How to Shorten a Long CV

Typically, a CV should be no longer than two pages to help keep a hiring manager engaged. It’s estimated that on average an employer will only spend around 30 seconds reading a CV, so it’s vital that you keep your CV short and sweet to ensure they don’t miss any key skills and experiences. Here are 6 ways to shorten a long CV…

Typically, a CV should be no longer than two pages to help keep a hiring manager engaged. It’s estimated that on average an employer will only spend around 30 seconds reading a CV, so it’s vital that you keep your CV short and sweet to ensure they don’t miss any key skills and experiences. Here are 6 ways to shorten a long CV…

Stay Relevant

Make sure you prioritise what you include in your CV. If it’s not relevant to the role you don’t need it in your CV! If you’re unsure what is relevant reread the job description as it will usually list specific skills and experiences they’re looking for.

Bullet Points

Using bullet points can help you highlight important skills and experiences without lengthy paragraphs. Not only can they shorten your CV but they’ll also make it much easier to read!

Plan

Make a list of what you want to include in your CV before you write it. This will help you to establish the most important skills and help you determine any less relevant experiences that you can leave out of the document.

Save some skills for later

Don’t worry about including all skills and experiences in your CV; you can always mention anything you didn’t cover at an interview. This is a great way to ensure that you aren’t just reciting your CV and will help you reduce your CV word count.

Cut back on older roles

Although an employer will want to know about your job history, they’ll be most interested in your more recent work experience. Therefore, if you find you have big paragraphs about roles you carried out over a decade ago, cut them down and only include a very brief description.

Keeps hobbies and interests brief

You need to ensure you have a good balance between your hobbies and work experience on your CV. This section of your CV should only take up space you have left over and should never be prioritised over your skills, qualifications and experiences. Keep this section brief and if you don’t have room for it don’t include it!

Searching for a new role? Why not register your CV with us for more job opportunities! https://apply.baxterpersonnel.co.uk/register

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