CV/Cover Letter advice

Naggins

I'm currently re-jigging my cv. A former employer had a look at my cv and said to expand it out from the 2 pages to 3 pages to go further into detail on some jobs. I've always stuck to 2 pages as a rule of thumb, but as I have expanded my cv is now a full 3 pages. Which is better, 2 or 3 pages?

For cover letters, what should be the rule of thumb for these and what should they include.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

Gael23

Mine was nearly 3 pages and I was told by a careers adviser in College to keep it to 2 pages. Now i'm a graduate looking for my first job so maybe that makes a difference.
I didn't feel right shortening it because I had to take stuff out but then I was in an interview just yesterday and was told that my CV was almost too detailed

blindsider

IMO:

2 pages. More = filler. Unless you have a list of major achievements, publications, awards etc, 2 pages of carefully crafted CV is the max.

If your earlier jobs etc include summer work or p/t in school/college, then reduce this to 1-2 lines - no more.

Cover letter should be 3 short paragraphs (Less is more!). This is designed to get the recruiter to actually read your CV.

Para 1 - convince me you have the skills for the job.

Para 2 - tell me what else you have - what's special about you?

Para 3 - summary of 1 & 2 + willingness to meet to discuss.

Spell-check!!!!!!! Check your grammar etc also! Get a friend to read your CV. Do you know anyone in an Agency or HR? If so, ask them to read your CV.

Mr. Loverman

Your last two jobs can be detailed. Everything else is probably too long ago.

If you find yourself writing a lot of detail about a job from 1988, you're probably wasting your time.

Gael23

I was in an interview just a few days ago and he told me that my CV was almost too detailed and that it answere many of the interview questions

Naggins

Thanks for the advice guys. 2 pages is the common standard so i'm gonna have to cut it down some way or another.

B.A._Baracus

A CV is all about your cover letter in my view. Companies can get hundreds sometimes even thousands of cv's for a well publicised job these days. No HR manager (or whoever) is going to spend 2 minutes reading each cv. They just glance at the cover letter. So keep it short and to the point.

olliesgirl55

C.V. should be 1 to 2 pages. You can tailor your C.V. to the job you are applying for. Cover letter should be short concise and highlight what specific skills you can bring to the job. Also your cover letter should convey to the employer your desire to be part of their team. You can click on the link below which gives plenty of good tips on cover letters.
http://jobsearch.about.com/od/coverlettersamples/a/coverlettsample.htm

Good Luck:)