How Long Should a CV Be? (The Definitive Guide - 2024) - CV Plaza

How Long Should a CV Be? (The Definitive Guide – 2024)

author Sobhan Mohmand, Career Expert         date 23 December 2022

An important aspect of writing a perfect CV is related to the length of your CV.

How many pages should it be? One, two or even three?

The answer is: ‘It depends.’

You see, a CV should have a natural length that is dependent on the applicant’s qualifications, work experience and job sector. Why should a school leaver have a CV which is the same length as someone who has twenty years’ experience?

So the truth is that the length of a CV will vary slightly from applicant to applicant. Nonetheless, 95% of applicants should not have a CV that exceeds two pages.

Use the guide below to find out more about why most CVs should not exceed two pages, the importance of writing concise CVs and how long a CV should be for school leavers, graduates, senior professionals, academics and medical professionals.

Let’s get started!

Table of contents

What is a CV?

A CV is a short formal document that contains a brief summary of your work history, qualifications and education. The word ‘CV’ is an abbreviation of “curriculum vitae”, which literally means “the course of one’s life” or the brief story of your career.

A CV is used to apply for jobs.


What to include on a CV

Standard CVs usually contain the following information:

  1. Personal details – such as your name, home address, telephone number and email address. Employers can use these details to contact you.?
  2. Personal profilea short statement that informs the reader about your personal characteristics, strengths and competencies.
  3. Achievements – a few bullet points to highlight some of your key achievements from work, education or life in general.
  4. Employment history – details of current and previous jobs or work experience. It contains details of your job title, start and end dates, the employer’s details and your daily duties and responsibilities.
  5. Education – details of your educational background, such as dates, names and locations of schools, colleges or universities attended.
  6. Qualifications – an optional section to list additional, training-based qualifications.
  7. Skills – an outline of some of your key skills (e.g. computing or interpersonal skills) that are relevant to the job.
  8. Hobbies and interests – details of certain hobbies, interests, sports and leisure activities that are relevant to the job and add value to the job application.
  9. References – details of references, people who know you well and can vouch for your character, skills and abilities to the employer.

What is the ideal length of a CV?

The perfect length of a CV is considered to be a maximum of two pages.

This length is recommended for the majority of the applicants, including university students, graduates, young professionals and junior managers.

This is the advice that has been given for many decades by recruiters, employers and careers consultants. Below are some of the statements of well-known careers professionals and recruiters about two-page CVs.

  1. Lynn Williams, career counsellor and author of three careers books, states in her best-selling book Readymade CVs: Winning CVs for Every Type of Job (pg.5): “The easier your CV is to read, the better, so keep it short. Two A4 pages are the perfect length for most people.
  2. Kennedy & Ferguson state in their book CVs for Dummies (pg.237): “You should limit your CV to one or two pages if you’re lightly experienced, or two or three pages if you’re substantially experienced.”
  3. Pauline Rogers states in The Straightforward C.V. (pg.100): “Your CV should be no longer than two pages. One (page) will do when necessary. Many people seem to think that a CV should be akin to an autobiography, another common mistake – keep it lean and mean.”
  4. Simon Howard states in Creating a successful CV (pg.21): “The general rule in the UK is preferably two, but exceptionally three, pages. In two pages you will be able to provide a convincing record of your recent achievements, outline your relevant experience and qualifications, and give the reader sufficient personal information to make the decision that you are worth seeing. If you are required to list technical skills or publications, then a third page may be acceptable. Be rigorous about editing out anything that is not relevant.”
  5. According to a survey conducted by James Reed, Chairman of one of Britain’s biggest recruitment brands Reed, 75% of recruiters prefer a CV length of two pages or less. (The 7-second CV: How to Land the Interview, James Reed, pg.36).
  6. John Lees, one of the UK’s best-known career coaches and authors, conducted a survey and found that two-thirds of employers prefer your CV to be no more than two pages long. Only 20% feel that a CV of three pages is acceptable. (Why You? CV Messages To Win Jobs, John Lees, pg.18).
  7. Tom Jackson, an American career development expert, states in The perfect CV: Stand out from the competition and get the job you really want (pg.66-67): “Keep your CV short. It is a selection document, not a hiring document. If written and edited well, a one- or two-page CV (preferably one) is sufficient to describe almost everyone’s best capabilities – at least as a lead-in to a more detailed presentation in person or by phone. At the interview, you have the opportunity to fill in many details. The reader’s mind can absorb and remember more information when it is on one page or one screen than when it’s spread across many. Focus your CV on the key points needed to gain a recruiter’s attention and offer more detailed information on request.”

