How Long Should a CV Be?

One of the questions I get asked all the time is:

“How long should my CV be?”

The answer is simple.

As long as it needs to be, and not a page longer.

I’ve been in recruitment for almost 20 years and I’ve read thousands of CVs. I’ve interviewed people with one-page CVs and I’ve interviewed people with five-page CVs.

The length of your CV has never been the reason I interviewed someone.

The content has.

The Two-Page Rule Isn’t a Rule

Somewhere along the line, people started saying a CV should never be more than two pages.

I’m not sure where that advice came from, but it isn’t true.

If you’ve got 20 years’ experience, multiple promotions and lots of achievements, you’re probably not going to fit everything onto two pages.

And that’s absolutely fine.

Trying to squeeze everything into two pages usually creates a much bigger problem.

Tiny font.

Huge paragraphs.

No white space.

A CV that’s difficult to read.

I’d much rather read a well-spaced four-page CV than a cramped two-page one.

Recruiters Don’t Care How Many Pages Your CV Is

What recruiters care about is whether they can quickly find the information they’re looking for.

Remember, we skim read.

We’re looking for:

• Your current or most recent role.
• Your key skills.
• The type of work you’ve done.
• The achievements you’ve delivered.

If I can find those quickly, I’ll keep reading.

If I can’t, the number of pages won’t matter because I’ve already moved on.

Your First Page Is the Most Important

If there is one page you should spend the most time on, it’s the first one.

That should include:

• Your contact details.
• A short professional summary.
• Your key skills.
• The start of your most recent role.

The first page should answer one question.

Why should I interview you?

If it does that well, recruiters will happily read page two.

And page three.

And page four if they need to.

Should Graduates Have a Two-Page CV?

Probably not.

If you’ve only just left university or you’ve only had one or two jobs, you probably don’t have enough relevant experience to justify three or four pages.

In most cases, one or two pages is more than enough.

Don’t pad your CV out with unnecessary information just to make it look longer.

Should Experienced Professionals Have a Four-Page CV?

Sometimes.

If you’ve had a long career, managed large teams, delivered major projects and have achievements worth talking about, then yes.

What you shouldn’t do is include every job you’ve ever had in the same amount of detail.

Generally speaking, your most recent eight to ten years deserve the most space.

Older roles can usually be reduced to the company name, your job title and the dates you worked there.

The further back you go, the less relevant that experience usually becomes.

Don’t Cut Out the Good Stuff

One of the biggest mistakes people make is deleting achievements because they’re trying to fit everything onto two pages.

That’s exactly the wrong thing to remove.

Achievements are what make you different from every other candidate.

Nobody gets interviewed because they listed their responsibilities.

People get interviewed because they can demonstrate the value they’ve added.

Stop Counting Pages

Instead of asking how many pages your CV should be, ask yourself these questions.

Is it easy to read?

Can a recruiter understand what I do within a few seconds?

Does it focus on achievements instead of responsibilities?

Have I removed information that is no longer relevant?

If the answer to those questions is yes, then your CV is probably the right length.

Your CV has one job.

To get you an interview.

If it takes three or four pages to do that properly, don’t lose sleep over it.

A well-written four-page CV will always beat a badly written two-page one.