How to write a UK CV that actually gets interviews

A UK CV is not a US resume. It's typically two pages, chronological, written in UK English, and expected to include personal contact details, a professional summary, core skills, work experience, education and any relevant certifications. Get any of these wrong and you're likely to be filtered out before a human ever sees your application.

1. The header — get discoverable

At the top of the page: your full name, city (not full address), phone number, professional email address and a LinkedIn URL. Skip photos, marital status and date of birth — they're not the norm in the UK and can trigger unconscious bias filtering.

2. Professional summary — earn the read

Three to four sentences that answer 'who are you, what do you do brilliantly, and what are you looking for next?'. Recruiters spend 7 seconds on this section. Make every word matter.

3. Core skills — pass the ATS scan

8–12 keyword-rich skills, mirrored from the job spec. This is where the Applicant Tracking System scores you. If the job says 'stakeholder management', put those exact words.

4. Experience — quantify everything

For each role: strong action verb + specific achievement + measurable outcome. 'Led a 5-person analytics squad delivering £1.2M in cost savings' beats 'Responsible for analytics' every single time.

• Start each bullet with a verb: Led, Delivered, Built, Cut, Grew.
• Include a number in at least 60% of your bullets.
• Group achievements under each role — not one giant list at the top.

5. Education & certifications — keep it lean

Degree, institution, year. If you graduated more than 10 years ago, drop the grade and dates. Keep certifications directly relevant to the role you're targeting.

A great CV isn't the one that lists everything you've ever done — it's the one that tells the story of the role you're about to get.