Cv Help - Work History - How Long??

[Secretary99]

I am getting conflicting advice on this point. How much work history do you need to put in your CV? Just 10 years or all your work history? or 10 years and then just put jobs before that very briefly, i.e. dates, title etc. Help!!!

[Zacs-Master]

A CV should be no more than 2 sheets of A4.

[Secretary99]

Thanks Zacs-Master but how much work history do I need to include?

[Buenchico]

If in doubt, go back all the way but putting the most recent jobs first and, if necessary, simply summarising the earliest employment.

e.g. start with "2011 to present: Deputy Controller of thingummy production at Bloggs and Whatsit Ltd, with special responsibility for staff development within the widgets section and oversight of health and safety policies throughout the company"
but end with
"1980 to 1991: Lathe operator, producing widgets and whatsisnames, at Slavedriver plc, then at Hardgrafter Ltd and Brownoser Developments Inc".

[buildersmate]

Yup. Absolutely as the two guys above say. Two pages max and use about one and a third pages to cover the last ten years - so that could be 2 to 3 jobs.
There's no simple rule as it depends how many years experience you have and how many employers.
But more than ten years back the recruiter is merely scanning what is written to get an idea how the candidate got to that point - the experience further back has little or no relevance in deciding to invite to interview or not. Aside from qualifications obtained further back.

[kinell]

i agree..... any more than 2 pages of 12 point is rubbish bin fodder.
have disposed of so many tolstoy length cv's.
not interested in primary school education, rambling inflated job descriptions.
even worse someone who thinks it important to list in great detail their hobbies.....like gardening, decorating, sunny holidays, charity work etc in the vain hpe it will impress rather than demonstrate that the job i am offering will for sure be poorly placed in their priorities.
broad dates....i.e. 2010-2011, not june 10 2010 to november 30 2011.. too much unneeded detail is a distraction