--- type: Article title: '"How long should a CV be?" – A typical freelancer question nobody can really answer' description: 'Freelancers discuss page length, research backgrounds in CVs, and what needs to be on page one.' url: https://khal.it/en/blog/wie-lange-darf-ein-cv-sein locale: en timestamp: '2025-07-21' tags: ['freelancing'] --- # "How long should a CV be?" – A typical freelancer question nobody can really answer The other day in a Slack channel for freelancers in the DACH region, the CV topic came up again. Or more specifically: How much is too much? And when is less actually just right? Reading through it, I immediately thought of my own CV. It's been through more versions than my Spotify algorithm has favorite songs. And honestly: I used to wonder whether I was even _allowed_ to show all that stuff. The answers from the discussion were interesting – contradictory, but helpful. ## 1. Two pages? Three? Six? – It all depends on the format The thread started with someone who had quite a few stops on their CV: industry, academia, research, self-employment. A colorful mix. The question: **How many pages is this thing allowed to have?** Opinions ranged from "short and punchy" to "if it's relevant, then yeah, even 14 pages." Sounds like overkill? Maybe. But someone said, completely deadpan: "My profile is currently 6 pages – and it's not even particularly detailed." I had to laugh. My longest CV was once seven pages. I never sent it out – and now I'm wondering: Maybe I should have just gone for it. ## 2. Page one has to land What _everyone_ agreed on though: The first page is everything. That's your pitch. Not the place for a degree from 2008 or old volunteer work. What matters: A clear title (e.g. "Senior Data Scientist / Solution Architect" instead of just "Freelancer"), a sharp profile summary, a tech/tools overview. The rest can come later – but if someone doesn't know what you do after page one, they're not reading page two either. ## 3. Old projects? Papers? Volunteer work? – Only if it fits One topic that always comes up: What stays in, what gets cut? Example: Research papers. The consensus was pretty clear: If you work as a DevOps engineer, nobody cares about an old paper on linear optimization. One good idea came from someone with a research background: List publications with a _short bit of context and a link_ rather than a full citation. Whoever wants to know more will click. Everyone else stays unbothered. My own trick: For every section in my CV, I ask myself: **Does this help someone place me faster?** If not – cut it. Or shove it into an appendix. ## 4. Research on your CV? Depends A lot of people in the community come from research – and struggle with how it comes across on a CV. Real talk: Often not great. People from research rarely get credit for being able to handle time pressure or budget constraints. That might be unfair – but it's reality. That doesn't mean you should hide your research background. It means: **Translate it.** Not: "I researched XY." But: "I built prototypes in cross-functional teams, structured processes, delivered results." Ideally in language that works in industry – without the academic fog. ## 5. What actually counts: Delivery + Credibility Whether you come from research, an agency, or a corporate career: At the end of the day, what matters is **what you can deliver today.** Someone in the discussion put it roughly like this: > "What you can actually do and what you can credibly communicate are two different things." And that's exactly what a CV is about: Don't just show everything you've ever done – show what you're good at right now. And make it believable. Real life over buzzwords. Examples over claims. Links, projects, talks, repos – anything that shows: I can do this, and I can do it now. ## Conclusion: The perfect CV isn't perfect – but it's honest You can't write your CV for everyone at once. But you can shape it so that it fits you – and shows potential clients what they actually want to know. If you come from research: Don't just show results, show **how** you worked. If you've switched industries a lot: Show the common thread that runs through it all. And if you're having doubts on page 3, 4, or 5 – ask yourself: **Is this actually relevant?** If yes: Keep it. If no: Cut it.