How to write a UK CV: format, layout and section order

How long should a UK CV be?

The classic UK rule is one page for every ten years of experience: most people are fine on two pages, and almost nobody should go past two. If you are a graduate or school leaver, aim for one page. If you have more than a decade of experience, two pages are expected — but never pad to fill them.

• One page — graduates, school leavers, early-career candidates
• Two pages — established professionals; never more

The seven-section UK layout

UK recruiters scan in a predictable order. Keep your sections in this sequence and use plain headings — Profile, Skills, Work Experience, Education — because they are what screening software and recruiters both recognise instantly.

• 1 · Name and contact details at the very top — not in a header or sidebar
• 2 · A personal profile of two to four lines summarising who you are and what you offer
• 3 · Core skills or key competencies as short bullet lines
• 4 · Work experience, newest first, with job title, company, location and month-year dates
• 5 · Education and qualifications — degree with classification (e.g. 2:1), A-levels with grades
• 6 · Additional courses or voluntary work only if they add value
• 7 · References — a simple 'References available on request' line at the end

What to leave OUT of a UK CV

British CVs are famously restrained. Under the Equality Act 2010, recruiters should not ask for — and you should not include — several personal details.

• Date of birth, age, or marital status
• A photo (normal for many countries, actively off-putting in the UK)
• Nationality or immigration status, unless a job advert asks for it
• Your full home address — town and postcode are enough
• Salary history, or references' contact details on the page

Formatting that survives both human and machine readers

Write in British English (organise, colour, programme, CV — never résumé) and use a standard font such as Calibri or Arial at 10.5–11pt. Put month-year dates on experience (e.g. 'Sep 2020 – Jul 2022'), not bare years: application tracking systems use them to calculate your tenure, and recruiters want to see no unexplained gaps.

Check your CV against a free ATS scanner before sending it. The CV Room scores your file 0–100 against UK hiring conventions and flags the exact lines a recruiter would question.