Example of a two-page CV:

2-page-cv-length-example


Evidence that candidates still submit long CVs

All career professionals agree that short, concise and focused CVs are better than long, text-dense and unfocused CVs. Yet, there is evidence that candidates still submit CVs that are longer than the recommended two pages. Much longer!

James Innes, a leading careers expert and author of several best-selling career help books, said that he has seen CVs over 30 pages long! (The CV book, our definitive guide to writing the perfect CV, James Innes, pg.43).

John Lees, a well-known career coach, was informed by a recruiter that he had received a 45-page CV! (Why You? CV Messages To Win Jobs, John Lees, pg.18).

Sinead English, a career consultant and author, tells about a client who had a 13-page CV. She recalled in her book CV & Interview 101: How to apply and interview for jobs (pg.8): “We had a client who came to us with a thirteen-page CV – font size 8.5. They claimed that everything on there was hugely relevant and nothing could be taken off. They genuinely couldn’t figure out why the hell they were not getting interviews – they had great experience. We got the CV to two focused pages and they got the interview.”

While the above CVs are exceptionally long, even three-page CVs – which are also hated by recruiters – are still being submitted.

A recent survey analysed and evaluated 200 CVs submitted to a search firm and concluded that nearly one-quarter of CVs were over 3 pages long. The authors note that this length puts undue pressure on the reader. (Pitch Yourself: The most effective CV you’ll ever write. Stand out and sell yourself, Faust & Faust, pg.9).

‘So what?’ You may be wondering.

“What is the big deal between submitting a three-page CV versus a two-page CV?”

Let’s find out!


3 reasons long CVs don’t work

There is a reason why careers consultants advise against submitting CVs longer than two-page CVs: they simply don’t win interviews. There is something fundamentally wrong with long CVs and, as a result, they are usually not even read at all.

The THREE reasons why long CVs are fundamentally flawed:

  1. Applicants assume that the purpose of their CV is to get them a job (not true!)
  2. Employers read each CV for less than 30 seconds
  3. Long CVs obscure important information

1. The purpose of a CV

Many applicants have the erroneous idea that the purpose of a CV is to get them a job. As a result, they try to squeeze in as much information as possible on their CV, in the hope of impressing the employer and securing a job.

This is a totally wrong understanding of what a CV is and its purpose!
The real purpose of a CV is to get you a meeting/interview with the employer.

The purpose of a CV is to get a job interview

John Lees, a well-known career coach and author, remarked on this phenomenon: “Most candidates believe that their CV needs to say everything important about themselves that might help get them a job. They are entirely wrong. A CV isn’t there to get you a job. It’s there to get you into a meeting. This might be an interview (with an employer or with a recruitment consultant), it might be a networking meeting or it might be the opportunity to pitch for a piece of work. In other words, a CV is a piece of communication that has only one purpose: to get you into a room with someone who can influence your future.” (Why You? CV Messages to Win Jobs, John Lees, pg.7).

30 seconds to impress

30 seconds to impress

Contrary to common perception, HR executives don’t just sit around reading CVs all day long. They have a variety of other tasks and duties to perform including administration, attending meetings, working on training/workshops and much more besides.

Paul Hichens mentions in The One Page CV: Create your own high impact CV (pg.85): “Indeed, some of the HR executives I have spoken to have told me that they allocate only a relatively small time slot in their working week to look through CVs. Moreover, frequently this time slot is disproportionate to the number of CVs received. Consequently, there has to be some give, and sometimes this results in less enticing CVs being discarded before they are even read.”

So how long do recruiters spend reading each CV?

The answer: less than 30 seconds.

