How many pages should a CV be? The honest answer
One page, two or more? It depends on your experience and on who reads your CV. Here's how to decide what fits you, and what to cut when your CV gets too long.
The short answer: for most people, one or two A4 pages is enough. There's no hard rule, and a fixed rule wouldn't be right anyway. What does matter is that every line on your CV earns its place. Below are six points to work out how long your CV should be.
1. The rule of thumb: one page as a starter, two with experience
If you're a student, a starter or have little work experience, everything that matters fits on one page. With several years of relevant experience, two pages are fine. More than two pages is too much for most jobs, unless you work in a field where that's common.
2. Why shorter usually works better
A recruiter looks at many CVs in a row, and often only briefly at each one. A long CV buries your best points among the rest. A short CV forces you to choose what really matters, and you can see that in how sharp it reads. More pages rarely means a better chance of an interview.
3. Don't count pages, count relevance
Ask yourself one question for every job and every bullet: does this help for this vacancy? A job from twenty years ago that has nothing to do with the role can be short or gone. Focus on the last ten to fifteen years, and wrap up older roles in a single line. That way you automatically end up with a CV that fits the vacancy.
4. Two pages? Make sure the first one does the work
Your profile summary, your latest roles and your strongest results belong on page 1. Page 2 is an addition, not a second chance. Also watch for a sloppy page break: a single line or a heading sitting alone at the top of page 2 looks careless. In the CVontwerper builder you see live how your CV falls on A4, and you can mark any job or education entry to start on a new page.
5. How to shorten a CV that's too long
Start with the bullets: three to five per role is enough, focused on results. Leave out high school, short courses and hobbies if they add nothing. Merge skills into a short list. Above all, don't shrink the text to make everything fit: a CV that's hard to read works against you.
6. When more than two pages is fine
There are exceptions. An academic CV with publications and research is often longer. Freelancers who have done many different projects can send a project list as a separate attachment. Getting close to that? Keep the main CV short and point to a portfolio or your LinkedIn profile for the rest.
Short, sharp and with your strongest points on top
Your CV doesn't have to be one page and doesn't have to contain everything. It has to show quickly why you fit this vacancy. Build your CV at CVontwerper and see right away how it falls on A4. Building and previewing is free, downloading as a PDF costs a one-time €2. No account, no subscription.
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