How Long Should a CV Be? One Page or Two

Short answer: a CV should be one page if you have less than about five years of work experience and two pages if you have more. Senior CVs can stretch to three pages in some countries, and only academic and research CVs run longer. The right length is the shortest one that still shows why you fit the job.

The question of how long a CV should be (or how long a resume should be) has one honest answer: as long as your relevant experience needs, and no longer. Here is the rule by stage.

CV length by experience

Where you are	Usual length
Student, graduate or first job	1 page
Up to about 5 years of work	1 page, 2 if every line earns its place
5 to 15 years	2 pages
Senior or executive, 15+ years	2 pages, 3 at most in some countries
Academic or research CV	As long as your publications and grants need

Country habits differ a little: our guides record two pages as standard in Zimbabwe and Zambia, and one page entry level, two mid-career, three at most for senior roles in South Africa.

Is a one page CV better?

A one page CV is better when you are early in your career, because it forces you to show only the strongest points. It is worse when it hides relevant experience: an experienced candidate squeezed onto one page in tiny type is harder to read than a clean two-page CV.

Do recruiters read the second page?

They read it when the first page makes them want to. Put your profile and most recent, most relevant job on page one. Page two is for older roles, education and extras.

How long should a resume be?

A US or Canadian resume is usually one page, two for experienced professionals, and it leaves out references and personal details. A CV in Europe, Africa and the Middle East often runs to two pages. See CV vs resume for the difference.

How to cut your CV to one page

1. Cut bullets that do not match the job you are applying for.
2. Keep three to five bullets for recent jobs and one or two for older ones.
3. Drop jobs older than about 10 to 15 years, or list them in one line each.
4. Remove "References available on request", hobbies and a full address.
5. Tighten the spacing before you shrink the text, and keep body text at 10 points or more.

Our list of common CV mistakes shows the usual padding.

How to tell how many pages your CV really is

Check the PDF, not the editor: a document can look like one page on screen and print on two. In CV Chap Chap the preview counts pages from the real PDF you will download, and the Format panel lets you change text size (five steps) and spacing (tight, default or relaxed) to fit the page count you want.

Choose a layout that fits your length

A two-column template fits more on one page; a single-column one reads more simply over two. Browse the CV templates, see a simple CV format, or follow the structure in our best CV format guide. Graduates can start from the CV with no experience example.

So, how long should a CV be? One page early on, two pages for most experienced people, and never longer than the job needs.

See your real page count as you build. Pick a CV template.