Many career experts have alluded to this number, including:

• Jenny Rogers, an executive career coach, writes the following in her book Great Answers to Tough CV Problems: CV Secrets From a Top Career Coach (pg.8-9): “Chapter: From the employer’s perspective: 30 seconds to make an impression. The employer is busy and preoccupied. Although hiring new staff is one of the most critical tasks any boss has, somehow many bosses manage to overlook its importance. When unemployment levels are high and there is a glut of good people, the employer can also be deluged with applications, so even where they claim good practice, the temptation to skimp on time and care can be overwhelming. The average amount of time spent on the first scanning of a CV is a few seconds, perhaps 20, or if you’re lucky, 30. Your CV must instantly make the right kind of impact.”

• Rowan Manahan, an experienced recruiter, writes in Ultimate CV: Trade secrets from a recruitment insider (pg.7): “Chapter: A busy recruiter with a large pile of CVs to wade through is simply going to scan each one for 15-30 seconds. With no malice intended, a recruiter is looking for a reason to dump you in the bin and, if you have not sold yourself in the first 30 seconds, that is where your CV will end up. No one has the time or inclination to plough through three, four or five pages of your professional history and education when they might have another 30, 100 or even 500 documents to read after yours. Your CV is nothing more than a 30-second advertisement to get you invited to interview.

• Sue Tumelty, a senior HR executive, writes in CV and Interview Handbook (pg.68): “Present information in bite-sized chunks. Most research on how long recruiters spend reading a CV agrees is that a 10-20 second scan is all that can be expected on the first reading. Your recruiter will look more favourably on your application if they do not need to search for information. Use clear headings and experiment with the use of bold type, underlining and line spaces to divide your CV into manageable sections.”

• Faust & Faust write in Pitch Yourself: The most effective CV you’ll ever write: Stand out and sell yourself (intro.): “Chapter: Less than 30 seconds to impress. You have less than 30 seconds to make that first impression. Yes, less than 30 seconds. 20 to 30 seconds for a first pass scan of your CV. Can you sell yourself in less than 30 seconds? Can you use your 30 seconds to answer the only question that matters in the whole recruitment process, ‘What will you do for me? What do you offer? What and where is your value add?’ That is less than 30 seconds to be selected or deselected.”

• John Lees, a well-known career coach, writes in Why You? CV Messages To Win Jobs, John Lees (pg.26): “Chapter: Your 15 seconds of fame. Estimates of the average attention given to a CV vary – anything between 15 and 30 seconds. This is half true. It is true in the sense that any recruiter who has to deal with over 100 CVs is going to have to find a way of sifting through them very fast – scanning them (usually by eye) for key phrases or pieces of information to make an interview shortlist. You may think that an interview is just a conversation, but it’s expensive to arrange and even more expensive to put one or two more professional staff into a room all day. So organisations need to pre-select just the ones that look most suited to the job. A first sift (also known as “pre-selection” or “top slicing”) is usually required to cut the pile down. In our CV survey one busy HR manager wrote: “If I am scanning around 500 CVs for a role, my first-pass filter of them is measured in seconds rather than in minutes.”

All of the above is cumulative evidence that employers tend to read each CV for less than 30 seconds. Therefore, the shorter the CV the better.

Employers normally will not bother with any CVs that are longer than the maximum of two pages.

Important information at a glance

Given the fact that employers only tend to look at your CV for around 20-30 seconds, you need to make sure that all the important information that the employer is looking for stands out and is found at a glance.

This can only be achieved with short CVs.

Long CVs tend to obscure important information.

Long CVs obscure important information

This is one of the main reasons why career professionals advise against long CVs!


One size does not fit all

Some applicants have the erroneous idea that the length of the CV is fixed in all circumstances and for all applicants.

As a result, they use minuscule fonts, bad formatting and cramp in lots of information into one or two pages of their CV – making their CVs completely unreadable!

This defeats the whole purpose of a CV. Your number one goal is to make your CV enticing enough to get read. Without that, it is irrelevant whether you have phrased everything perfectly or included only the most relevant information.

The truth is, there is no such thing as a single fixed length of a CV for all applicants; it will vary from applicant to applicant and sector to sector.

Sue Tumelty, a senior HR executive, writes in CV and Interview Handbook (pg.69):

“If you bring two or more recruiters together in one room and ask them about how long a CV should be, prepare yourself for a long and possibly heated argument. Some recruiters insist all CVs should be two pages long. This view is echoed by many books and websites offering CV advice, which all urge you to keep your CV to a maximum length of two pages.

