How to write a CV: a step-by-step guide with examples

Your CV is often the first opportunity you have to show a recruiter or employer why you could be right for a role.

It does not need to include everything you've ever done. Instead, a good CV should make it easy for the reader to understand your experience, skills and achievements, and quickly see how they relate to the position you are applying for.

Whether you are writing your first CV, updating one you have used for several years or applying for a new type of role, this guide takes you through the process step by step.

We cover what to include in a CV, how to structure and format it, ways to make your experience more impactful and how to tailor your CV for different applications.

In this guide

• What should a CV include?
• What personal details should you put on a CV?
• How long should a CV be?
• How should you format a CV?
• How to write the main sections of your CV
• Should you include hobbies and interests?
• Should you include references on a CV?
• Using AI to help write your CV
• Common CV mistakes to avoid
• CV example: a simple UK CV structure
• Final CV checklist
• What happens after you have written your CV?

Jump straight to the final CV checklist ↓

What should a CV include?

There is no single CV format that will suit every candidate or profession, but most UK CVs should include the following sections:

• Name and contact details
• Professional profile
• Key skills
• Employment history
• Education and professional qualifications
• Any additional information that is relevant to the role

For most candidates, your employment history should be presented in reverse chronological order, starting with your current or most recent role.

The aim is to create a clear structure that allows someone reviewing your CV to find the information they need without having to search too hard for it.

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What personal details should you put on a CV?

At the top of your CV, include:

• Your full name
• Telephone number
• Professional email address
• Your general location, such as Manchester or London
• A link to your LinkedIn profile if it is up to date and relevant

You do not necessarily need to include your full home address.

In the UK, you do not usually need to include a photograph, your date of birth, marital status or other personal information that is not relevant to the role. Some employers may ask about your right to work in the UK as part of the application process, but you do not normally need to include this information on your CV.

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How long should a CV be?

For most professionals, aim for a CV of around two pages.

If you are at the beginning of your career and have limited experience, one page might be enough. More senior candidates, contractors or professionals with extensive specialist experience may occasionally need a little more space.

Always remember, relevance is more important than reaching an exact page count.

If information from earlier in your career no longer supports the type of role you are applying for, it can usually be shortened significantly. Don't feel you need to give the same level of detail to a role from 15 years ago as you do to your current position.

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How should you format a CV?

One of the most important things when writing a CV is making sure it is easy to read.

Use:

• A clear, professional font
• Consistent font sizes and headings
• Plenty of white space
• Short paragraphs
• Bullet points for responsibilities and achievements
• Consistent formatting for job titles and dates

Avoid making the design unnecessarily complicated. Multiple columns, graphics, charts, icons and text boxes can make a CV harder to read and may also cause problems when an employer uses an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) to process applications.

Your CV does not need to look plain, but the content should always be the main focus.

Should a CV be sent as a Word document or PDF?

Always follow the instructions in the job advert or application system if a particular file type has been requested.

A PDF can be useful because it preserves your formatting across different devices. However, some recruitment systems may process Word documents more reliably, so a .docx version is useful to have available.

Avoid submitting your CV as an image file.

It is also worth giving the document a clear, professional filename, for example:

Alex-Smith-CV.pdf

rather than:

CV-final-version-3.pdf

How to make your CV ATS-friendly

Many employers and recruitment businesses use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) to organise and manage applications. These systems can help recruiters store, search and review candidate information, but using an ATS does not necessarily mean that software automatically decides whether your CV progresses.

The best approach is to create a CV that is easy for both recruitment systems and people to read, with a clear structure and relevant information that demonstrates your suitability for the role.

To make your CV easier for an ATS to read:

• Use conventional section headings such as 'Professional profile', 'Employment history', 'Skills' and 'Education'
• Keep the layout relatively simple
• Avoid putting important information inside images or graphics
• Use relevant terminology from the job description naturally throughout your CV
• Spell out important qualifications or technical terms at least once before using acronyms
• Keep employment dates consistent
• Use bullet points rather than large blocks of text

However, do not copy entire sections of a job description into your CV or repeat keywords unnaturally. Your experience still needs to sound like your own.

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How to write the main sections of your CV

Once you have decided on the overall structure and format of your CV, the next step is to work through the content itself.

The following steps cover the areas that will usually need the most thought when writing or updating your CV.

