How to write a Curriculum Vitae (CV)

What is a CV?

A CV, which stands for curriculum vitae, is a document used when applying for jobs. It allows you to summarise your education, skills and experience enabling you to successfully sell your abilities to potential employers. Alongside your CV employers also usually ask for a cover letter.

In the USA and Canada CVs are known as résumés. These documents tend to be more concise and follow no particular formatting rules.

How long should a CV be?

A standard CV in the UK should be no longer than two sides of A4. Take a look at our example of a chronological CV for inspiration.

That said one size doesn’t fit all. For example, a school leaver or recent graduate with minimal experience may only need to use one side of A4. Although not used as often, a three-page CV might be needed for those in high-level roles or for people who have gained a lot of experience or worked in multiple jobs over the last five to ten years. For example, some medical or academic CVs may be longer depending on your experience. While it’s important to keep your CV concise you should also avoid selling your experience short.

To save space only include the main points of your education and experience. Stick to relevant information and don’t repeat what you’ve said in your cover letter. If you’re struggling to edit your CV ask yourself if certain information sells you. If it doesn’t cut it out. If it’s not relevant to the job you’re applying for delete it and if it’s old detail from ten years ago summarise it.

Two types of CV

There are two main types of CV.

Skills-focused CV – useful for career changers, school leavers or people with gaps in work history.
Work-focused CV – useful for showcasing work experience and for people progressing to the next stage in their career.

Make your CV easy to read

Recruiters take 15-20 seconds to scan your CV the first time. If you make a good impression, they’ll read your CV more closely.

To make your CV look good:

use a black, easy-to-read font in one size
use short sentences and break up blocks of text
use bullet points to list information
keep the tone formal
avoid abbreviations, slang or jargon
avoid photos or images
have strong headings and lots of white space
keep your CV to two pages.

Save your CV as a Word document and a PDF

Save your CV as both a Word document and a PDF. An employer may need either one of these file formats.

Label your CV files with your name, the application date, and the job you’re applying for.

If you update your Word document, remember to also create a new PDF .

What to put in your CV

A CV must include:

your name and contact details
technical and personal skills
work, and community and volunteer experience
qualifications and education
referees (you can include referees or note that referees are available on request).

A CV could also include:

an objective and personal statement
achievements
interests
job-specific information (for example, a teacher would put their teaching philosophy in their CV).

What not to put in your CV

Don’t put:

a photo or images
coloured or fancy fonts or design
your date of birth or age
your marital status, religion or bank account details
too much text and bad spelling
a funny or rude email address
work experience or interests that are not relevant to the job
lies about your experience and skills.

Name and contact details

Include:

first and last name (this should be in large and bold text)
postal address, including area code
phone number
email address.

Optional:

job hunting profile link, such as LinkedIn or Behance
your professional website or Youtube channel link.

Make sure that:

your email address is work-appropriate, for example, jobforum023@gmail.com
your phone voicemail message only gives your name and a request to leave a message.

Objective and personal statement

An objective gives brief details about the type of work and role you would like and the industry you want to work in.

A personal statement gives the employer an idea of who you are in three or four sentences.

You can include:

what you’re currently doing for employment or education
what attracted you to the job you’re applying for
your reason you’re applying for this job
your career goals.

Skills

The skills you put in your CV should be the same skills listed in the job advertisement.

Technical skills

Include a technical skill section in your CV to list skills such as:

driver’s licences
languages
computer programmes.

Examples of writing about personal skills in your CV

In a skills-focused CV, list the skills from the job advertisement with examples of how you’ve used those skills. This should be at the top of your CV.

Strong communication skills

member of Makita High School debating team
chaired the Goba Secondary Neighbourhood Support committee for two years.

In a work-focused CV, describe your skills in your work history.

2015-2017 Customer Services Representative, SchoolMatez Blog

Demonstrated strong communication skills when advising customers on car insurance.

Work history and work or volunteer experience

List your most recent jobs or work and volunteer experience first. Your work history needs to include:

the name of the employer
the job title/role
where the job was located
start date and end date.

Beneath this, list the tasks you performed. Also list any achievements.

If you change jobs in the same organisation, include both job titles/roles.

You don’t need to list all your work history – keep your CV short.

Examples of work history

If you choose a skills-focused CV:

July 2017-August 2018 Counter assistant Sione’s Bakery, Auckland

customer service
increased sales of large coffees by 10%.

If you choose a work-focused CV, describe your skills more:

July 2017-August 2018 Counter assistant Sione’s Bakery, Auckland

Responsible for food and drink and customer service in bakery.

demonstrated excellent customer service skills when taking customer’s orders
lead sales of large coffees, increasing sales to 10%.

Gaps in your work history?

If you have gaps where you haven’t been in paid work:

use a skills-focused CV
showcase skills you’ve learned on your break such as planning, budgeting, caring for family members
include work experience and volunteer work in your work history
explain the reason for big gaps in your cover letter.

Qualifications

List your qualifications or education in the qualifications section of your CV. You can include:

HSK levels or other school qualifications
school subjects with grades
certificates, diplomas or degrees
micro-credentials and short work-related courses
work-based training
professional development courses, conferences and workshops
online courses.

Format of qualifications section

List the newest or most relevant qualification first. Include:

name of the course or qualification you completed
name of the course provider
where you studied
start and finish date of your training or study, or the year you graduated.

Achievements

Include an achievements section in your CV if you have important achievements that aren’t covered in the skills or work history sections.

You can include such things as:

awards and commendations
successfully completed projects
examples of how you helped a former employer meet their targets
important contributions to the community.

For each example, note what the achievement was, and when and where you achieved it.

Interests

Including your interests on your CV is optional. If you do, make sure you:

include interests that show skills that employers are looking for such as leadership skills
avoid common interests such as watching TV or going out with friends.

Referees

Referees talk to employers about your skills, work history and personality.

You need at least two referees. One referee should be your current manager, team leader or work experience supervisor.

Other referees could be a:

former employer
sports coach
teacher or principal
respected community leader.

Referee contact details should include their:

first and last names
job title
organisation they work for
phone number
email address.

CV templates and examples

See examples of school leaver, skills-focused and work-focused CVs and try our CV templates.

CV and cover letter templates

Find out more

Discover how to write a legal CV and cover letter and take a look at an example law CV.
Learn more about the top 7 CV mistakes.
For those who’ve graduated and are ready to find work, explore the Office for Students’ (OfS) Graduate employment and skills guide (2022).