My friend who works in IT is looking for a position as an IT administrator. Her CV is almost 5 pages long. Is this acceptable? If not, how can I cut down the list of work experience (that is the biggest bit)?

Thanks for your advice.

Cut the extended detail out of the older job descriptions, just list dates and job title and at most a sentence about it. From the older jobs, you can list any relevant/important skills/technologies as bullet points in a skills section rather than as detailed descriptions under each job heading. Only write more detailed job descriptions for the last 2-3 most recent jobs. CV doesn't need to give a detailed account of everything you've ever done, just the important highlights and enough to make someone want to call you in for more info at an interview. Try to pick out key skills/acheivements, rather than trying to include every thing you've ever done. And of course for each application, these key attributes should be tailored according to the employer you are targeting.