How long can the CV in the application be? Two sides, three or four? The resume page number is regularly a challenge for job seekers. All relevant content must be clear, but it should also remain meaningful. If the résumé is too long, it will often be noticed negatively by HR professionals. Here you can find out how many pages the CV should have in the application documents – and what you have to consider.
Résumé page number: Bringing qualifications to the point
The basic rule for the number of pages in a résumé: keep it short! HR professionals want to find the most important information at a glance.
The résumé is about hard facts (the hard skills) and a quick overview. In particular, the must-have qualifications must immediately catch the eye. With many pages, the effect is diluted with each additional sheet.
HR managers don’t want to search long. In everyday work with sometimes hundreds of candidates, there are often only two minutes per application for the first selection. If you submit a cluttered, confusing résumé, you will quickly end up rejected.
Application is the first work sample
Application documents are the first sample of work for employers. In this way, the résumé also shows whether you can set priorities, distinguish important from unimportant and get to the point. An important skill for success in many jobs. For the same reason, there is the inbox exercise. She meets applicants in the assessment center, for example. It is also about filtering out only the relevant.
The resume page number reflects – indirectly – that you have prepared the tabular resume individually for this position and only focused on those professional stages, qualifications, and strengths that meet the expectations and challenges of the position correspond.
How many pages should a resume have?
As a rule of thumb, you can remember: The curriculum vitae should be between one and a maximum of three A4 pages. The length depends on the previous career, professional experience, and the level of the position. Young professionals usually get by on one page. Specialists and managers need more space. But never more than three pages, please!
The number of pages that are right for you depends on your career. The following information is a rough guide:
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CV page number for young professionals
Those who start their careers usually have little work experience. Many a beginner has problems filling just one page. Don’t panic: half a page is enough for schoolchildren and future trainees. A short, crisp résumé is always better than a bloated one.
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CV page number for professionals
With professional experience, the number of resume pages also increases. After five years, many specialists are already writing up to two A4 pages. No problem if it makes sense and is necessary. For long-time specialists, three pages are fine as long as the information is relevant to the position. Otherwise, you have to choose!
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Resume page number for executives
Executives and managers are expected on their résumé to address measurable successes and central management tasks. That takes space. However, they may not exceed the maximum of up to three A4 pages in the résumé. If in doubt: shorten it or use keywords. Relevance and topicality have priority.
CV length
To keep the required number of CV pages, some applicants try different tricks:
- Reduce the font size by a few points to get the content on one page.
- Reduce or remove paragraphs and spaces.
We advise against such tricks. These are at the expense of legibility, structure, and clarity. Maybe this will squeeze the résumé onto one page – but it doesn’t make it more readable.
Instead, rigorously shorten unimportant information. Professional stations and dates must be complete and without gaps. How detailed you formulate the individual station is up to you. So the real trick is: Find out in more detail what qualifies and convinces for the desired position – and shorten what is worth mentioning.