The CV question

OU812

Did a search but the most recent posts I could find were 2009.

Contract coming to an end, have to polish up the CV, but when I put this latest position on there it rolls to 3.5 pages (4 pages).

Obviously I don't want to lose detail, I've worked for some high profile companies & gained some pretty specific experience. So what's the answer to it ?

I'm using Verdana 10, so font wise I can't go much smaller. I've cut down the personal information to name/address/phone & email (even removing my linked-in address as it was another line). I've also removed all education information & interests.

I do have some less relevant information to my current field from 1987 - 1996, but that leaves a nine year gap from leaving school to when I started doing what I do.

Nody

Why not leave anything older then ~5 years with one or no bullet point? Simply Title of position, date, company. Add more detail on your linked in profile and put it back in again.

Also cut out any details on on any schools (i.e. leave it as a two line item only) etc.

tatli_lokma

Have more than one of your jobs had similar duties? if so you can group them together.

So you could have
Date from - to

Company

Date from - to

Company

Date from - to

Company

In the above roles I was employed as a [insert position title]. My main duties in these roles were:

• duty
• duty
• duty

Projects I completed were:

• project - company name - details
• project - company name - details
• project - company name - details

You can also put at the top part - i.e. the bit that gets read straight away, the specific or specialised experience you have - again it can be in bullet form.

I wouldn't worry about listing all your positions since school - it is really your most relevant roles and/or your roles in the last 5-10 years. I don't really care what you did 17 years ago unless it is really relevant to the job. So if space is a factor leave it out, or otherwise just say from this date to this date I held roles in xxxxxx. My main duties were blah blah blah. A few lines is sufficient.

I'm like you and after 15+ years of working my CV would be really long if I were to list each job and duty. You will find that some roles have very similar day-to-day duties and responsibilities. It is very repetative if you repeat the same things over and over. IMO it is a much better CV that streamlines these similar roles, as it shows that you have the ability to recognise this and organise similar jobs in a way that makes more sense. This is particularly important if you are looking for work in admin or project work as categorising and organising things are key factors in these roles.

Also, there are a few different layouts you can choose, which might help with making it look good. If you do a google search you will find LOADS of choices.

When I am assessing CV's I find it really irritating to read the same thing over and over, even if it is worded slightly differently each time. The only time this is acceptable is for lower level jobs.

Zeek12

The career stuff from 1987-1996 should be no more than a few bullet points. That's really going back a long way. You only need to show you were productive at this time. The detail isn't very important.
I would'nt remove education or personal interests if you can avoid it. Education only needs a couple of bullet points too; school/college attended and qualification received. That's all you need.
Personal interests are a nice way to round off a CV. Try and fit them in. Just one line is enough to name off 3 or 4 hobbies.

gallifreya

Don't forget the header and footer spaces on the page. As you have a lot of information to convey the layout will be key. Good use of columns can look really well. If you google 'detailed resumes' and go to images there's loads of examples there. Also remember you have a cover letter which can be used to highlight and flag your recent achievements in greater detail.