How long should a CV be? One, two or three pages

Reading time: 3 minutes

The short answer: two pages

For most people in the UK, two pages is the upper limit. That's not a law, but it is what a recruiter expects — and that expectation shapes how your CV gets read.

But the number itself isn't really the point. The reason behind it is: a recruiter spends seconds on the first review, not minutes. Anything that eats up those seconds without adding value works against you.

One page, if you're just starting out

If you've only just graduated or have less than about five years of experience, everything that matters will fit on one page. Filling two pages with education, side jobs and hobbies won't make your CV stronger; it just shows you had to stretch things out.

One well-filled page reads stronger than two half-empty ones.

Two pages, for almost everyone after that

If you have five years of experience or more, two pages is the space you have and usually need. The split that works best: your last two or three roles written out in full on the first page, and the rest — older roles, education, courses — kept brief on the second.

That means the first page does the heavy lifting. If someone only reads that, they need to have seen enough to invite you in.

Three pages, only for a genuine reason

There are professions where a longer CV is normal: academia, where publications belong on there, and some medical and legal roles. An interim professional with twenty short assignments might also need extra space.

But in that case, put that list at the back, after everything an employer needs to see first. And with every extra page, ask yourself whether it really can't be made more compact.

What can go first

Work through your CV in this order and you'll usually be able to cut half a page without much effort:

1. Roles from more than fifteen years ago. One line per role: title, employer, dates.
2. The line about references available on request. Everyone knows you have them.
3. Your full address. Town or city is enough.
4. Courses unrelated to the role. That first-aid course from 2012 can go.
5. A profile summary full of adjectives. Replace it with two sentences about what you do and what you're looking for, or leave it out altogether.
6. Skills that go without saying. "Experience with email" doesn't belong on there.

And if it just doesn't fit?

The temptation then is to narrow the margins and shrink the font. Don't: a CV in size 8 font with an inch of white space around it reads badly, and a recruiter will notice exactly what's happened.

Better to cut a role from fifteen years ago. It costs you nothing and buys you readability.

In short

• Less than five years of experience: one page.
• Five years or more: two pages, with the first doing the heavy lifting.
• Three pages only for a field where that's the norm.
• Trimming old roles to one line frees up the most space.
• Narrowing margins and shrinking the font gets noticed, and not in your favour.

Is your CV just not quite fitting, or are you unsure what to cut? With CV-Refresher, you upload your CV and see what's left once only the relevant parts remain.

Shorten your CV →