole document’s page setup.

When the unwanted page contains a section you do not need, select that section’s text directly and delete it rather than relying on a page-wide selection. This gives you more control around tables and formatted blocks. Afterward, inspect the paragraph mark at the end of the preceding section; an empty paragraph with large spacing can create a new page even after the main text is gone.

Keep formatting marks on until the page count is correct. They make invisible layout causes visible, but they do not appear on the printed resume or exported PDF. If you are uncertain whether a marker is a page break or a section break, read its label before removing it. Deleting a section break deserves more caution because it can affect formatting beyond the page you are trying to remove.

Troubleshooting

The blank page is still there after deleting the content. Turn on Show/Hide ¶ and inspect the blank page and the paragraph immediately before it. Delete a visible manual page break if it is unnecessary. If you see a section break, consider whether it is needed for different headers, footers, margins, or numbering before removing it. If the page follows a table, reduce the final paragraph mark after the table to 1 pt rather than trying to delete the required paragraph.

Deleting the break changes the resume’s formatting. Press Ctrl+Z on Windows or Command+Z on Mac to restore the break. Then inspect whether it separates sections with different page settings. If so, use the section-start setting described above, or leave the break and remove or shorten the content that is forcing the extra page. Check the header and footer as well as the page body, because section settings may affect them differently.

The selection highlights the wrong material. Press Esc or click in the document to cancel the selection, confirm that the insertion point is on the target page, and repeat Go To with \page. If Word selects a table or content across a boundary, do not delete blindly. Select the specific text, paragraph, or table row you intend to remove. You can also undo immediately if the deletion takes out material that should stay.

The page count changes again after editing. Word recalculates page breaks as text and spacing change. Look for an empty paragraph, oversized paragraph spacing, a heading set to start on a new page, or a keep-with-next setting that pushes content forward. Select the affected paragraph and review the Paragraph dialog’s Line and Page Breaks options. Avoid changing margins or font size globally until you have identified the cause, since that can alter the entire resume.

The document will not let you edit. Check for a Protected View notice or a read-only status. If the file is trusted, choose Enable Editing or save a writable copy using File > Save As. If editing is restricted by a password or organizational policy, you may need permission from the document owner rather than trying to bypass the restriction.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I delete a blank page at the end of a Word resume?
Turn on formatting marks and check for an extra paragraph, a manual page break, or a section break. Remove an unnecessary break. If the blank page follows a table, set the required paragraph after the table to 1 pt so it can fit on the previous page.

Can I delete a page without changing the resume’s formatting?
Usually, if you remove only the unwanted text or a simple page break. Section breaks can control layout and headers, so removing one may change formatting. Save a copy first and inspect the resume after each change.

Will deleting a page remove its header or footer?
Headers and footers are tied to sections, not simply to a page. Deleting page content may leave the header or footer settings in place. Removing a section break can make sections share those settings, so check headers, footers, and page numbers afterward.

How do I delete one page from a two-page resume but keep the next page?
Select the unwanted page’s contents with Go To and \page, then delete them. If the next page remains blank or its content moves unexpectedly, inspect and remove only the page break that belongs to the unwanted page. Avoid deleting a section break until you know what formatting it controls.

Are the steps different in Word for Mac?
The underlying approach is the same: remove the page’s content or the break causing it, then check the layout. Mac ribbon labels and Go To shortcuts differ from Windows; use the Edit or View menus and the Navigation pane if you cannot find the same control. Command+8 toggles formatting marks on Mac.

Try it: the Date Difference Calculator: days, months, years and weekdays between two dates, with the DATEDIF formulas.

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Sources: Function behaviour and menu paths: Microsoft Support documentation for Excel. Method & sources

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