However, speak to a management consultant and you may be told that recruiters in that sector would simply not bother to read beyond the first page of a CV.

Conversely, recruiters of software developers or specialist contractors would expect a CV to average four pages because they would want to see a summary of the contracts completed during the previous two to five years.

The answer, therefore, lies in what is normally expected from within a sector.

Paul McGee writes in How to write a CV that really works (pg.51):

“It is difficult, in my opinion, to say categorically how long your CV should be. The readers of your CV have different preferences. However, here are some guidelines from my experience. Most people agree that there is no need for a CV to be any longer than three pages – and quite often two pages are enough. There are those that argue that a one-page CV proves most successful and that it should be possible to include all relevant information on one page. Certainly, if the reader is inundated with CVs and only has to glance through one page of yours, this may be an advantage. However, I have seen no evidence to suggest that someone is more likely to succeed with a job application if they have a one-page CV as opposed to a two- or three-page one. The key, I believe, is to concentrate on what you want to tell the reader and then decide how long your CV will be.”

Clearly, when it comes to writing a CV, one size does not fit all.

Below you will find a breakdown of the ideal CV lengths for a variety of applicants based on their qualifications, work experience and job sector.


Length of a speculative CV

The recommended CV length for a speculative CV is one page.

Rachel Bishop-Firth, an experienced recruiter and personnel manager, writes in The Ultimate CV: Win Senior Managerial Positions with an Outstanding Resume (pg.37):

“Getting your message over.

Your first aim is to make sure your CV gets read. Recruiters are busy people. They will usually give each CV a quick scan, pick up the best for a more thorough reading, and pick only the very best of those to invite for an interview.

This means that your CV should be short. A good rule of thumb is:

  • One A4 page for speculative CVs.
  • Two pages for most applications.
  • Three pages for applications for very senior jobs.”

Length of an entry-level CV

The recommended CV length for entry-level jobs is one page.

The following people fall under this category:

  • Young people
  • Teenagers
  • School leavers
  • College leavers
  • Applicants applying for their first job
  • Applicants with little or no education or work experience

Susanne Christian, a qualified careers coach, writes in Young Jobhunters: Building a Great C.V. (pg.16):

“There are recommended lengths for CVs, usually one or two sides of A4 – one page is most likely for school or college leavers. If you have a lot of work experience, do a lot of activities or have a lot of qualifications, you may end up with a two-page CV. Incidentally, even people with long careers don’t usually have CVs longer than two sides. That’s the usual recommended maximum.”

James Innes, a leading careers expert and author of several best-selling career help books, writes in The CV book, our definitive guide to writing the perfect CV (pg.43):

I always advocate a one-page CV if it is feasible – and some recruitment agencies, especially headhunters, may insist on a one-page CV. Failing that, two pages are entirely acceptable and, in some circumstances, it may be acceptable for a CV to run to three or more pages, but only for certain special cases, e.g. medical, engineering, etc.

People often feel that a one-page CV is worth less than a two-pager, but this is definitely not true. It is much better to have a good, strong one-page CV than a two-page one that is padded with unnecessary information. You should always be aiming to exclude irrelevant information which may distract from other important points.”

Example of a one-page CV:

1-page-cv-length


Length of a graduate CV

The recommended CV length for a graduate is either one or two pages.

As a graduate, you would have gained many qualifications from your school, college and university studies. You would also likely have some work experience and developed transferable skills in your studies and part-time/voluntary jobs. All these things need to be mentioned on your CV to portray you as a strong candidate for the role. Hence, a graduate CV, unlike a school-leaver CV, can be two pages long.

Note: Graduate CVs should never be any longer than two A4 pages.

John Lees, a well-known career author, conducted a survey and found that two-thirds of employers prefer your CV to be no more than two pages long. Only 20% feel that a CV of three pages is acceptable. (Why You? CV Messages To Win Jobs, John Lees, pg.18).


Length of a senior-level CV

The recommended CV length for senior managers, executives, directors, engineers, consultants and contractors is two or three pages at most.

If you have many years of experience, your CV should only focus on your current key selling points rather than on documenting your whole career to date.

