The simple rule
- 0-3 years: 1 page.
- 3-10 years: 2 pages.
- 10+ years or executive: 2 pages, occasionally 3 (with an "Executive Summary" at the top).
When to break the rule
- Researcher / academic: Multi-page CV with publications is standard.
- Government / PSU job: Their forms dictate length.
- Consulting cases / portfolio roles: Add a separate "Selected Projects" appendix.
The 3 cuts that take you from 2 pages to 1
- Drop college clubs, Class 10 board, hobbies.
- Compress 5+ years of older roles into 2-line entries.
- Reduce skills to a 4-line block, grouped.
What recruiters say in interviews
"If you're a fresher with two pages, I assume you padded. If you have 8 years on one page, I assume you couldn't prioritize."