When I review a CV this is the first issue that I look at, as it is an immediate determination of how good the CV is going to be regardless of content or style. Too long and it won’t get read, too short and the recruiter is left wondering where the rest of the CV got to!
I’ve always maintained that 2 pages is ideal but that going into a 3rd page is not really a big issue – provided it’s good content!
A recent survey by Reed asked their recruiters how long a CV should be and their results back up what I’ve always believed.
A comprehensive 90% of recruiters said that 2-3 pages was ideal, with just 6% opting for 1 page and 3% saying that 4 pages was the correct length.
So, as with many things in life, size does matter. Get it right and you’re in with a chance – get it wrong and your CV may end up in the rejection file.