Remember, the aim of a CV is to get an interview so you only need to include information that is going to help you get that interview. Once you are talking to the employer, you will have the opportunity to fill in any missing details and sell yourself.

As mentioned earlier, Sinead English, a career consultant and author, had a client with a 13-page CV but never got invited for interviews. Only after cutting the length down to two pages did they secure a job interview! (CV & Interview 101: How to apply and interview for jobs, pg.8).

The moral of the story is that short and focused CVs secure more job interviews!

Rachel Bishop-Firth, an experienced recruiter and personnel manager, writes in The Ultimate CV: Win Senior Managerial Positions with an Outstanding Resume (pg.37):

“Your CV should be short.

A good rule of thumb is:

  • One A4 page for speculative CVs.
  • Two pages for most applications.
  • Three pages for applications for very senior jobs.

Rebecca Corfield, a writer and expert on career development, outlines the following three scenarios in which a CV may be slightly longer than the recommended two pages:

  • You have had many different jobs and have worked for many years;
  • You are in the entertainment business with many different appearances to list, or in a creative or academic role with productions or written work to describe;
  • You have travelled extensively with your work, e.g. with the armed forces.

(Preparing the Perfect CV: How To Make A Great Impression And Get The Job You Want, pg.11).

Note: Even senior-level CVs should never be any longer than three A4 pages.

Paul Hichens mentions in The One Page CV: Create your own high impact CV (pg.84): “I have been told by numerous HR executives that they don’t read CVs which are longer than three pages.”


Length of an academic, scientific or medical CV

The recommended length for a specialist, academic, scientific and medical CV is three or four pages at most.

The reason why these CVs can be longer than the recommended two pages is that they are required to include additional details such as lists of academic publications or a list of all the projects/procedures completed by the professional.

A number of career experts have alluded to this in their writings.

  • Corinne Mills, a well-known career expert and HR executive, writes in You’re hired, how to write a brilliant CV (pg.117): “Normally your CV should be no longer than two pages long, or occasionally three if you are an academic and need to include details of publications, etc.
  • Sinead English, a career consultant and author, writes in CV & Interview 101: How to apply and interview for jobs (pg.8): “How long is too long? The rules on this are pretty clear. For 95% of people, a CV should be NO MORE THAN two pages. The types of jobs/professions that can get away with their CV being longer than two pages are academics and medical doctors. That’s it.
  • James Innes, a leading careers expert and author of several best-selling career help books, writes in The CV book, our definitive guide to writing the perfect CV (pg.43): “In some circumstances, it may be acceptable for a CV to run to three or more pages, but only for certain special cases, e.g. medical, engineering, etc.”

Julie Gray, a professional CV writer, mentions in Get That Job With The Right CV: Teach Yourself (pg.171) the different scenarios in which CVs can be longer than two pages and recommends including publications in a separate appendix to keep the main CV concise and focused.

She writes:

“Despite your best efforts, there will be some things you cannot fit onto two pages. These might cover:

  • Publications and lectures for a long-standing academic
  • Schools worked at for an experienced supply teacher
  • A complete project list for a long-qualified engineer
  • All procedures performed by a consultant neurosurgeon
  • An account of all a diplomat’s research and policy recommendations

This doesn’t mean you can ignore relevance and brevity. It will still benefit you to select the most recent and meaningful examples. You could provide the requested details in a supplement or appendix (as you might do with references) and therefore still leave your main CV powerfully concise.


Avoid half-page CVs

A CV should be presented in full pages, with no space left at the end of the page.

Consider the following example.

Imagine if you have a guest and they ask you for a glass of orange juice.

It would look really strange if you were to offer them half a glass of orange juice!

Half page is CV not recommended

Similarly, make sure your CV consists of full pages and looks complete and presentable. It should never be 0.5 or 1.5 pages. You need to add or remove information to make it fit into either one full page or two full pages. You can also increase or decrease the font size and line spacing between the paragraphs to make it into one or two full pages.

James Innes, a leading careers expert and author of several best-selling career help books, commented on these types of CVs: “A 1 ½ page CV tends to look incomplete and weak.” (The CV book, our definitive guide to writing the perfect CV, pg.43).


