Slim Down Your CV: Practical Ways to Cut It Without Killing the Story

## Slim Down Your CV: It’s a marketing brochure, not a biography Direct answer: Treat your CV as a targeted marketing brochure — cut roles older than 10–15 years, use the Rule of 5-3-1 to prioritise detail, and remove anything that doesn’t directly prove you can do the job you’re applying for right now. ## Why length hurts (and what to cut first) Long CVs increase cognitive load. Recruiters scan; they do not read novels. A dense three- or four-page document buries your best achievements and reduces the chance someone will actually remember you. Start by deleting anything that doesn’t show current ability or seniority. High school and early role minutiae are almost always expendable once you have a university degree or 5+ years' experience. Replace long role histories older than 10 years with an "Early Career History" list containing only Job Title, Company and Dates — no bullets. If your employer isn’t a household name, add one line of context (sector, scale or turnover) to borrow credibility. This single line helps recruiters understand why a role mattered without a parade of bullets. ## Practical trimming rules: Rule of 5-3-1, formatting limits and smart cuts Use the Rule of 5-3-1 to force prioritisation: up to 5 bullets for your current role, 3 for the previous, and 1–2 for the one before that. This tapering makes your most recent work the visual and cognitive focus. Cut before you format. If you’re tempted to drop the font below 10pt or collapse margins, stop. Readability loses every time. Keep body text at 10–11pt (11pt preferred for Arial/Calibri) and margins no smaller than 0.5 inches; if you still need space, cut content, not white space. Concrete edits that save space and preserve story: - Remove "References available upon request" — it’s assumed. - Delete high-school and A-level details if you have a degree or 5+ years' experience. - Turn long duty lines into impact bullets using Action + Context + Result; front-load the number where possible. - Aggregate multiple minor projects into a single summary bullet: "Led 6 product pilots, selecting two for scaling based on X metric." Decide ruthlessly: if a line doesn’t help the reader answer "Can they do this role?", it goes in the archive. ## The Ruthless Editing Checklist - [ ] Did you aggregate roles older than 10 years into an "Early Career History" list (no bullets)? - [ ] Have you applied the Rule of 5-3-1 to recent positions? - [ ] Are bullet points no longer than two lines each (trim filler words)? - [ ] Did you remove high school / A-level results if you have a degree or 5+ years' experience? - [ ] Is "References available upon request" removed? - [ ] Is your body font 10pt or larger (preferably 11pt for common fonts)? - [ ] Are margins no smaller than 0.5 inches and spacing still readable? - [ ] Have you front-loaded the top 2 results per role (Result first, then how you did it)? - [ ] Have you tested the layout on screen and on mobile (and checked printed preview)? *For more on positioning your career history, explore our [Career Strategy](/career-strategy) insights.*