Long CVs

Ironic Namesake · 27 Jul 2007 at 08:33

We've been looking for someone to help pack at our office so posted an add on gumtree.

Why do people feel the need to have 4-6 page CVs with hardly any bullet points :confused:

do they really think someone will read all of that

Burned_Alive · 27 Jul 2007 at 09:08

deuse · 27 Jul 2007 at 09:13

i think its only right you should.
they took the time to write it,then you should make time to read it.

Downsy · 27 Jul 2007 at 09:18

I would imagine a 6 page CV is rather off-putting to a HR person. Unless you've had multiple jobs over a 30-40 year period then you should be able to put it onto 2 sides.

Loki · 27 Jul 2007 at 09:19

OoOverclockaoO said:
We've been looking for someone to help pack at our office so posted an add on gumtree.

Why do people feel the need to have 4-6 page CVs with hardly any bullet points do they really think someone will read all of that

Maybe its because they are no good at writing CV's or don't have the necessary experience. They might not not even know it's wrong till they get some constructive feedback

Mr-White · 27 Jul 2007 at 09:27

CV....6-8 pages is a life story :eek:

i keep mine to 2 pages

MW

Col_M · 27 Jul 2007 at 09:40

Personally I'd reject it, two sides is all that is needed.
When I was at uni we were told that if your CV is over that it risks being binned without being read, which is fair enough, if the company has a mountain of CVs whoever is sorting them is going to baulk at reading a long one.

What on earth have they put in it to string it over that many pages?

Mr Nice · 27 Jul 2007 at 10:00

Entirely depends.

We are looking for some contractors for an deployment project and these cvs are in excess of 10 pages...

However they aren't your run of the mill CV's more of the techy variety.

deuse · 27 Jul 2007 at 10:17

Mr Nice said:
Entirely depends.

We are looking for some contractors for an deployment project and these cvs are in excess of 10 pages...

However they aren't your run of the mill CV's more of the techy variety.

i just tried to put all my stuff into a cv...
and got 9 pages...hehehehehee

well some old tart in personal would not know what mcsa/mcse/cisco means now would they

InvaderGIR · 27 Jul 2007 at 10:20

deuse said:
i think its only right you should.
they took the time to write it,then you should make time to read it.

No, if you have 100 CVs to go through, you'll look at the main point on the front page of them, and short list them. If you have a 6 page CV with no points on it that goes in the bin.

Once shortlisted then you read them properly and shorten that list... etc. etc.

InvG

InvaderGIR · 27 Jul 2007 at 10:22

Mr-White said:
CV....6-8 pages is a life story i keep mine to 2 pages

MW

Yup, that's what keeps people interested.

You don't write every job you've had, just the last few, or the most relevant, same as references, you only put two down and they are the ones that will give you the best referneces.

InvG

scorza · 27 Jul 2007 at 10:25

Yup, its 2 pages max for a CV, anything longer goes in the tl;dr bin. Thought everyone knew that?

deuse said:
well some old tart in personal would not know what mcsa/mcse/cisco means now would they

Probably not, but they'll have been told by whoever the vacancy is for that they want someone whose a MCSE and so the old tart in personel will look for that on your CV then most likely give it to someone who does know about it to look at.

kefkef · 27 Jul 2007 at 10:28

If you've got a load of CV's to go through then the last thing you need is to wade through pages of tosh! Mine's a bit too long for my liking, a list of areas of expertise, a page and a half of info about my previous 3 roles and a short list of roles before those 3, main industry related quals with obligatory GCSE's and then references, totals 2.5 pages in all. Would like to get it down to 2 pages but seem to have done rather a lot in the previous 3 roles that i can't seem to condense them any further.

Having done a lot of recruiting over the last 2 years (20+ positions) i would more often than not bin a cv that was over 4 pages as it is just not worth my time/effort to wade through it!

Mr_T · 27 Jul 2007 at 10:47

2 pages is the standard, 3 as an absoloute maximum... although I bet this is dependent on profession

Booner! · 27 Jul 2007 at 11:00

I would say 2 page standard.

I find that you should condense it and make sure the bullets are concise and reflect you in the shortest, but best phrased context.

This way, you can cut out unnecessary waffling and the reader can just hear good things

jas72 · 27 Jul 2007 at 11:04

Downsy said:
I would imagine a 6 page CV is rather off-putting to a HR person. Unless you've had multiple jobs over a 30-40 year period then you should be able to put it onto 2 sides.

HR aren't interested in what you did as a boy 30 years ago. Most relevant is last 10 years at most for the rest I just write: Full career history available on demand.

CF93 · 27 Jul 2007 at 11:05

Mr Nice said:
Entirely depends.

We are looking for some contractors for an deployment project and these cvs are in excess of 10 pages...

However they aren't your run of the mill CV's more of the techy variety.

Agreed, and that's just what I was told a couple of days ago by a recruitment specialist.

For specialist jobs which require particular skills and experience, it's necessary to give details even if that means using several pages. This specialist told me they regularly see CVs for project managers, business consultants etc which run to as many as 10 pages, and that's perfectly normal for those roles.

I'm looking around for a job and to be honest even though it's only been 10 years since I left uni, fitting all my skills and achievements in and keeping the CV to 2 pages was a nightmare - there's just so much missed off that really needs to be on there to get over to the recruiter where I'm coming from.

So don't worry if it goes a bit over - three pages for a CV is nothing much extra if it means you can get over enough evidence to give them the "wow, we gotta get this person" factor.

Mr Nice · 27 Jul 2007 at 11:35

CF93 said:
So don't worry if it goes a bit over - three pages for a CV is nothing much extra if it means you can get over enough evidence to give them the "wow, we gotta get this person" factor.

Indeed. A seasoned 20 year veteran is unlikey to have 2 page CV like a recent Uni graduate.

Danger Phoenix · 27 Jul 2007 at 11:50

Since I started working at Glotel around 3 weeks ago, I have seen over 1000 CVs... and the longest I have come across was 19 pages :eek:

I ignored it because it was so long, lol!

stoofa · 27 Jul 2007 at 12:11

I've always been told 2 pages, 3 if you must.