1 Page CV: 6 One Page CV Examples and When to Use 2 Pages
By Mustafa Tarabya, founder of CVBooster · Published · Updated
10 min read
A 1 page CV fits your contact details, a three line profile, your recent experience and your education on one side of A4, and it is the right length for school leavers, graduates and anyone with under about five years of relevant work. The constraint is that UK guidance sets a maximum, not a target: UCAS says a CV should be "no longer than two sides of A4 paper, typed (not including your cover letter)." So the question is never which length is correct, only whether your relevant experience fills a second page. Below are six complete one page CV examples for UK jobs, checked in October 2026, and a section on when a 2 page CV is the better choice. Written by Mustafa Tarabya, who hired for his own company, read every application himself and now writes CVBooster's guides.
Somewhere there is a CV with a two page layout, one line on page two, and that line is "References available on request". Page two exists only to announce that page two had nothing to say.
The first example is the most common 1 page CV: a school leaver applying for a first job.
Entry level: school leaver applying for a retail assistant job (187 words)
AISHA MAHMOOD Bradford | 07700 900128 | aisha.mahmood@example.com
PROFILE School leaver with A levels in Business and English, looking for a part time or full time retail assistant role. Two years of Saturday work in a family run bakery, serving customers at the counter, handling cash and opening up on Saturday mornings. Reliable, available weekends, and happy to work early starts.
EXPERIENCE Saturday Counter Assistant | Hill Street Bakery, Bradford | Sep 2024 to present - Serve customers at a busy counter, often with a queue out of the door before 10am. - Handle cash and card payments and count the till at the end of the shift with the owner. - Open the shop on Saturdays, setting out the window display and labelling allergens.
Volunteer | Bradford Food Bank | 2023 to 2024 - Sorted donations and packed food parcels one evening a week.
EDUCATION Beckfoot Sixth Form, Bradford | 2024 to 2026 A levels: Business (B), English Language (B), Psychology (C) GCSEs: 8 at grades 9 to 5, including English and Maths
SKILLS Customer service, cash handling, Microsoft Word and Excel, Urdu (fluent)
Who should use a 1 page CV
Use one page if everything relevant fits on it without shrinking the font below 10 point. In practice that is most school leavers, students looking for part time work, recent graduates and people with one or two jobs behind them. Prospects quotes the University of Chester careers service: "We recommend CVs are no longer than two A4 pages". The same team adds that "for students seeking part-time jobs, they may be shorter". That is the one page CV's natural territory.
A one page CV still needs every standard section. The National Careers Service lists them: "Your CV should include a section for your contact details, an introduction, your education history, your work history and references." You can keep references off the page itself; the space goes further as two more lines of experience, and the references on a resume guide covers what to send instead.
Five more one page CV examples
Graduate: one page CV for a graduate scheme (171 words)
JAMES WHITAKER Sheffield | 07700 900256 | james.whitaker@example.com
PROFILE Geography graduate applying for logistics and supply chain graduate schemes. Final year dissertation on delivery routing in rural areas using GIS, and a summer placement planning van routes for a regional parcel depot. Comfortable with Excel and data, and used to early starts from three years of part time warehouse work.
EDUCATION BSc (Hons) Geography, 2:1 | University of Sheffield | 2023 to 2026 Dissertation: last mile delivery routing in the Peak District, using QGIS
EXPERIENCE Summer Operations Placement | Northway Parcels, Rotherham depot | Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 - Helped the transport planner build daily van routes for around 30 drivers. - Updated the missed delivery tracker in Excel and flagged repeat addresses to the depot manager.
Warehouse Operative, part time | Peakside Distribution | Oct 2023 to May 2026 - Picked and packed orders on evening shifts using a handheld scanner, meeting the shift pick rate.
SKILLS Excel (pivot tables, lookups), QGIS, route planning, full UK driving licence
Early career: retail supervisor with three years of experience (184 words)
CHLOE EVANS Cardiff | 07700 900367 | chloe.evans@example.com
PROFILE Retail supervisor with three years at a high street fashion chain, running the shop floor on late shifts for a team of six. Opens and closes the store, handles the end of day cash up, and trains every new starter on the tills. Looking for an assistant store manager role.
EXPERIENCE Retail Supervisor | Harbour Clothing, Cardiff | Mar 2024 to present - Run the floor on late shifts for a team of six, setting breaks and tasks. - Open and close the store, cash up the tills and complete the banking. - Train new starters on tills, returns and stockroom procedures, around ten a year. - Lead the weekly delivery, getting new stock from the stockroom to the floor the same day.
Sales Assistant | Harbour Clothing | Jun 2023 to Feb 2024 - Served customers, handled returns and kept the fitting rooms running on weekends.
EDUCATION BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma in Business, D*DD | Cardiff and Vale College | 2023
SKILLS Team supervision, cash handling, stock control, visual merchandising, Welsh (conversational)
Mid level: administrator with five years in two offices (156 words)
DANIEL OSEI Reading | 07700 900478 | daniel.osei@example.com
PROFILE Office administrator with five years across a property lettings agency and an engineering firm. Manages diaries for three directors, processes around 200 supplier invoices a month in Xero and keeps the office running for a team of 25. Looking for a senior administrator or office manager role.
EXPERIENCE Office Administrator | Kennet Engineering Ltd, Reading | Jan 2023 to present - Manage diaries, travel and meeting rooms for three directors. - Process around 200 supplier invoices a month in Xero and chase approvals. - Look after supplies, IT equipment logs and building contractors for an office of 25.
