Writing a CV that gets read
Most employers spend well under a minute on a first read. Make that minute count.
Keep it to two pages
One page is fine if you're starting out. Put your most recent and most relevant experience first.
A simple layout
- Name and contact details — phone, email and your town. You don't need your full address, date of birth or a photo.
- A short profile — two or three lines on what you do and what you're looking for.
- Experience — job title, employer, dates, and two to four lines on what you achieved, not just what you were responsible for.
- Skills, tickets and licences — CSCS card, driving licence, forklift, first aid, software you know.
- Education and training — most recent first.
Match it to the job
Read the advert and use its words. If it asks for “stock control”, say “stock control”, not “inventory”.
Gaps are fine
Caring, illness, travel, redundancy — a single honest line is enough. Employers care more about what you can do now.
Check it twice
Ask someone else to read it. Save it as a PDF named with your name, for example jane-smith-cv.pdf.