A CV has exactly one purpose, and it is not to tell your life story. Its job is to get you an interview. A recruiter facing a stack of applications may give each one only a few seconds on the first pass, and increasingly your CV is read first by software before any human sees it. Both audiences reward the same thing: a clear, relevant, well-organised document that quickly shows you can do the job. Here is how to write one — with UK conventions in mind.
What a CV is
A CV (curriculum vitae) is a concise written summary of your skills, experience, education and achievements, used to apply for jobs. In the UK the term covers what some other countries call a resume. Whatever you call it, treat it as a marketing document, not an archive: its measure of success is not completeness but how effectively it persuades someone to invite you in.
That reframing changes how you write every line. The question is never "is this true of me?" but "does this help convince this employer I can do this role?" If a detail does not earn its place by that test, it is taking up space a better detail could use.
The right structure
Recruiters read fastest when a CV follows a familiar shape, so resist the urge to be clever with layout. A reliable UK structure, top to bottom:
- Name and contact details. Your name, phone number, professional email address and (often) your town and a LinkedIn URL. No need for a full postal address.
- Personal profile. Two to four punchy sentences summarising who you are professionally, your strongest relevant skills, and what you are looking for — tailored to the job.
- Work experience. Your roles in reverse chronological order (most recent first), with job title, employer, dates, and a few bullet points each.
- Education and qualifications. Again most recent first; school detail can shrink as your career grows.
- Skills. Relevant technical, language or software skills, especially any named in the advert.
- Optional extras. Certifications, volunteering, or relevant interests, if they add something.
Keep the design clean: a standard font, clear headings, plenty of white space, and no photos, tables-as-graphics or fancy columns that confuse automated systems.
Tailor it to the job
The most common reason a perfectly good CV gets nowhere is that it is generic. The fix is tailoring: adjusting your CV for each role so it speaks directly to what that employer wants.
In practice this means reading the job advert closely, noting the key skills and phrases it uses, and then making sure your CV reflects them where they are genuinely true of you. Reorder your bullet points so the most relevant experience comes first. Rewrite your profile to mirror the role. Use the same vocabulary the advert uses — if it asks for "stakeholder management," and that describes what you did, use that phrase rather than a synonym.
Many employers screen CVs with applicant tracking software that scans for relevant keywords. Mirroring the advert's language - honestly - helps you clear that first automated hurdle and reach a human.
This is the same skill of meeting an audience where they are that underpins good interview preparation: understand what the other side is looking for, then show them you have it.
Describe achievements, not just duties
Most CVs list what the person was responsible for. The good ones show what they achieved. Compare:
- Duty: "Responsible for managing the company's social media accounts."
- Achievement: "Grew the company's social media following by 40% in a year and increased engagement, using a planned content calendar."
The second tells the reader you can produce results, not merely occupy a role. Wherever you can, quantify — numbers, percentages, time saved, money earned — because they are concrete and credible. A useful pattern is to start each bullet with a strong action verb (led, built, delivered, reduced, launched) and, where possible, end with a result.
If you are early in your career and short on workplace achievements, draw on coursework, projects, part-time jobs, volunteering and societies. Skills like organisation, teamwork and problem-solving show up everywhere, not just in graduate jobs.
UK conventions and what to leave out
CV norms vary by country, so for UK applications keep these in mind:
| Do | Don't |
|---|---|
| Keep it to about two pages | Stretch to a CV-as-novel |
| Use a professional email address | Use a jokey or old personal one |
| Spell consistently in UK English | Mix US and UK spellings |
| Lead with relevant, recent experience | Bury the good stuff on page two |
| List skills named in the advert | List irrelevant or obvious skills |
Things to omit in the UK: a photo, your date of birth or age, marital status, nationality (unless directly relevant to right-to-work, which is handled separately), and a long list of generic hobbies. These are left off partly to reduce the scope for bias, and including them can make a CV look dated.
Common mistakes that cost interviews
A few errors sink otherwise strong CVs:
- Typos and grammar slips. They signal carelessness on a document meant to show your best work. Proofread, read it aloud, and ask someone else to check it.
- Being vague. "Good communication skills" means little; an example that demonstrates it means a lot.
- One CV for everything. As above — generic CVs rarely stand out.
- Unexplained gaps presented awkwardly. Brief, honest framing of career breaks is better than odd dates that invite suspicion.
- Inconsistent formatting. Mismatched fonts, dates and bullet styles look sloppy.
- Stretching the truth. Embellishment tends to unravel at interview or in references and is not worth the risk.
For a free, authoritative UK reference while you write, the government-backed National Careers Service offers CV guidance and examples.
A quick checklist
Before you send it, run through:
- Tailored to this specific job and its keywords
- Profile is sharp and role-specific
- Achievements quantified where possible
- About two pages, clean and consistent layout
- No photo, age or marital status
- Proofread by you and at least one other person
- Contact details correct and professional
Approaching your career deliberately — learning new skills and keeping them current — also makes your CV easier to write, a theme we explore in lifelong learning.
The bottom line
A strong CV is clear, relevant and tailored. Use a conventional structure so it is read quickly and screens well, match it to each job using the advert's own language, and describe achievements with results rather than listing duties. Keep it to about two pages, follow UK conventions by leaving off photos and personal details, and proofread until it is flawless. Get those things right and your CV does its one job — getting you through the door so you can do the rest in person.