Lettings Administrator | Thames Valley Lettings | Sep 2021 to Dec 2022 - Prepared tenancy agreements and right to rent checks for around 15 new tenancies a month.
EDUCATION A levels: Business, History, Maths | Reading College | 2021
SKILLS Xero, Microsoft 365, diary management, invoice processing, minute taking
Career changer: chef moving into a customer service role (194 words)
MARK DONNELLY Belfast | 07700 900634 | mark.donnelly@example.com
PROFILE Chef de partie with seven years in busy restaurant kitchens, moving into a customer service or contact centre role with regular hours. Used to working under pressure, dealing with complaints from the pass and training junior staff. Calm on the phone from years of taking supplier orders and handling bookings when front of house was short.
EXPERIENCE Chef de Partie | The Linen Quarter Grill, Belfast | 2021 to present - Run the grill section on services of up to 150 covers, keeping tickets moving at peak times. - Handle allergy questions and complaints from guests at the pass with the restaurant manager. - Phone in daily orders to five suppliers and chase missing deliveries before service. - Train two commis chefs a year on prep, food safety and section setup.
Commis Chef | Harbour Kitchen | 2019 to 2021 - Prepared starters and desserts and covered the phone for bookings on quiet afternoons.
EDUCATION NVQ Level 3 Professional Cookery | Belfast Metropolitan College | 2019 Level 2 Food Hygiene certificate, current
SKILLS Working under pressure, complaint handling, phone ordering, training, Microsoft Word, rota planning
Senior level: experienced project manager cut to one page (162 words)
SARAH LINDQVIST Glasgow | 07700 900589 | sarah.lindqvist@example.com
PROFILE Project manager with twelve years in construction, the last six leading school and healthcare refurbishments worth up to £8m. PRINCE2 Practitioner and NEBOSH certified. Delivers on programme by fixing the design and the supply chain early, not by chasing on site.
EXPERIENCE Senior Project Manager | Clydeside Build Ltd, Glasgow | 2020 to present - Lead school and health centre refurbishments from £2m to £8m, with teams of up to 40 including subcontractors. - Delivered a primary school extension over one summer holiday, handed over before term started. - Run monthly client and design team meetings and report cost and programme to the board.
Project Manager | Forth Contracts | 2016 to 2020 - Managed housing association refurbishment programmes across 300 homes.
Earlier roles: Assistant Project Manager and Site Engineer, 2013 to 2016
EDUCATION AND CERTIFICATION BEng (Hons) Civil Engineering | University of Strathclyde | 2013 PRINCE2 Practitioner; NEBOSH Construction Certificate; CSCS card
When a 2 page CV is the better choice
A 2 page CV is right when your relevant experience genuinely fills it: usually five or more years in the field, several roles that each matter to the job, or technical, academic or clinical work where the detail is the evidence. Prospects notes that "a three-page CV might be needed for those in high-level roles", which tells you that two pages is completely normal for an experienced candidate.
Sarah's CV above shows the other side. She has twelve years of experience and still fits on one page, because her earlier roles are cut to a single line and every bullet is about work the next employer will care about. If her target job asked for detail on contract types, procurement routes and health and safety records, she would move to two pages and use the space for that.
If you do use two pages, follow three rules:
- Page one must work on its own. Profile, current role and your strongest results all go on page one. Some readers never turn over.
- Fill page two properly. Aim for at least half of page two. A few lines on page two looks like a formatting accident.
- Put your name and page number at the top of page two, in case the pages are printed and separated.
The two page resume guide covers the page break in more detail, and the resume length guide explains where the one page rule came from.
How to cut a CV down to one page
Most two page CVs that should be one page can be cut in twenty minutes without losing anything a reader wanted:
- Cut older roles to one line. Job title, employer and dates. Anything older than ten years rarely needs bullets.
- Keep three or four bullets per role. Pick the ones that answer the job advert. The National Careers Service advice to tailor your CV to each job applies here: what is relevant changes with each application.
- Delete the objective and the hobbies unless the hobby is directly relevant.
- Merge skills into one line, separated by commas, instead of a list or a chart.
- Set margins to around 2cm and the font to 10 or 11 point. Do not go below 10.
Then read it as the employer. If the top third answers the advert, the length is right. The CV examples page has more full layouts by field, and if your work is in marketing, the marketing CV examples show six UK CVs from graduate to head of marketing.
Frequently asked questions
Is a 1 page CV better than a 2 page CV?
Neither is better in general. A 1 page CV is better when everything relevant fits on one side, which is true for most school leavers, students and graduates. A 2 page CV is better when you have years of relevant experience that a reader needs to see. UK guidance sets two sides of A4 as the maximum.
Is a one page CV OK for an experienced candidate?
Yes, if it still shows your recent roles and results properly. Experienced candidates often fit on one page by cutting older jobs to a single line and keeping three or four bullets per recent role. Move to two pages if the job asks for detail you cannot fit without cramming.
How long should a CV be in the UK?
No more than two sides of A4. UCAS and university careers services both give that limit. School leavers, students and recent graduates usually need one page. Academic, medical and some senior CVs can be longer, but for most jobs in the UK, one or two pages is the expected length.
Can I use a 2 page CV for a graduate job?
You can, but most graduates fit on one page and it usually reads better. Use a second page only if you have substantial relevant experience, such as a year in industry, research or several relevant part time jobs. If page two would be mostly hobbies and references, cut back to one.
What should I leave off a 1 page CV?
Leave off your full address, date of birth, photo, an objective statement, references and hobbies unless they relate to the job. The National Careers Service advises against including your age, date of birth, marital status or nationality. Use the space for experience and results instead.
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