Step 1: write a strong professional profile

Your professional profile should sit near the top of your CV and provide a short summary of who you are professionally.

Aim for around three or four sentences covering:

• Your profession or area of expertise
• Your level of experience
• Your strongest or most relevant skills
• The type of value you can bring to an employer

Try to avoid descriptions that could apply to almost anyone.

For example:

Too general:

Hardworking and motivated professional who works well independently and as part of a team. An excellent communicator looking for a new challenge.

This does not tell the recruiter very much about the candidate.

A stronger version might be:

CIPD-qualified HR Business Partner with eight years' experience supporting organisations through restructuring, organisational change and employee relations. Experienced in partnering with senior leaders and managing complex casework across multi-site organisations, with particular strengths in stakeholder management and workforce planning.

The second example immediately gives the reader more information about the person's level, expertise and relevant experience.

Step 2: tailor your CV to the job description

You do not need to rewrite your CV from scratch every time you apply for a job, but sending the same version for every opportunity can make it harder for an employer to see why you are a good fit. Instead, take some time to tailor your CV to the requirements of each role, highlighting the experience, skills and achievements that are most relevant.

Start by reading the job description carefully and identifying:

• The most important responsibilities
• Essential skills
• Required qualifications
• Systems or technical knowledge
• Particular sector experience
• Words or phrases that appear repeatedly

Then compare these requirements with your own experience.

Make sure the most relevant evidence is easy to find in your CV.

For example, if a Finance Manager role repeatedly mentions budgeting, forecasting and business partnering, but those areas are buried underneath less relevant information in your CV, bring them further forward.

This is not about changing your experience to fit the role. It is about making sure the most relevant parts of your genuine experience are prominent.

Step 3: write your employment history

Your employment history is usually the largest section of your CV and should make it easy for the reader to understand your career progression, responsibilities and achievements.

For each role, include:

Job title

Employer

Dates of employment

You can then add a short sentence providing context about the role or organisation if necessary, followed by bullet points covering your responsibilities and achievements.

Give the most detail to your recent and relevant roles, focusing on the responsibilities, skills and achievements that best demonstrate your suitability for the position you are applying for. You can summarise older or less relevant positions to keep your CV focused.

For example:

Finance Business Partner

Example Organisation | January 2023 – Present

• Partner with senior operational leaders across a £50m division, providing financial insight, budgeting and forecasting support.
• Lead the annual budgeting and quarterly forecasting process for five operational teams
• Provide financial analysis to senior leaders to support investment and resource decisions
• Redesigned monthly reporting, reducing the reporting cycle from eight working days to five
• Identified cost efficiencies worth £250,000 annually through analysis of supplier and operational spend

Focus on achievements, not just responsibilities

One of the most common CV mistakes is simply reproducing a job description.

Recruiters need to know what you were responsible for, but they also want to understand what you actually achieved.

Take a look at these examples:

Responsibility-led:

Responsible for managing the monthly management accounts process.

Achievement-led:

Led the monthly management accounts process across five business units, reducing reporting time from eight working days to five.

Or:

Responsibility-led:

Managed recruitment campaigns for the business.

Achievement-led:

Managed recruitment across 25 live vacancies, reducing average time-to-hire from 48 to 35 days.

Notice how the stronger achievement-led examples provide context and demonstrate the individual's contribution.

How to quantify achievements on your CV

Numbers can help give recruiters a sense of scale and make achievements more specific.

Depending on your profession, you could include:

• Revenue generated
• Costs reduced
• Budgets managed
• Time saved
• Percentage improvements
• Number of employees managed
• Size of a caseload
• Number or value of projects delivered
• Number of vacancies filled
• Customer or stakeholder satisfaction results
• Delivery timescales

For example:

Instead of:

Improved the onboarding process.

You might write:

Redesigned the employee onboarding process, reducing average completion time from four weeks to two.

However, do not force figures into every bullet point. Not every achievement can be measured numerically. If there is no meaningful number available, focus instead on the outcome.

For example:

Introduced a new triage process that gave managers a single point of contact for complex employee relations queries and improved consistency across the HR team.

Show what you personally contributed

When you have worked as part of a wider team, be clear about your own role.

Phrases such as "Worked on a major transformation programme" give very little indication of what you actually did.

Instead, try:

"Led the HR workstream within a wider transformation programme, coordinating consultation activity and supporting the transfer of 120 employees."

