Your CV has one job: to get you an interview. It needs to be quick to scan, easy to understand and clearly matched to the role. Here is how to build one that works.
Keep the structure simple
- Name and contact details at the top (email, phone, town or city).
- Profile — three or four lines summarising who you are and what you offer.
- Experience in reverse chronological order.
- Education and training.
- Skills relevant to the role.
In the UK, one to two pages is standard.
Write achievements, not duties
Instead of “Responsible for customer queries”, try “Resolved customer queries by phone and email, improving first-contact resolution”. Wherever you can, use numbers that are true for you: team size, volume, budget or time saved.
Match the job advert
Read the advert and pick out the key skills and requirements. Use the same words in your profile and experience where they honestly apply. Many employers use systems that search for these terms.
Keep formatting clean
- Use standard headings such as Experience and Education.
- Choose a clear font at a readable size.
- Avoid tables, text boxes and heavy graphics that software can misread.
- Save as a PDF unless the employer asks for another format.
Proofread — then ask someone else to
Spelling and punctuation errors are easy to avoid and costly to leave in. Read your CV aloud and ask a friend to check it.
Try our free CV Builder
Our CV Builder lets you choose a clean template, see a live preview and download your CV as a PDF. Your details stay in your browser — nothing is sent to us.