Hi there,I'm about to start distributing my CV in pursuit of a new Business Analyst/Consultancy role. It currently clocks in around 5 pages.I have had a lot of people say you should keep it below 2, but when cutting down in the past I've had feedback from certain applications asking for things that I have, but were omitted! From a personal perspective, I like to have more than less on a CV that someone sends to me. After all, you don't HAVE to read the entire thing. You can treat a CV as a reference document and pick out the key things you are looking for.Any thoughts?Regards,Rob.

[quote]I have had a lot of people say you should keep it below 2, but when cutting down in the past I've had feedback from certain applications asking for things that I have, but were omitted! From a personal perspective, I like to have more than less on a CV that someone sends to me. After all, you don't HAVE to read the entire thing. You can treat a CV as a reference document and pick out the key things you are looking for.Any thoughts?[/quote]Hi Rob,I can understand why you would want to have a detailed CV. But I am also one of those "2 page CV" guys. IMO a CV is supposed to give a snapshot of who you are and is like a piece of advertisement. I have never seen a billboard with everything there is to know about a product they are trying to sell, its there to grab my interest. Once it has my interest I can then go and enquire further about the product, that in essence is what your CV is supposed to do.Once a potential employer has an interest in your CV, they will interview you and that is where you can go into the details about your CV/experience in detail. That's why they have interviews.The art is where you structure your CV so it has the maximum information, with a minimal word count. and also kept under two pages.Snappy

A CV needs to be concise, although 2 pages isnt always possible or even desirable. That said getting a CV to 2 pages is usually quite feasible if you use the space correctly.Try this for an exercise in brevity:Print your CV then take a red pen and strike out anything, and every word, which does not directly demonstrate your value to an employer. Chances are you have lost valuable space in an irrelevant personal profile, or have described your experience in ways which could be shorter and sharper. Use bullets. Situation, action, outcome in every bullet. Software or certifications can be bullet points at the end of the 2nd page so that software will pick them up. No need to add address, just enough location information to meet needs. Dont waste space on 'References available on request', hobbies etc. This is all dead space. Finish the job by working on a top of CV statement which explains your value proposition in one sentence.

Also, size 6 font and 2mm page margins usually helps with getting it all one one page.

Seriously though, as mars says, just make sure it isn't rambling. Long CVs are OK so long as they're not full of waffle and empty space. Also, make sure you don't leave anything out. If your CV makes you look like a job-hobber, explain why you have left the past 10 jobs after 14 months each. If you have a diploma, call it a diploma and not a "masters". If you've done a 3-day course at Cambridge, don't list that at the top and then leave out your real undergraduate degree details. And don't just list the past 10 years worth of roles you've had, that always looks a bit strange as if it's making a point. And don't use an email address like "iluvbigbutts2014", you might be surprised how many people do.

If I had a £ for every rambling CV I've read..I would have earnt nothing from it because I dont read em!

do you place them in the cylindrical filing cabinet? hehe

used to, these days rambling resumes get converted back into unstructured data format...

Hi RobIt is generally not recommended to have a 5 page CV, since the recruiter may not want to spend that much of time reviewing one application. Keeping it within 2 pages is a better idea. You may want to take professional help for re-drafting and making your CV impactful. These services are not expensive and really help a lot. [url]http://makemyresume.co.in/[/url]This might be of use. Good day!Aastha