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CV guide (for UK employers) 

A CV is a professional document used when applying for jobs. It allows you to: summarise education, skills and relevant work experience enabling you to successfully demonstrate your suitability for specific roles to potential employers. Alongside a CV, employers may also ask for a cover letter. 

Important information 

  • Typically, your CV should be no longer than 2 sides of A4. However, there are exceptions. An Academic CV or Narrative CV can be longer.  
  • Tailor each CV to the intended role and employer. What are they looking for? Include relevant experiences, achievements, qualifications, skills, behaviours and strengths. It will take longer but will also improve your chances. 
  • Have several versions. Tailoring each CV may mean having different versions. Keep these saved so you can use them for similar roles in the future.  
  • Provide evidence to your statements. Qualify your skills and strengths with short examples – for instance, ‘Led a group project that was behind schedule by reorganising tasks and introducing weekly check-ins, resulting in on-time submission and a high mark’. 
  • Be honest. Employers will likely uncover any untruths in your CV. They do, however, value self-awareness, potential, and displaying capacity. So, where you may have areas of development, this could be conveyed as a strength.  
  • Avoid spelling errors. Check and re-check your CV for spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. Have someone else look over your CV before sending it out.  

What to include in your CV? 

Contact details 

 
This should include your: 

 

  • full name  
  • current address  
  • mobile telephone number, and  
  • email address.  

 

Do not include your date of birth or photograph in your CV. You can include a link to your professional networking profile; such as, LinkedIn, a website or online portfolio. 

 

Profile 

 
This is a concise introductory statement highlighting your key attributes. It can help you stand out from the crowd. It should be 3 to 5 sentences long. You can pick out a few (2 to 3) relevant achievements and skills, as well as expressing your career aims. You should tailor this section by focusing on the sector/job/company that you are applying to. 

 

Education 

 
Include your current and previous education, including any professional qualifications. Present this information in reverse chronological date order (the most recent first). Include the qualification’s full title. You must also include grades along with dates (start month/year and end month/year) and mention specific modules, where relevant. 

 

Work experience 

 
Include these in reverse chronological date order (the most recent first), including experience relevant to the role you are applying for. In each entry, incorporate the skills, behaviours and strengths you displayed or developed, relevant to the role you are writing your CV for.  

 

Include:  

 

  • the full job title 
  • company name 
  • dates (start month/year and end month/year), along with  
  • key responsibilities.  

 

Also highlight any achievements or awards that you might have received in your roles. 

 

Skills 

 
In this section, you should focus on additional skills that you have - such as languages and IT packages that you have experience of using. Ensure that these are relevant to the role you are applying for. This section should not include job-specific skills.  

 

If you would like to prepare a CV focusing on your skills, you can create a skills-based CV. With a skills-based CV, you can highlight 4 to 5 skills, with 3 relevant examples from your work, academic or extra-curricular activities. 

 

Interests 

 
Your interests should support your application and help to provide a complete picture of who you are. Try and move away from including interests such as ‘socialising’ or ‘going to the cinema’, as these will not help you stand out from the other applicants. Think about how you can highlight any relevant soft skills from your hobbies and interests. If you are not sure, or do not have any relevant hobbies or interests, then you can leave this section out. 

 

References 

 
You do not need to include your reference details at this stage. Instead, you can say ‘references available on request’ - but if you are short on space, you do not need to include this as employers will expect this to be the case. 

Things to consider 

  • Use your name as your document title, not ‘curriculum vitae’ or ‘CV’. Use a larger font size and make your name bold. 
  • Include section headings to break up your CV into sections. You can make these headings a slightly larger font size or put them in bold and underline them. 
  • Use fonts, such as Arial or Calibri, and size 11 or 12 for general text.  
  • Use bullet points to make the information easily accessible. 
  • Save your CV with a professional document title if you are sending it electronically - for example. ‘Joe Smith Marketing CV’ 
  • Highlight transferable skills from home country experience. UK employers value global experience if it is relevant and clearly presented.  
  • Avoid overly formal or passive language. UK employers prefer clear, concise, and active writing. For example, use terminology like: 
  • “Scheduled and coordinated over 30 meetings per month, improving team efficiency.” 
  • “Resolved customer issues with a 95% satisfaction rating over 6 months.” 
  • “Handled 50+ daily calls, providing timely support and product information.” 
  • “Conducted market research to support campaign targeting, increasing ROI by 15%.” 
  • Use British spelling (for example, ‘organisation’, not ‘organization’) and ensure dates are formatted as month and year. 

Types of CV 

Chronological CV 

  • Best used for candidates with relevant and consistent experience - such as part-time work, relevant volunteering, internships, placement year or a previous work history. 
  • Demonstrates a clear timeline of experience. 
  • Presents your work history in reverse chronological order. 
  • Has a strong emphasis on job title, dates and employers, and shows progression of experience, skills and work behaviours.  

Skills-based CV 

  • Best for students or graduates with limited experience, or to demonstrate transferrable skills. 
  • Focusses on your core skills and strengths, rather than the order or timeline of your work history.  
  • Structured on what you can do, rather than where or when you did it. 
  • The ‘skills’ section takes more prominence with 4 or 5 skills categories listed with evidence provided underneath, drawn from work, study or extra-curricular activities 
  • Work history and education are still included but often listed briefly.  

Creative CV 

  • Allows you to display your creative flair. Research the industry you are applying to, to be confident that this CV type will be well received. 
  • While visual presentation is one aim, ensure the content demonstrates your suitability 
  • Ensure it remains easy to read, and can be electronically scanned and saved by the employer 
  • If links to a portfolio are included, ensure your portfolio is professional and up to date 

 

For more information on how to write CVs, please head to the following resources: 

Student Circus: International Student Careers Manual  

Handshake – YSJ Article: CVs, Applications and more: CVs & cover letters 

Prospects – How to write a CV 

Prospects – Creative CV Guide 

Book a 1-to-1 appointment with the Careers Service for personalised feedback on your CV. Whether you are new to the UK job market or updating an international CV, we are here to help! 

How to book via Handshake: 

  • Log in to Handshake using your York St John University email. 
  • Go to the "Career Centre" tab. 
  • Select "Appointments" and choose "Book an Appointment". 
  • Select London Careers Appointments and Choose “London Careers Clinic Sessions”. 
  • Pick a time that works best for you and confirm your appointment. 

 

 

 

Keywords: CV, job, curriculum vitae