Why does a CV need to be two pages?

Two pages is a rule, not a suggestion. Science says so.

A client recently said to me:

“Why does a CV need to be two pages? I can’t possibly cut my CV down to two pages, I have too much experience and won’t fit everything in.”

Surprisingly, they only had ten years of work history. I’m used to hearing this reaction - in fact, I hear it almost every week - but usually from those with 20+ years’ experience who are concerned about the brevity of two pages.

Still, however many years of experience clients have, the two-page “rule” can seem an insurmountable barrier or unwanted restriction.

Let’s break that barrier down by addressing three misconceptions

1) A CV should list all current and prior job responsibilities.

It shouldn’t. Firstly, you need minimal responsibilities on your CV, with the bulk of the content focused on outcomes to demonstrate proven results and outcomes.

Start a role entry with a 2-3 line summary of your key areas of focus, responsibilities and deliverables, showing the reader the scale and context of your role - coverage, team size, reporting line, budgets, etc.

You don't need content for every role and can condense your earlier career (anything more than approx 12-15 years ago) into just the role, company, location and dates. You need the headline details of each role to show your path and chronology, but keep content clear, concise and relevant - stick to key points and select only relevant highlights that showcase (with evidence) the scale and scope of the role, the impact you had and the value you generated for a business. Details on how to generate results for your CV are in this post.

2) People read CVs end-to-end, so I need to pack the info in.

They don’t. Sorry, but they don’t. They scan them, looking for key skills, experience and traits to yay or nay your application and move on to the next candidate. Most spend less than 10 seconds scanning your CV on the first read and won’t read the second page in detail unless their interest is secured by the first page. Eye-tracking data shows that:

The two-page rule remains for more experienced job seekers: the eye-tracking analysis demonstrated that an engaged recruiter will spend as much time on a second page as on the first. However, time on the second page is strongly predicted by how compelling the first page is—and subsequent pages tend not to perform as strongly, regardless of how engaged the recruiter is on the first and second page.

That same eye-tracking research shows that recruiters read CVs in an F shape, i.e across the top, then down the side. This means you need to pack a punch in your profile, then start your bullet points (the outcomes/evidence) with high-impact verbs that catch the eye and communicate at a glance the results you were driving: initiated, drove, realigned, transformed, orchestrated, boosted, reduced, etc.

That research also showed that too much information is overwhelming and switches people off - it's too hard to find what they need and so they go to the next CV. That includes too much content, but also a cluttered look - long, dense sentences, multiple columns, little space and teeny tiny font. So, rather than 8 pt font and narrow margins, be ruthless and cut content until it is concise. Bullet points really should not go over two lines. Get to the point!

3) You have to explain what you do in detail.

You don’t. A hiring manager or recruiter in the field of activity you are working in will know the nuts and bolts of what you do in your role, so you don’t need to explain all the facets or include the obvious. It’s really not necessary to list ‘going to meetings’ on your CV!

What they are interested in are the results of all your activities. Those outcomes provide the evidence that you could drive the same outcomes for them. Critically, they demonstrate the ROI (return on investment) for hiring you.

So, how do you move beyond these misconceptions?

The two-page “rule” is best practice that has become an expectation but is verified by science. It is a good rule to stick to, for the three reasons above – showcase, ease of information access and conciseness – and its good discipline to avoid the temptation to keep adding and adding.

In addition, importantly in a time of online job adverts and submissions, applicant scanning software (ATS) employed by most recruiters and companies has a word limit, usually between 1,000 – 1,200 words, which is approximately two pages if you keep to a readable 10 or 11-point font. More than that and it gets cut off.

As for slimming down your activities, think about it. You don’t just keep talking and talking in an interview (or shouldn’t unless you aim to bore your listener), so why keep writing and adding to your CV?

For both interview responses and CVs, the success factor is CCR – clear, concise, relevant.

There is also the question of one page or two? If you have more than eight years’ experience, then I’d say two pages, but it does depend on what you’ve done and what you’re applying to do. In addition, don’t focus too much attention on anything more than 10 – 12 years ago.

Show all of your roles so your professional history is all there and include the basics of company, dates and role, but think about condensing your earlier roles to give focus to your more recent and relevant achievements and outcomes. Think about it as shining the spotlight in the right place.

Recently, a senior client I’m coaching who had a very engaging and well-crafted CV from one of my colleagues saw a peer of his flashing about a jaunty, colourful one-pager and wanted our advice on whether he should have one too. The answer – no.

Text boxes, charts and icons don’t get read by most ATS software so it’s better to go for simple formatting and clear content. Plus, with some information in a side margin and some in the centre the narrative is difficult to follow for a human reader.

A clear, concise, accessible CV makes it very easy for the reader to scan and puts you in the ‘must know more’ pile of candidates – don’t make them hunt for the info they need or they’ll move on!

Top tips

1. Cut out skills and experience that aren’t relevant to the role you are applying for and focus on the good stuff

2. Use crisp phrases and short sentences, and cut the fluff and fillers

3. Use bold and sections to make it easy for the human eye to scan - remember that F-shape

4. Keep personal details to a minimum – location for your search (not where you live), email, phone and a link to your LinkedIn profile, ideally using a clear URL

5. Avoid clichés. Who isn’t going to say they have excellent time management and are a great team player? Align your experience and skills to the job ad not some generic list

6. Date of birth, gender, marital status…all a NO

If you’d like some help wrangling your experience, skills and knowledge into a smart, concise CV that showcases your value, then why not get in touch for a quick chat and see how I can help you?

Click ‘Book a call’ on the website for a free intro call or email me at louise@careertherapy.co.uk

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