You should never take credit for work you did not do, but equally, don't hide your contribution behind vague descriptions of what the team delivered.

How to include temporary, contract or interim roles on your CV

A series of short assignments does not need to make your CV look inconsistent.

Temporary, contract and interim work is common across many professions and can demonstrate adaptability, specialist expertise and the ability to deliver quickly.

Make the nature of each assignment clear.

For example:

Interim Finance Business Partner – six-month contract

Example Organisation | January 2026 – June 2026

Brought in to support the organisation through year-end and strengthen financial reporting during a period of restructure.

• Managed forecasting across three business units
• Improved month-end reporting processes
• Provided financial support to senior leaders during organisational restructuring

If you have completed several assignments through the same recruitment agency, you may find it helpful to group them under one heading, listing each placement, the organisation you worked for, your job title and the relevant dates. This can make your employment history easier to follow while still demonstrating the breadth of your experience. However, make sure you clearly distinguish between individual assignments rather than presenting them as one continuous role.

The important thing is to show the purpose of the assignment and what you delivered while you were there.

How to explain career gaps on a CV

Career gaps are common and can happen for many reasons, including caring responsibilities, redundancy, travel, study, illness or simply taking time away from work.

You do not need to provide extensive personal information or apologise for having a gap. If the gap is relatively short, the dates elsewhere on your CV may be enough. For a longer period, you may choose to include a brief and factual explanation, but you do not need to disclose personal or medical information.

For example:

Career break | March 2024 – January 2025

Took a planned career break to focus on family responsibilities.

Or:

Career break | 2024

Completed professional study and gained [X qualification] before returning to full-time employment.

If there is useful experience from that period, such as volunteering, study, freelance work or professional development, include it where relevant.

Step 4: include your education and qualifications

Your education section should normally appear after your employment history once you have established professional experience.

Include qualifications that are relevant to your career, such as:

• Degrees
• Professional qualifications
• Industry certifications
• Relevant vocational training

There is usually no need for an experienced professional to list every GCSE individually.

Earlier in your career, however, education may be more important and can be given greater prominence.

Step 5: include relevant skills

Whether you need a separate skills section will depend on your profession.

It can be particularly useful where employers are looking for specific technical expertise, software, systems, qualifications or specialist knowledge.

For example:

Key skills

• Financial modelling
• Budgeting and forecasting
• Power BI
• SAP
• Business partnering
• Team leadership

Avoid filling this section with broad claims such as 'hardworking', 'motivated' or 'good communicator' without providing evidence elsewhere in your CV.

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Should you include hobbies and interests?

You do not have to include hobbies and interests on a CV.

For an experienced candidate, the space may be better used to demonstrate professional experience and achievements.

However, interests can occasionally add useful context, particularly if you are early in your career or they demonstrate something relevant that is not shown elsewhere.

If you include them, be specific. For instance, 'Running' tells the reader very little, whereas 'Member of a local running club and completed my first marathon in 2025' gives more context.

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Should you include references on a CV?

You do not usually need to provide referees' names and contact information on your CV. Employers will normally request references later in the recruitment process. You can leave the section out altogether rather than using valuable space to write 'References available on request'.

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Using AI to help write your CV

AI tools can be useful when writing or updating a CV, particularly for:

• Improving structure
• Identifying information that could be more concise
• Checking grammar and spelling
• Suggesting alternative wording
• Comparing your CV with a job description
• Helping you identify where you could provide stronger evidence

For example, if you want to improve how you describe your experience, you could use a prompt such as:

"Review the following section of my CV and suggest ways to make it clearer, more concise and focused on my achievements. Keep the language professional and natural, and do not add any responsibilities, skills or results that I haven't provided."

You can also ask AI to compare your CV against a job description and highlight relevant skills or experience that you may not have communicated clearly enough. However, you should always review the suggestions carefully and only include information that accurately reflects your experience.

Be mindful that your CV must still accurately represent you!

Do not use AI to invent achievements, responsibilities, qualifications or figures. You should also be careful about allowing AI-generated wording to make your CV sound generic. Phrases such as 'results-driven professional with a proven track record of delivering excellence' may sound polished but tell an employer very little.

Use AI as an editing tool rather than allowing it to write a version of your career that no longer sounds like you. You should also consider what personal, employer or commercially sensitive information you are entering into an AI platform before using it.

