How to write a CV (UK guide)

A good CV does one job: gets you an interview. Here is how to write one that UK employers read to the end.

1. Start with your contact details

At the top: your name, phone number, email address, town or city, and a LinkedIn link if you have one. You do not need your full address, date of birth, nationality, marital status or a photo. UK employers do not expect them, and leaving them out reduces the chance of bias.

2. Write a short profile

Three to five lines under your name that say who you are, what you do and what you are aiming for. Make it specific to the kind of job you want.

Registered nurse with six years on acute medical and respiratory wards. Calm under pressure and confident with deteriorating patients. Looking for a Band 6 role with teaching responsibilities.

3. List your experience, most recent first

For each job: title, employer, location and dates (month and year). Under each, three to six bullet points. The best bullets start with an action verb and end with a result:

• Weak: Responsible for social media.
• Strong: Grew Instagram from 2,000 to 11,000 followers in a year with a weekly content plan.

Older or less relevant jobs can shrink to one or two lines.

4. Add education, skills and qualifications

Put your highest or most relevant qualification first. School leavers and graduates can put education above experience. List the skills the job advert asks for, and certificates or licences with dates.

5. Keep it to two pages

Most UK employers expect a CV of two pages at most. One page is fine early in your career. Academic and some medical CVs are the exception and can be longer.

6. Tailor it for every application

Read the job advert and person specification, then make sure the words they use appear in your CV where they are true. This helps with human readers and with the applicant tracking systems many employers use to filter CVs.

7. Make it easy to read

• One clear font, at a readable size
• Consistent headings and dates
• White space between sections
• Save and send it as a PDF unless the employer asks for Word

Common mistakes

• Typos and inconsistent dates
• Listing duties rather than achievements
• One generic CV for every job
• Unexplained gaps (a short line such as "Career break: caring for a family member" is enough)
• An email address that is not professional

The quick way

If you already have a CV, even an old or messy one, you can paste it into Your CV Studio. It sorts it into these sections, tidies the formatting and sets it in a design for your profession, with suggestions for stronger bullet points.