How to write a UK CV

A UK CV is short, plain and aimed at one job, and this guide shows you how to build one section by section.

Last reviewed 22 October 2026 · Written by the Acing team

What a UK CV is for

A CV has one job: to get you an interview. Employers often scan many applications quickly, so yours needs to be clear, short and aimed at the role. This guide covers UK conventions, the sections to include, and how to tailor and format your CV. For the wider picture, see our careers hub and the full guides list.

UK conventions to follow

Length: A two-page, reverse-chronological CV is the usual UK style, according to the University of Manchester careers service. Some employers ask for one page. If so, keep the same rules and cut harder.
No photo: Photos are not normal practice on a UK CV.
Leave out personal details: Skip your date of birth, marital status and nationality. The National Careers Service gives the same advice on age, date of birth, marital status and nationality. The government's Find a job service goes further: never put bank details, your National Insurance number or your date of birth in a CV or application.
Contact details: Name, phone number, email address and, if you have one, a link to your LinkedIn profile.

Why those details are left off

Under the Equality Act, employers must not treat applicants unfairly because of protected characteristics such as age, disability, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation, according to Acas. Details like your age or marital status are not needed to judge whether you can do the job. Leaving them off keeps the reader focused on your skills. Acas also says that any equality monitoring information must be kept separate from application forms and CVs, so if an employer asks you to fill in a monitoring form, it should not be tied to your CV.

The sections of a CV

Use this outline as your starting point. Adjust the headings to fit your background.

Section	What goes in it	Tip
Name and contact details	Name, phone, email, LinkedIn link	Use a sensible email address based on your name.
Personal profile (optional)	A few short lines on who you are and what you want next	Write it for the specific role.
Education	Courses, grades, relevant modules or projects	Put this first if you are early in your career.
Work experience	Employer, job title, dates, 2 to 3 lines per role	Most recent first. Include placements and volunteering.
Skills and achievements	Languages, software, awards, responsibilities	Back each skill with evidence somewhere in the CV.
Interests (optional)	Activities that show skills, such as captaining a team	Keep it short and relevant.
References (optional)	Only people who have agreed to be your referee	Tell your referees in advance.

Chronological or skills-based?

The main careers services recommend a reverse-chronological layout: your newest education and work come first. Manchester suggests showing your skills inside each role, with evidence, rather than in a separate list of claims. That is the safest layout for most people.

If your experience does not match the job closely, you can still adapt a chronological CV:

Group related roles under a heading such as "Relevant experience".
Use the profile to explain why your skills transfer.
Put your strongest points first within each section.
Count part-time jobs, volunteering, work placements and family businesses as experience.

Employment gaps are common and are not a reason to hide anything. The National Careers Service has separate guidance on explaining them. If you are applying for your first job, lean on projects, work experience, volunteering and hobbies that show skills. If you are moving sectors, our assessment centre guide shows how employers test those transferable skills later in the process.

Writing the personal profile

The National Careers Service says to keep the introduction to a few short lines: who you are, what you want to do next, and why you suit this role. Manchester describes the profile as optional and puts it at roughly three to six lines. It is most useful when no cover letter goes with your CV, or when your skills transfer but your degree or experience is not an obvious match.

A weak profile lists adjectives. A stronger one names your situation, your focus and one piece of evidence:

Example: "Year 13 student with six months of weekend retail experience, applying for an apprenticeship in customer service. Confident handling queries and cash, and keen to learn on the job."

Describing your experience

For each role, give the employer, job title and dates, then two or three lines on what you did. The National Careers Service suggests writing those lines with the STAR method (situation, task, action, result). Our STAR interview technique guide explains it in detail. Start bullet points with strong action verbs and finish with the outcome where you can.

Weaker: "Responsible for the till."
Stronger: "Handled cash and card payments on busy weekend shifts and resolved customer queries without needing a manager."

Tailoring your CV to the job advert

Tailoring is where most CVs are won or lost. The National Careers Service advises reading the job description, essential criteria and company details, then highlighting the skills and experience the employer asked for. If there is no job description, its job profiles list typical skills and tasks.

Copy the essential criteria into a list.
Next to each one, note your best matching example.
Move those examples higher in your CV and use the advert's own wording where it is honest.
Cut or shorten anything that does not support the application. Remove outdated information.

A practical approach, suggested in the Find a job guidance, is to keep one master CV and adapt a copy for each application.

Making it ATS-friendly

Many employers use applicant tracking systems (ATS) to read and sort CVs. Manchester notes that a Word document is often the best format for these systems, and that mirroring the language of the job description helps both software and people scan quickly. To keep your CV readable:

Use a plain font such as Arial, Calibri or Times New Roman at size 11 or larger, as the National Careers Service suggests.
Use clear headings and bullet points, and keep the style the same throughout.
Avoid complicated layouts, heavy colour and decorative design.
Line up your dates and use consistent bullets and spacing.

The Find a job service accepts Word or PDF uploads, so check each employer's instructions before you choose a format.

Final checklist before you send

Is it two pages or fewer?
Have you left out photo, date of birth, marital status and nationality?
Does the top third match the job advert?
Does every role have two or three lines of evidence?
Is the formatting plain and consistent?
Has someone else checked spelling and grammar?

Next step

When your draft is ready, the free CV checker compares a pasted CV with a job advert and gives you an instant check of the gaps. After you apply, move on to the STAR interview technique. If you are still deciding on a route, see our education pages for study options.

Free tools for this

CV checker — Score, missing keywords and fixes for your CV against a UK job advert.
Cover letter generator — A one-page UK cover letter from the role and three of your achievements.
STAR answer builder — Rough notes in, a clear Situation-Task-Action-Result answer out.
Interview question generator — Likely questions for your job, what each one tests and how to answer.

Sources

General information only. Check details with your school, exam board, employer or adviser.