A CV should be one page if you have under about ten years of experience, and two pages beyond that. Academic and research CVs are the exception and run longer. The rule that matters more than page count: never shrink the type below 10pt to force a fit, because a cramped page gets skimmed and abandoned.
Where the one-page rule came from
It came from US recruiters in an era of paper, and it was always advice for early-career candidates rather than a universal law. It survives because it is short and quotable. Taken literally by a candidate with 18 years of experience, it produces a document that either omits the strongest evidence or compresses it into unreadable 8.5pt text.
The actual guideline
| Situation | Length |
|---|---|
| Student, graduate, first job | One page |
| Two to ten years of experience | One page, two if the roles are genuinely dense |
| Ten years or more | Two pages |
| Senior leadership | Two pages, occasionally three |
| Academic or research CV | As long as your publication list requires |
| Europass CV | Two to three pages; the format is more verbose by design |
Why one and a quarter pages is the worst option
Landing just over a page break leaves a stub — a heading and two lines stranded on page two. It reads as carelessness. If you are slightly over, either cut to fit one page or expand to fill two properly. Never leave the stub.
What to cut, in order
- The objective statement. “Seeking a challenging role in a dynamic organisation” tells a reader nothing. Replace it with a summary of what you offer, or delete it.
- Your full address. City and country is enough.
- “References available on request.” Assumed. See references on a CV.
- Hobbies, unless directly relevant to the role.
- Roles over 15 years old. Compress to one line, or group them under “Earlier roles”.
- Duplicate bullets. If two jobs produced the same achievement, keep the stronger one.
- Obvious skills. “Microsoft Word” and “email” are not skills in 2026.
What never to cut
Numbers. When people trim, they cut the specifics first because they take more words — and specifics are the only part a hiring manager remembers. “Reduced processing time 40%” earns its space several times over.
If you are short rather than long
Half a page reads as thin even when your experience is fine. Add substance rather than padding: a projects section, relevant coursework, volunteering with real responsibility, or an extra bullet on each role covering scope — team size, budget, number of clients. Our guide to writing a CV with no work experience covers this in depth.
Formatting tricks that buy space honestly
- Margins between 1.5cm and 2cm — anything tighter looks squeezed
- Body text at 10 to 11.5pt, never below 10pt
- Line spacing around 1.15 to 1.3
- Contact details on one line rather than stacked
- Skills as comma-separated groups rather than one per line
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Frequently asked questions
Can a CV be two pages?
Yes, and beyond roughly ten years of experience it usually should be. Two full pages beat one cramped page at 9pt with quarter-inch margins. What does not work is one and a quarter pages, which leaves an awkward stub.
Is a one-page CV better?
Better for graduates, career starters and anyone under about ten years in. Not better for a senior candidate, where squeezing 15 years onto one page means deleting the evidence that you are senior.
How many jobs should I list on my CV?
Roughly the last 10 to 15 years, in detail for the recent ones and a single line each for older roles. Anything before that can become a short ‘Earlier roles’ line unless it is directly relevant.
Does a longer CV mean more experience?
No, and recruiters read length as a signal of editing ability. A four-page CV for a mid-level role suggests you cannot identify what matters, which is itself a job-relevant weakness.