The answer first, then worked wording you can adapt. Start with the question you have now, or open the guide for the section you are writing.
A UK CV leaves out your photo, date of birth, age, marital status and nationality, gives your town rather than your full address, and runs to no more than two sides of A4 for most jobs. Referees’ details and your right-to-work documents are given when the employer asks, not on the CV.
Check the UK CV rulesTwo sides of A4 is the usual maximum for a UK CV. One side is enough for a first job, a student or a school leaver.
Get the length rightCV stands for curriculum vitae, Latin for “the course of (your) life”. In the UK a CV is the one- or two-page document you send employers to show your work history, education and skills.
What CV stands forUse a chronological CV when recent relevant work is your strongest evidence. Use a skills-led structure when the evidence comes from different settings, and an academic CV for a research or teaching record.
Choose your layout and file type‘No experience’ usually means no formal job yet. You may still have evidence from school, college, university, volunteering, clubs, caring, community activity, personal projects or informal paid work.
Build a CV without paid experiencePut four to eight skills on your CV: ones the job advert asks for and that a line in your work history proves. Below are skill lists for common UK job families, each with the evidence that makes them believable, then how to choose and prove your own.
Choose skills you can supportUse one clear font that comes with Word and most computers, such as Arial, Calibri, Cambria or Georgia, at 10.5 to 12 point for the main text and about 16 to 28 point for your name. Keep margins between about 1.3 and 2.5 cm.
Choose a font and sizeA gap in employment is a period when you were not in paid work. Start with an accurate private timeline, then decide what the employer needs to understand.
Explain a gap in your CVA CV personal statement, also called a profile or summary, is three or four lines under your contact details: who you are in work terms, two or three things the rest of your CV proves, and the job you want next. Start from the example closest to you below, swap in your own facts, then use the method further down to check it.
Write a specific personal statement
Start with the job advert, choose your strongest evidence, then write and check each section.
How to write a CV for UK jobs: step by step
A CV personal statement, also called a profile or summary, is three or four lines under your contact details: who you are in work terms, two or three things the rest of your CV proves, and the job you want next.
CV personal statement examples: 25 UK examples to adapt
Give each job, placement or volunteering role a line with its title, employer and dates, most recent first, then two to five bullets saying what you did, how much of it and what came of it.
CV work experience: turn duties into evidence
‘No experience’ usually means no formal job yet.
CV with no experience: UK structure and examples
Use a chronological CV when recent relevant work is your strongest evidence.
UK CV format: choose your layout and file type
Start with an original chronological Word CV.
Google Docs CV template: UK files and export steps
A UK cover letter is three to five short paragraphs on one page: the job you are applying for, one or two examples from your CV that prove what the advert asks for, why this employer, and a polite close.
How to write a UK cover letter: template and example
A gap in employment is a period when you were not in paid work.
How to explain an employment gap on your CV
Put four to eight skills on your CV: ones the job advert asks for and that a line in your work history proves.
CV skills: lists by job and how to prove each one
List the qualification, institution and dates.
Education on a CV: UK qualifications and examples
Give your name and the contact details an employer needs to reach you.
Personal details on a UK CV: photo and references
Keep right-to-work proof separate from your CV.
Right to work on a CV: what UK applicants should say
CV stands for curriculum vitae, Latin for “the course of (your) life”.
What does CV stand for? Meaning and CV vs resume
Use one clear font that comes with Word and most computers, such as Arial, Calibri, Cambria or Georgia, at 10.5 to 12 point for the main text and about 16 to 28 point for your name.
Best font for a CV: UK font, size and margins
Two sides of A4 is the usual maximum for a UK CV.
How long should a CV be? UK pages and what to cut
Add hobbies and interests when they show something the job needs, or when you have little work history and they are your evidence.
Hobbies and interests on a CV: UK examples that help
A UK CV leaves out your photo, date of birth, age, marital status and nationality, gives your town rather than your full address, and runs to no more than two sides of A4 for most jobs.
UK CV rules: photo, age, address, references and length
Start each CV bullet with a past-tense verb for past jobs (“Organised”, “Trained”) or a present-tense verb for your current job (“Organise”, “Train”), then say what, for whom and what changed.
Action verbs for a CV: UK word list with examples
Cut words that anyone could write about themselves (“hard-working”, “team player”, “passionate”) and phrases that describe a job rather than what you did (“responsible for”, “duties included”).
Words to avoid on a CV: buzzwords and what to write instead
A UK cover letter is one page: your contact details, the date, the employer’s details, a greeting, a line naming the job, four short paragraphs and a sign-off.
Cover letter format: UK layout, length, greeting and sign-off
Open with the job you are applying for and one specific reason you fit it, in one or two sentences.
Cover letter opening lines: 12 UK examples to adapt
Use a subject line with the job title and any reference, write a short message of three or four lines, attach your CV as a PDF (or Word if asked) named with your name, and send it from a plain, professional email address.
How to email a CV: subject line, message and file name
Put an achievement on your CV when it shows something the job needs and you can say what you did to earn it.
Awards and achievements on a CV: what counts and where
Volunteering is experience: list it like a job, with your role, the organisation, the dates and two or three bullets about what you did.
Volunteering on a CV: how to list it as experience
Show a promotion by putting the employer once with your whole time there, then each job title with its own dates underneath, newest first.
How to show a promotion on your CV (same employer)
An accessible CV uses real headings (Word styles, not just bold text), a clear font at 10.5 point or more, dark text on a light background, simple layout and a PDF exported from Word with tags.
Accessible CV: make your CV easy to read for everyone
Most weak CVs fail in the same few ways: a vague profile, duties instead of results, missing or messy dates, personal details a UK CV leaves out, and a design that hides the content.
Bad CV examples and how to fix them
On an NHS Jobs application, the supporting information section is where you show how you meet the person specification.
NHS supporting information: a worked example
Civil Service jobs are recruited with Success Profiles, and an application form may ask for written examples of the behaviours the advert names (GOV.UK).
Civil Service behaviour statements: two worked examples
A teaching application asks for a personal statement that shows how your experience meets the job description, with specific examples and their effect on pupils.
Teacher personal statement: a worked example
Most interviews ask about you, the employer, your past work, your strengths and weaknesses, and why you are leaving (National Careers Service).
Interview questions and answers: eight worked examples
Most employers know that applicants use AI tools (Prospects); what they will not accept is a tool inventing anything.
Using AI on your CV: what employers allow, and prompts to use
Two different things share the name.
Personal statement: CV or UCAS? Which one you need
A narrative CV, such as UKRI’s Résumé for Research and Innovation (R4RI), describes your contributions in prose under four module headings, so you can show a wider range of skills and experience than a traditional academic CV (UKRI).
Narrative CV: how to write one, with a complete example
A video CV is a short film in which you introduce yourself and show why you suit the job.
Video CV: how to plan one, with a worked script
Your last day worked out from your notice, with four example letters and an email.
Four complete references from a teacher, a manager, a colleague and a volunteering organiser.
A thank-you after an interview, a follow-up, asking a referee and accepting an offer.
Write a first draft
Check an existing CV
Match a job advert
Write a cover letter