Are you going to apply for a job in the UK? You must be setting your CV and cover letter. While you are tuning these official documents, you need to know what the ideal CV size is and how long Should a CV be. Continue reading and get detailed answers to all those questions.

Why Your CV Size Matter the Most?

You can't send a very long CV highlighting all your accomplishments or achievements to your prospective employer. Keep in mind; you aren't the only candidate who applied for a particular job. On average, one job opportunity attracts more than 200 applications. Imagine an employer has to check 200 CVs in a day.

Do you think he will go through a two-to-three page CV? The first thing to note is that he doesn't have time to read every aspect of your work life. Second, he will lose all attention to your CV if it's too long to read. So, it's a must that your CV must be short and precise. It must have all the essential elements and key-achievements of your work-life, though.

How Long Should a CV be in the UK?

The Ideal Length of a CV should be only two pages. However, it must be dependent on your work-life experience. In case you are a student, you won't have much to mention under your work experience and key achievements. On the flip side, a professional with more than 10 or 20 years of work experience has a lot to demonstrate.

Students can add their internships and volunteer experiences. Recruiters will understand that you have nothing to mention under the experience category so that they will pay attention to your soft skills and other life achievements. An experienced person needs to include only vital facts. Ensure that you adjust all those facts in only a page or two of pages and don't extend your CV beyond that.

How to Reduce CV size?

Here are some ways to keep the Length of CV short while adding all the vital details.

Keep it Relevant

If a job position is about marketing, add all those jobs that can make a strong impression on your recruiter. Omit all those jobs or work experience that aren't relevant to a particular position. In case you have done a management job or a short-gig that doesn't enforce your marketing capabilities, no need to make it a part of your CV.

Keep it To-the-Point

If you have been working as a manager for the last thirty years, you can date back to only 15 years. Don't mention all the years. Employers will check your cover letter as well, in which you can explain your 30 years of work history a bit. While you are explaining your job duties, Use first person and creative and active voice sentences, and thereby, your CV length will be reduced. Sentence length increases with passive voice, so avoid it wherever you can. Try to comprehend your job duties as much as you can.Check latest CV Trends for Getting Fast Interview Call

Make it Short and Presentable

Although you have two pages to provide all the vital information about you, it doesn't mean that you add 30 years of experience without white space. You will attain an ideal CV length and size by adding all the essential details. The CV needs white spaces so that a recruiter can skim through it effortlessly. Bullet points make it easy to read. So, keep it short and presentable.

Font Style also matters. Use Bold for headings, don't bold every other line. The ideal font size for CV formatting is 12. You can opt for standard fonts that every person uses in the office, aka Time New Roman, Arial, Georgia, Tahoma, Lucida Sans, and Bell MT. Avoid fancy fonts as they are tricky to read.

Check What CV Format You Need to Use for Internship

Keep font size consistent throughout your CV. It's not like you are using 12 on one page and 14 on another page. It won't look great. Increasing font-size means decreasing space for writing all crucial details of your work life. If you increase the font, you will have to omit important information. So, stick to standard formatting.

Avoid Repetition If you have made your point about one accomplishment pretty clear once, don't write it twice. Repeating it won't make you stand out from the crowd. Avoid synonyms as much as you can. Recruiters don't like to read about the same thing over and over again. Has nothing to add more? No worries; keep your CV simple and easy to read—no need to add fancy jargons or things that don't make any good sense in the office.

How Should Long be a Cover Letter UK?

As you have details of how long a CV should be, the next thing to deal with is your cover letter's Length. Suppose you ask me why the size of a cover letter matters, then the simple answer is that the recruiter doesn't have hours to read your life long story in the workplace. He is willing to give your cover letter in one or two minutes. Therefore, your cover letter UK length should be the only page. As you will print this cover letter, ensure that this letter will be printed correctly on an A4 page.

How Many Words to Write in a Cover letter?

You can write a letter of 250 to 450 words long with three to four paragraphs. The ideal Length of a cover letter in the UK is one page long.

What should be the Length of the Email Cover letter?

Are you applying for a job online? In that case, you need to send a cover letter in an email. The question again is what should be its Length. Well, keep it short, like only 250-400 words. An adult's average reading speed is 300 words in one minute, so keep that information in mind while composing this letter. Although you can write a cover letter in your email body when you attach it in the doc or pdf format, it looks more formal and professional. As you are sending it through email, no need to add the contact address of your employer.

Check Nurse Cover Letter Samples and Tips

Why Ideal Size of Cover Letter Matters?

How many paragraphs do you need to add in your Cover letter to the UK? You can write three or four maximum. Write your work story in a way that it doesn't exceed one page. The time factor isn't the only consideration to keep in mind while composing a cover letter in the UK. Another thing to know is that recruiters will lose their attention while reading a three-page long cover letter.

The purpose of sticking to the ideal size of a cover letter is to gain attention. It's essential to keep this letter short or concise so the recruiter will get an idea of who you are as quickly as possible. If you beat around the bush on the first page while mentioning the most critical facts on another page, the recruiter won't get who you are, and thereby, you won't get an interview call.

Do you want that? Of course, not. Keep your cover letter UK Short, to-the-point, and engaging.

How to Maintain Ideal Size of Cover Letter?

Here are two ways to do that.

Method No.1 Follow Formal Format

The First Paragraph of your letter is all about you. Answer the following questions "Who are you? What do you do? And why are you applying for a job?

The second Paragraph means showcasing your strengths and accomplishments. Please answer the following questions. "What have you done the best in your work-life?. What makes you proud? Why should a company hire you? In the second paragraph, you can use bullet points to keep your recruiter engaged in your letter. Besides bullet points, let him review your record quickly.

The third Paragraph is convincing the employer to hire you. Tell them what you have done for your past employers. It's good to share numbers and statistics to boost recruiter's interest. Also, explain what benefits a company will get if they hire you.

The last Paragraph is to add those words, which will make the recruiter call you for an interview. Therefore, you need to repeat here that you are very much interested in this job. Show your passion for work. Demonstrate your courtesy by thanking the hiring manager for reading your letter.

Now comes the best part- ask him that you are waiting for his call. Share your contact details. As you have got a four-paragraph format, then keep your ideal cover letter size within the ideal length limit by following this format. Stick to it, don't try to go outside this format.

Method No.2 Add Only Key Points

As you have already mentioned critical skills and educational details in your CV, don't repeat anything here. A cover letter means telling a story and keeping the recruiter well-engaged. For this purpose, you need to highlight the only key and relevant accomplishments. Avoid wordy phrases. Keep your words concise and to-the-point. Explain only two achievements and with less-possible details. Keep your sentences direct and in an active voice.

Wrap Up

The purpose of sending a CV and cover letter is to get an interview call from your recruiter. You know the answer to how long it should be a CV and how long it should be a cover letter in the UK. Try to stick with the ideal CV and cover letter length because of size matters. You are sending a job application to get the recruiter's attention, and a lengthy application won't be helpful in this regard. Therefore, try to write concisely and clearly. Follow all those ways to reduce the Length of your cover letter and CV in the UK. Happy Job Hunting!