‘I’m going to send you my two page CV’ or even, ‘I’m going to send you my one page summary CV’ is something I have frequently heard throughout my time dealing with jobseekers. For a time, I blindly assumed a rational behind this until my years of experience ticked by and I began to wonder more and more about the origins of this deemed ‘requirement’. To get to the point, in my ten years of experience dealing with multinational businesses across EMEA, I have never encountered a request from a client for candidate CVs to be two pages maximum. So, where does this come from and how can you find the happy medium with your CV?;
Concise
What I have heard from multiple hiring managers is that they do not want a CV that is too long. They want to read a concise, to the point document that clearly highlights what you do and where you did this. They do not (and will not) trawl back though 10 pages to find a relevant project on your profile. You must ensure that you CV is relevant, concise and well presented. The exact number of pages this takes is completely dependent on your individual skills and circumstances.
So, what if my experience only covers 1 page or 2 pages?
This is absolutely fine – we have all been there at the beginning of our careers and there is simply not enough content to cover more pages. The key is relevance, bringing your skills to the fore and good, clear presentation.
To conclude – content and presentation are key, not length! Just don’t waffle….
If you need further advice in structuring your CV, please visit www.thecvcoachme.com or follow our page for further information.