Two pages. For almost everyone applying for almost any job in the UK, that is the answer, and the rest of this guide is about the exceptions and about why CVs end up at three pages when they should not.

The UK convention, and why it holds

UK recruiters and hiring managers expect two pages of A4. It is long enough to show a career with specifics and short enough to be read in the time a busy person gives a CV. It is also what every other candidate sends, so a longer document stands out for the wrong reason: it says the author could not decide what mattered.

From the hiring side, the length itself is rarely the problem. It is what length reveals. A three-page CV almost always means duties listed instead of outcomes, old roles given the same space as recent ones, and detail included because it is true rather than because it is relevant. Fix those and two pages is comfortable at any level.

When one page is right

Graduates and people in the first two or three years of a career. If you have one or two roles and a degree, one strong page beats two padded ones. Beyond that point, forcing a CV onto one page usually means cutting the achievements that get interviews, which is the wrong trade. There is no prize for brevity if the numbers went with it.

When three pages is acceptable

• Academic and research roles, where publications, grants and teaching need listing. These CVs follow their own conventions and can run to many pages.
• Medical and clinical roles, where rotations, procedures and audits are expected in full.
• Some C-suite and board CVs, where a long career across several companies would otherwise need a separate board bio. Even here, the first two pages must stand alone; the third is an appendix.
• Contractors and interims with many short assignments, though a summary table of assignments usually solves this inside two pages.

If you are not in one of those groups and your CV is three pages, it is too long.

How to get a long CV down to two pages

In order of how much space each step recovers:

1. Cut roles older than ten years to one line each. Title, employer, dates. Group anything older than fifteen years under “Earlier career” with no detail. This alone usually recovers half a page.
2. Replace duties with outcomes. Five bullets describing what the job involved become three describing what changed. Shorter and stronger.
3. Delete the skills matrix. Star ratings and lists of software take space and say little. The tools you use belong in the achievement bullets where they were used.
4. Cut the personal statement to three sentences. There is a guide to the formula.
5. Remove hobbies, references, full address, date of birth and the “Curriculum Vitae” heading. None of it is read.
6. Tighten the layout. 11 point body text, 2 cm margins, single column, no empty lines between bullets. Not smaller than 10.5 point; a cramped CV is worse than a long one.

How to fill a CV that is too short

The opposite problem, usually from people who have been told to keep it brief. If your CV is a page and a quarter and you have more than three years’ experience, you are almost certainly missing the numbers. For each recent role, ask: how big was the team, budget or territory? What was it like when I arrived and when I left? What did I deliver that someone else in the role would not have? Those answers are the content that fills the page, and they are the content that gets interviews.

Frequently asked questions

Is a three-page CV ever acceptable in the UK?

For academic, medical and some board-level CVs, yes. For everyone else, two pages is the expectation and three signals poor editing.

Does the second page need to be full?

No. A page and a half is fine. What matters is that page one carries everything that gets you shortlisted; page two is for the interview.

What font size should a CV be?

Body text between 10.5 and 11.5 point in a standard typeface (Calibri, Arial, Garamond, Helvetica). Headings a few points larger and bold. Never below 10 point to make it fit.