How Long Should a CV Be in 2025?

In the UK, 50% of hiring managers expect to see a two-page CV so that’s the standard length you should aim for.

Here’s what a two-page CV example looks like:

Page one includes the most important sections of your CV such as your personal statement, work experience, (and if you’re a recent graduate, your education section).

The second page is usually for less vital sections like your skills section as well as hobbies and interests that employers will get to if they’re impressed with the first page.

How many pages a CV should be (for different situations)

The best CV length is two pages for most UK applicants, but if you fit one of the following profiles, you can make your CV shorter or longer.

Graduates, students, and school leavers

As a graduate or student, you probably haven’t got much work experience, so a one-page CV like this is fine:

A one-page CV gives you enough space to detail your educational accomplishments as well as one or two part-time jobs if you’ve had any.

However, if you really want to reach the UK standard of two pages, don’t forget you can use a relevant experience section instead of a work experience section. Then add any voluntary work, extracurricular activities, and even hobbies as though they were work history entries.

Here’s an example:

Duke of Edinburgh Award (Silver) | ​​20XX
Pwllheli

• Participated in a local community project to relocate a nursing home in Pwllheli, personally assisting 100+ elderly patients during a 6-month period in packing and moving
• Helped 20+ OAPs in the local community with gardening
• Fundraised £270 for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, 27% higher than previous DofE participants
• Collaborated with a 6-person team to navigate Bannau Brycheiniog, helping pitch tents, and cook food for a 3-day, 2-night trek

Healthcare workers and executives/directors

Healthcare workers and executives or directors don’t have much in common but their CVs are an exception, often being 3 pages long (or more).

Healthcare CVs may need to use extra space to detail medical specialities, research projects, publications, clinical experience, and continuing education.

Likewise, C-suite executives and senior directors may need more space to describe their previous strategic achievements, board memberships, and key initiatives in more detail.

Academics

Academic CVs can be dozens of pages long. They include specific sections for publications, research, grants and funding, teaching experience, presentations and conferences, professional affiliations, research skills, and usually include references (which are unnecessary for job CVs).

How to keep your CV length to two pages

Keeping your CV to two pages can be challenging, but here are five easy ways to reduce your CV’s length:

1. Fix your formatting

These small formatting tweaks can help you get your CV onto two pages:

• Reduce your margins down to a minimum of 1.25 cm. Most word processors set them at 2.5 cm by default, so making them smaller will increase the number of words you can fit on each page.
• Resize your font — most are comfortably readable at between 10.5 and 12 points. Switch to a sans serif CV font for smaller sizes, as their simpler letter shapes are easier to read.
• Alter your line spacing to 1. 1.5+ will space out your CV, making it longer.

2. Remove your references

Take out the references on your CV and add them to a separate document.

Employers will request your references later in the job application process, so while they’re necessary to have, they aren’t needed on your CV. Hang on to them, and send them when the employer asks for them.

3. Trim unnecessary sections

Depending on the job you’re applying for, you can afford to keep some of your CV sections brief.

For example, if you’re applying for a bartending or cafe job, you’re unlikely to need a detailed education section. Sticking in a brief mention of your university or school leaver qualifications will be more than enough.

Similarly, if your hobbies and interests are unrelated to the job you’re applying for, leave them out.

4. Edit and proofread your CV

Review your CV carefully and trim any repetitive or less relevant details. Focus on concise, impactful descriptions that highlight key achievements without unnecessary length.

Using an online editor like Grammarly helps you identify wordy sentences. For example, ‘in order to’ can be replaced with ‘to’.

5. Remove personal information

The only personal details on your CV that you should keep are your name, phone number, and email. Everything else should be removed, including your:

• nationality
• date of birth
• marital status
• gender

These details may lead to discrimination, and they also take up valuable space on your CV.

Other details like having your address on your CV or including your National Insurance Number can lead to identity fraud, especially if uploading your CV to LinkedIn where anyone can access them.

Frequently asked questions

Here are the answers to several common questions about CV length.

1. How far back should my CV go?

Generally, your CV should go back as far as 10–15 years. Only include jobs you did more than 15 years ago if they add value to your application.

Adding unnecessary information distracts employers from your most up-to-date jobs and skills.

Prune your skills section in the same way — cut anything that the job advert isn’t looking for. If you want to give employers a glance at your older work history (without writing detailed bullet points), include a section with your previous job titles, employers, and years of employment. Here’s an example:

Marketing Manager | 1990–2000
Sanlux, Taipei

2. How can I make my CV longer?

Use these approaches to fill an incomplete page or pad out your CV if you can’t fill two A4 sides.

1. Add white space

Although you should do this sparingly, adding white space can make individual achievements and experiences stand out to employer.

Use up to 1.5 line spacing and 2.5 cm margins to spread out the content of your CV: formatting your CV in this way will spread out your experience more, but the page won’t look sparse and unprofessional.

Also, make sure that your CV font size is appropriate — it shouldn’t be bigger than 12 points.

2. Divide up your skills section

Separating your skills into categories will make it easier for employers to pinpoint the skills they’re looking for, while also taking up more space on your CV.

How you should separate your skills depends on the job you’re applying for.

For example, if you’re in cybersecurity, you could create IT skills and transferable skills sections. For instance:

IT Skills

IDPS (Snort & Suricata) | Firewall software (Cisco ASA, Check Point) | Security information and event management (SIEM) software (Splunk) |
Vulnerability scanning tools (Nessus)

Transferable Skills

Written and verbal communication | Analytical skills | Problem-solving skills | Attention to detail