How far back should my UK CV go?

From twelve years of UK CV screening: hiring managers spend 80% of their CV-reading time on the most recent two roles. The fifth role back gets a 5-second glance. Anything beyond 15 years gets ignored entirely unless the candidate is being considered for a senior role where that history matters.

The graduated-detail formula. Full bullets (4-6) for the last two roles. Three bullets for the role before that. One or two lines for roles 4-5 back. Anything older summarised in a single 'Earlier career' line. This concentrates attention on what matters and frees space on page one for the work that earns the read.

What 'earlier career' looks like in practice. 'Earlier career: project management roles at [Company A], [Company B] and [Company C], 1998-2010. Specific responsibilities included [one-line summary].' That single line acknowledges the experience exists without forcing the reader through outdated detail. For technical roles, you can list the technologies you worked with in that period as a one-line summary.

When to drop years. Dates older than ~20 years can be replaced with the role and a vague timeframe ('Earlier career roles in retail and operations'). University graduation dates older than 15 years can be dropped from the education section (just the qualification and institution stays). This isn't about hiding age — it's about not signalling 'I can't edit this CV' to a hiring manager whose attention you want.

Specific exceptions. Academic CVs go back further because publication and grant history is the work history. Senior consulting and partnership-track roles often go back 15-20 years because the breadth of clients and engagements is itself the credential. Specialist technical roles (architects, lead engineers, complex programme managers) sometimes need older project history because the work was done at a specific scale that's hard to demonstrate in recent roles.

Where candidates over-pad. Listing every internship and short-term role from your early 20s when you're now 40+. Listing all degree dissertations, school positions, or temp jobs from before your professional career. Listing every certification you've ever taken. The CV should be a curated portfolio, not a complete archive.

Where candidates under-share. Sometimes a candidate has highly relevant earlier-career experience that's invisible because it's been compressed too aggressively. If you're moving into a sector you worked in 8 years ago after a 5-year detour, that earlier sector experience deserves more space than the recent detour. The rule isn't 'recent only' — it's 'relevant to the target role'.

Practical test. Print your CV. Hold it at arm's length. Can you tell within 8 seconds what role this person is currently looking for? If yes, the focus is right. If no, the older roles are crowding out the recent ones, and you need to compress.