How to reduce the length of your CV

  • Omit irrelevant details: There are many irrelevant personal details that you do not need to include on your CV, such as your date of birth, age, gender, marital status, nationality, national insurance number and salary expectations. Also, write your contact details in a concise manner so it doesn’t take up much space.
  • Omit outdated information: If you have a lot of work experience or education, you should omit mentioning outdated information such as school-level qualifications if you have a degree or part-time jobs from many years ago.
  • Reduce repetitions: Without realising, you may be repeating certain details across multiple sections of your CV, especially in your personal profile, achievements and employment sections. Find and remove any repetitions.
  • Write a concise personal profile statement: A personal profile is supposed to be a short, one-paragraph statement that informs the employer about your characteristics, skills and abilities. Some applicants’ personal profiles take up half a page! Keep it short, punchy and less than 3-4 sentences long.
  • Break down big, chunky paragraphs into shorter sentences: Research has shown that employers tend to scan CVs rather than read them in detail so your CV should be short and easy to read. Big paragraphs are not only difficult to read but they also take up a lot of space. Instead, you should use short sentences, and bullet points to free up more space on your CV and improve its impact.
  • Use a smaller font size, single line spacing and subheadings: Experiment with different CV fonts, line spacing and subheadings to better organise your CV.
  • Adjust the margins and spacing of your CV: Another trick to include more information in two pages is by adjusting the margins and spacing of your CV. In Microsoft Word, you can adjust the margins of your CV by clicking on Layout > Margins > Custom Margins.
  • Skip your hobbies and interests: Including hobbies and interests on your CV is optional and should only be done if you have space left after including all the most important information such as your education and employment details. If you insist on including them, make sure you only mention one or two hobbies in a single sentence, nothing more.
  • Don’t include your references on your CV: If you don’t have space to include your references, simply write “References are available upon request.” You can give details of your references at a later stage in the recruitment process.
  • Send a cover letter with your application: If you couldn’t include all the important details you wanted on your two-page CV, you could include those details in a separate cover letter or on your application form. Never be tempted to squeeze too much information on your CV – it will be rejected!

FAQs

What is the ideal length of a CV?

The recommended CV length for most applicants is a maximum of two pages. This is applicable to 95% of all the applicants including students, graduates, young professionals and managers. Only in exceptional circumstances can a CV be more than two pages, such as for academics and medical professionals.

Should a CV be one page or two pages long?

Your CV should be short and concise, preferably one page long. You can go up to two pages if you have more work experience, education and skills to include on it.

How long should a first CV be?

Your first CV should be one page long. If you have finished your college studies and have additional work experience, you may go up to a maximum of 2 A4 pages.

How many pages should a senior-level CV be?

A senior-level CV should be two pages long. You may go up to a maximum of three pages if you have a lot of experience, education and important details to include.

How many pages should a UK CV be?

A standard CV in the UK should be a maximum of two pages long; the shorter the better. This is the standard rule for most people. UK careers advisors recommend a one-page CV for applicants who apply for entry-level positions, a two-page CV for most medium/high-level jobs and a three-page CV for senior, specialist roles.

Is a 2.5 CV too long?

Yes. A standard CV should never be longer than two A4 pages. You should remove any irrelevant, outdated or repetitive details from your CV to make it fit into two pages. Furthermore, a CV should be presented in full pages rather than in 1.5 or 2.5 pages.


Conclusion

  • One of the most important aspects of writing a CV is getting its length right.
  • Surveys have shown that employers are busy people who spend less than 30 seconds reading each CV.
  • Employers prefer to receive short, concise CVs over long, unfocused CVs.
  • Long CVs obscure important information and are automatically rejected.
  • Finally, the answer to “how long should a CV be?’ is that it depends on the applicant and job sector. The ideal CV length for the majority of applicants is a maximum of two pages – the shorter, the better.

Good luck with writing your perfect CV and securing job interviews!

Written by Sobhan Mohmand
Sobhan is a qualified Careers Advisor and Professional CV Writer with over 10 years of experience in helping job seekers get a job. He is a Member of the Careers Development Institute (CDI) and is listed on the official UK Register of Career Development Professionals. He holds a Level 6 Diploma in Career Guidance and Development (QCF).
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