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Common CV mistakes to avoid

Even a well-written CV can lose impact if it contains avoidable mistakes. Some of the most common CV mistakes include failing to tailor your application, focusing too heavily on responsibilities rather than achievements, and including information that is outdated or irrelevant. Before submitting your CV, check for the following issues.

Using the same CV for every application

Your core CV may stay the same, but the emphasis should reflect the role you are applying for.

Listing duties without achievements

Give recruiters evidence of what you delivered, not simply what your job involved.

Including too much information

Older or less relevant experience can normally be reduced. Focus your space on the information most likely to influence the employer's decision.

Using vague language

Claims such as 'excellent leader' or 'strong communicator' are more convincing when supported by examples.

Overcomplicating the design

A CV should be easy to read. Design should help organise the information rather than distract from it.

Leaving unexplained inconsistencies

Check employment dates, job titles and chronology carefully. Small inconsistencies can create unnecessary questions.

Spelling and grammatical errors

Read your CV carefully after making any changes. Reading it aloud can help you spot awkward wording, and it can also be useful to ask someone else to proofread it.

Forgetting to update older sections

When adding a new role, review the rest of your CV at the same time. Previous jobs may need shortening, tense may need changing and some old information may no longer be relevant.

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CV example: a simple UK CV structure

The following structure can provide a useful starting point when writing your CV.

ALEX SMITH

Manchester | 07xxx xxx xxx | alex.smith@email.com | linkedin.com/in/alexsmith

Professional profile

CIPD-qualified HR Business Partner with eight years' experience supporting organisations through organisational change, employee relations and workforce planning. Experienced in partnering with senior stakeholders across complex, multi-site organisations and leading HR projects from planning through to implementation.

Key skills

• Employee relations
• Organisational change
• Workforce planning
• Stakeholder management
• TUPE
• HR policy development
• People management

Employment history

Senior HR Business Partner

Example Organisation | March 2022 – Present

• Provide strategic and operational HR support across a 1,200-employee division, partnering with directors and senior managers.
• Lead HR support for organisational change programmes, including restructuring and consultation
• Manage complex employee relations cases and advise senior leaders on risk and appropriate action
• Developed and introduced a manager training programme to improve the handling of employee relations issues and promote a more consistent approach across the organisation
• Led a workforce planning review identifying critical capability gaps across three operational teams

HR Business Partner

Previous Organisation | June 2018 – February 2022

• Partnered with operational managers across four sites
• Supported recruitment, succession planning and performance management
• Managed a broad employee relations caseload
• Contributed to the implementation of a new HR system

Education and professional qualifications

CIPD Level 7 Advanced Diploma in Strategic People Management

CIPD | 2021

BA (Hons) Business Management

Example University | 2017

Use this as a framework rather than something to copy word for word. Your CV should reflect your profession, experience and the particular role you are targeting.

If you would prefer a template to help you get started, you can download our free General CV template or Legal CV template if you would prefer a ready-made structure to work from.

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Final CV checklist

Before submitting your CV, ask yourself:

• Are my contact details correct?
• Is the most relevant information easy to find?
• Have I tailored the CV to this particular role?
• Does my professional profile say something specific about me?
• Have I demonstrated achievements as well as responsibilities?
• Have I quantified results where it genuinely adds value?
• Is my personal contribution clear?
• Have I used simple, recognisable section headings?
• Is the formatting consistent?
• Are my employment dates accurate?
• Have I explained any significant career gaps where appropriate?
• Have I removed unnecessary personal information?
• Have I checked the spelling and grammar?
• Does the filename look professional?
• Have I followed any instructions about the required file format?
• Does everything in the CV accurately represent my experience?

Finally, read it from the recruiter's perspective. Within a short amount of time, could somebody understand what you do, what level you operate at and why your experience is relevant to the role?

If not, look again at what you can remove, clarify or bring further up the page.

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What happens after you have written your CV?

A strong CV gives employers the evidence they need to consider you for the next stage, but it is only one part of your application.

If the role requires a cover letter, use it to expand on the most relevant parts of your experience and explain why you are interested in that particular opportunity rather than simply repeating your CV. Read our How to write a cover letter: a step-by-step guide with examples for more advice.

You can also browse our latest jobs or register with Sellick Partnership to speak to one of our specialist recruitment consultants about your next career move.