What Is a CV and How Do You Write One

What is a CV?

CV stands for curriculum vitae.

A CV gives an employer an overview of your skills, experience, education and achievements. Employers may use it to decide whether to invite you to an interview.

Your CV does not need to include everything you have ever done. Focus on information that is relevant to the job you are applying for.

There is no single format that every CV must follow. Your CV should be easy to read, accurate and tailored to the role.

Before you start

Read the job advert carefully before writing or updating your CV.

Look at:

  • The main responsibilities of the role
  • The skills the employer is looking for
  • Any essential qualifications or experience
  • Desirable skills or experience

This will help you decide which parts of your experience to highlight.

You do not need to meet every desirable requirement to apply, but make sure you understand any requirements that are essential for the role.

What should you include?

A CV will usually include:

  • Contact details
  • A short personal profile
  • Education and qualifications
  • Work experience
  • Relevant skills
  • Relevant achievements or activities

Contact details

Include:

  • Your name
  • Telephone number
  • Professional email address
  • Your town or city
  • A professional LinkedIn or other work-related profile, if you have one

You generally do not need to include your:

  • National Insurance number
  • Date of birth or age
  • Marital status
  • Photograph
  • Full home address

Only provide personal information that is relevant or specifically requested by the employer.

Personal profile

A personal profile is a short introduction at the beginning of your CV.

It can briefly explain who you are, your key skills and what type of work you are interested in.

For example:

“Motivated university student with volunteering experience and strong communication and organisation skills. Interested in developing experience within a community-focused organisation.”

Keep your profile short and relevant to the role.

Education and qualifications

Include your relevant education and qualifications, such as:

  • University or college
  • School
  • Qualifications
  • Relevant subjects
  • Grades or results, where useful
  • Relevant achievements
  • Dates

If you are currently studying, make this clear.

If you are early in your career and do not have much work experience, you may want to put your education section before your work experience.

Work experience

Include relevant paid and unpaid experience, such as:

  • Previous jobs
  • Part-time work
  • Work placements
  • Internships
  • Volunteering
  • Apprenticeships
  • Relevant projects

For each role, include:

  • Employer or organisation
  • Job title or role
  • Dates
  • Main responsibilities
  • Relevant achievements or skills

Try to explain what you actually did rather than simply listing your job title.

Less useful:

Worked in a shop.

More useful:

Provided customer service, processed payments and helped maintain an organised shop floor.

The second example gives the employer a better idea of your responsibilities and experience.

What if you have little or no work experience?

This is normal, particularly if you are applying for your first job.

You can use other experiences to demonstrate your skills, including:

  • Education and university projects
  • Volunteering
  • Sports
  • Societies
  • Community activities
  • Caring responsibilities
  • Personal projects
  • Part-time work

Think about what you did and what skills you developed.

For example:

Organising an event could demonstrate planning and communication.

Being part of a sports team could demonstrate teamwork and commitment.

Running a personal project could demonstrate initiative and problem-solving.

You do not need to make these experiences sound more impressive than they were. Focus on what you genuinely did and learned.

Skills

Think about the skills that are relevant to the job.

These might include:

  • Communication
  • Teamwork
  • Organisation
  • Customer service
  • Problem-solving
  • Time management
  • IT or technical skills
  • Languages
  • Leadership

Where possible, give examples of how you have used these skills rather than simply listing them.

For example, instead of:

“Good communication skills.”

You could write:

“Developed communication skills through volunteering at a community event, where I worked with members of the public and other volunteers.”

This gives the employer an example of the skill in practice.

Tailor your CV to the job

It is a good idea to tailor your CV for each job you apply for.

Look at the job advert and identify the skills, experience and qualifications the employer is looking for. Then make sure your CV highlights any relevant experience you have.

For example, if a job advert asks for teamwork skills, include an example of when you worked as part of a team.

If it asks for customer service experience, highlight relevant experience where you dealt with customers, service users or members of the public.

Tailoring your CV means highlighting relevant experience — not inventing experience you do not have.

What about a cover letter?

Some employers ask for a cover letter or supporting statement as part of the application.

A cover letter gives you an opportunity to explain:

  • Why you are interested in the role
  • Why you are interested in the organisation
  • How your skills and experience match the role

Always follow the employer’s instructions. If they ask specific questions or give you a word limit, make sure you follow them.

You do not need to repeat your entire CV. Use the cover letter to explain why you are interested in the role and why you could be a good fit.

Not every employer will ask for a cover letter, so check the job advert.

What about gaps in your experience?

You may have gaps between jobs, education or other activities. This can happen for many reasons, including:

  • Health issues
  • Caring responsibilities
  • Travelling
  • Studying
  • Redundancy
  • Unemployment
  • Personal circumstances

Having a gap does not automatically mean you should not apply for a job.

You do not necessarily need to explain every gap on your CV. If you are asked about one during an interview, be honest and explain it in a way you are comfortable with.

If relevant, you can mention what you were doing during that time, such as studying, volunteering, caring for someone or developing new skills.

References

A reference is information about you provided by someone who knows you, your work, education or experience. An employer may ask for a reference during the recruitment process to help them understand your experience, skills or suitability for the role.

The person providing the reference is called a referee.

There are different types of references:

  • Work reference: Usually provided by a current or previous employer. It may confirm things such as your job title and dates of employment, or provide more information about your skills and experience.
  • Character reference: Provided by someone who knows you well and can comment on your character, strengths or suitability for the role. This could be a mentor, volunteering supervisor or another appropriate person. 

Who could you use as a referee?

Depending on the employer’s requirements and your experience, a referee could include:

  • A current or previous manager or employer
  • A supervisor from a part-time job
  • A volunteering supervisor
  • A placement supervisor
  • A teacher, lecturer or tutor
  • A mentor or another appropriate professional who knows you well

If you are applying for your first job and do not have previous employment experience, ask the employer whether they will accept a character or educational reference.

Always ask someone before giving their details to an employer and make sure they are happy to provide a reference. It can also be helpful to tell them what job you are applying for so they understand the role.

You do not normally need to put your referee’s contact details on your CV unless the employer asks you to. You can leave references off your CV or write:

References available on request

An employer may ask for references later in the recruitment process, so check the job advert or application instructions carefully. 

Keep your CV easy to read

Employers may have many applications to review, so make your CV easy to understand.

Use:

  • Clear headings
  • Short paragraphs
  • Bullet points
  • Consistent formatting
  • A simple, readable font
  • Enough space between sections

Avoid using complicated language simply to sound more professional.

How long should a CV be?

There is no single required length for a CV.

For many people starting their career, one or two pages is usually enough.

Focus on including relevant information rather than trying to reach a particular number of pages.

Before you send your CV

Use this quick check:

  •  Have you tailored your CV to the job?
  •  Are your contact details correct?
  •  Are your dates and qualifications accurate?
  •  Have you included relevant experience and skills?
  •  Is everything truthful?
  •  Have you checked your spelling and grammar?
  •  Is the formatting consistent?
  •  Have you followed the employer’s instructions?
  •  Have you saved the file in the format requested?
  •  Does the file name look professional, such as Alex-Smith-CV.pdf

Further information

For additional CV and careers support: