How to Create a CV for the UK Job Market

Your CV (Curriculum Vitae) is the first thing employers usually see—it is your marketing tool. A CV must be in excellent condition in order to most effectively convince an employer to interview you.

A CV should be brief, well structured, easy to read and tidy; maximum two pages. It should tell the employer why you are the best person for this role, by emphasizing your skills and experience relevant to the role and organisation.

Two main types of CV are used in the UK:

Chronological or Job Based

• List positions, organisations and achievements in chronological order, beginning with the most recent.

• The focus is on progression, increased responsibility and development of skills.

• Good for people who are continuing in the same career field.

• Easy to read and understand immediately; appealing to an employer or recruitment company who have very little time.

• For example templates look here.

Skills Based

• Good for people who do not have much work experience, for people with career gaps, for people with many jobs over a short period of time and for people who are changing careers.

• Not necessarily chronological but are organized according to achievements, skill sets, and responsibilities.

• Especially important to focus on the type of role you are applying for.

• Have the benefit of demonstrating transferable strengths and experience in order of importance to the role.

• Focus on strengths and experience rather than time spent in each job or lack of working experience—experience can be gained in ways other than paid employment.

• For example templates look here.

Do not include in a CV:

• A photo, marital status, number of children, religion or health issues.  Many people do not include a date of birth, but most employers can work out an approximate age from your work experience.
• No need to list gender but if people are uncertain about anything on your CV, gender included, they may be more hesitant to interview you.

• You will need a National Insurance Number to work in the UK, but you do not need to put this on your CV.

Do include on a CV:

• Contact details: email, land line, mobile number, home address. A note about email addresses: if you have a silly or unprofessional sounding email address, get a new one for your professional contacts.

• A short section on your hobbies and interests, selecting interests that enhance your application; don’t make them up as the interviewer may use interests as an ice-breaker at the beginning of the interview.

• Education, work history, other training, achievements, awards, publications, and anything else that demonstrate you are the best person for this job; only relevant items.

• Hobbies and interests: only two or three lines are enough and only interests that enhance you as a person ideal for this role. Interests are often used as ice breaker conversations in interview, so be ready to talk about these so don’t make things up!

Possibly include on a CV:

• If you speak to the employer or recruiter on the phone or meet for an interview it will probably become obvious very quickly that you are not British. Pre-empt any doubt about your work permit status by stating your nationality and if you have permission to work in the UK or if you will need a work permit through the employer.

• Consider a very brief explanation or include website details if you will need a work permit through the employer. Help make the process of hiring you as easy as possible.

• Another school of thought is to leave nationality off the CV and let them meet you and become interested in having you on board. They will then be more motivated to get a work permit for you.

• Facebook or blog information. If these sites promote your abilities and experience then they can be great marketing tools. Do not provide this information if this is where your friends talk about the wild Saturday night and all the crazy things you did, or where you blog about all the ups and downs in your life. If it doesn’t show you in your best light, then don’t include it!

Cover letters

Most commonly you will email or upload a CV to a website rather than post a CV to the employer. If emailing, it is rare that people will have the time to read a detailed covering letter. Keep the letter to half a page or ideally one paragraph at the most.

Include in a covering letter:

• The role you are applying for (and put this in the email subject line).
• Any connections you have to the recipient of the letter or the company that will help them remember you and/or immediately understand why you are perfect for this role.
• Any relevant, special experiencee you have that makes you unique.
• Anything else you want to draw attention to in your CV.

And finally, create a Master CV with all of your accomplishments, experience and skills, then create a CV for each role you apply for, tailoring the facts from your Master CV for each specific role. Know your CV inside and out as you will be asked about the various points in your interview.

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