UK career guide
How to write a CV for the job you are applying for
A CV is a summary of your skills, achievements and experience. Its job is not to record everything you have done. It is to make the evidence most relevant to this vacancy easy to find.
Name, phone, email and an optional work-profile link.
A short summary shaped around the target role.
Recent work first, with actions and outcomes.
Relevant qualifications, institutions and dates.
Follow the advert without publishing a referee's details.
1. Read the job advert before editing the CV
Start with the job description, essential criteria and the work the role actually involves. Mark the skills, experience and qualifications the employer is asking for, then decide where your CV proves each one.
Tailoring does not mean copying every phrase into a skills list. It means choosing the experience and results that make those requirements credible.
2. Use the sections an employer expects to scan
The National Careers Service recommends contact details, an introduction, education history, work history and references. The order of education and work can change. Put education earlier when you are near the start of your career; put work earlier when experience is the stronger evidence.
Contact details
Include your name, phone number, email address and a relevant professional-profile link if you use one. Do not normally add your age, date of birth, marital status or nationality. Do not publish a National Insurance number or financial information in a job-search document.
Introduction
Use a few lines to state the type of work you do, the experience most relevant to the vacancy and what you would contribute. Replace general claims with role-specific information.
Work history
List the most recent experience first. Include employer, title and dates, then use short bullets for the work and its effect. Paid work, volunteering and placements can all provide evidence.
Education
Show the qualification, institution and dates. Give more detail to qualifications that matter to the role and reduce the space used by older, less relevant study as experience grows.
References
Do not publish another person's contact details on the CV. Follow the employer's instructions or state that references are available on request.
3. Turn responsibilities into evidence
A list of duties describes the role. Evidence describes what you did with it. Start with an action, name the work and add the result or scale where it can be supported.
From duty to evidence
Responsible for customer queries and updating the team spreadsheet.
Resolved 35 to 45 customer queries each week and rebuilt the case tracker, reducing unassigned requests from 18 to 4.
The second version gives an employer something to assess. Use numbers only when they are true and you can explain how they were measured.
4. Use STAR without writing a full story in every bullet
Situation, Task, Action and Result is useful for finding the evidence. On the CV, the final bullet can usually be much shorter: lead with the action, retain enough context to understand it and finish with the result.
5. Make the page readable in a quick review
Use a consistent font, headings, dates and bullet style. Keep the body text large enough to read and leave enough space for sections to be distinguished. Avoid using layout decoration to hide missing evidence.
A two-page CV is a useful working limit for many applications, but it is not a rule for every occupation or employer. Follow the advert and give relevant evidence the space it needs.
6. Check the tailored version before sending
Common CV mistakes
- Sending the same emphasis to every vacancy.
- Using an introduction made entirely of unsupported adjectives.
- Giving duties more space than achievements.
- Putting key evidence near the end because it happened years ago.
- Including personal details the employer does not need at CV stage.
- Publishing a referee's contact details without a reason or instruction.
- Ignoring a request for an application form or anonymous format.
Build the CV and application pack offline
Compare CV Builder Base, CV Builder Pro and the Job Application Tracker in the Methodwise Career collection.
UK CV questions
Should every CV be two pages?
No fixed length suits every occupation and level of experience. Two pages is a useful editing constraint for many roles, but the vacancy instructions and relevance of the evidence come first.
Should a photo be included?
Do not add one unless the application specifically requires it for a legitimate reason. An ordinary UK CV is assessed on skills, achievements and experience.
Should gaps be hidden?
No. Use accurate dates and be prepared to explain gaps briefly. Relevant skills can also come from volunteering, projects, caring responsibilities and other experience.