Build your CV

Advice on what to include in your CV and how to structure it.

There is no right way to write a CV. A strong CV is one that is easy to read, clearly structured and tailored to the organisation you are applying to. Our simple 3 step guide will ensure your CV is as effective as it can be for your next application.  

Start with the basics

Length  

  • For the UK a two-page CV is standard (ideally using Arial 12pt font)  

Format 

  • Use your name as your heading – there is no need to have ‘CV’ or ‘Curriculum Vitae’ as a heading to your document  
  • Write your CV in reverse chronological order, with the most recent experience coming first  
  • Use an implied first-person voice e.g. ‘Final Year Linguistics Student at the University of Edinburgh’ or ‘Experienced in programming using Python’  
  • Be consistent with your formatting.  Consider how you can use bold, lines, bullet points and white space to add emphasis to headings and sections within your CV - use them sparingly to add impact.  

CV templates and examples 

  • Avoid using templates as this can make it harder to display your information in the way that makes most sense for your experience  
  • Draft up the information you could include using the advice below. Then explore the various options for structuring your CV to decide which works best for your experience  
  • For inspiration, see CareerSet for example CVs  

What to include in your CV

Personal details   

  • Your name, address, email address, phone number and, if appropriate, links to your LinkedIn profile, portfolio or website  
  • You don’t need to include a picture, your date or place of birth, gender or nationality     

Personal profile   

  • If you choose to include this, use it to summarise what you have to offer, and highlight why you are motivated towards a particular career  
  • The best personal statements are focused, to-the point, and avoid generalisations such as 'I am hard-working'  
  • If your personal statement doesn’t add anything to your CV, don’t include it    

Education   

  • Details of your university, qualifications, relevant degree courses, major projects completed, dissertation, and degree classification  
  • Your Higher Education Achievement Report (HEAR), which you’ll find in EUCLID, lists all the marks for the courses you've taken. Work out your average mark and compare it with the degree class equivalencies given at the bottom of the HEAR. You can check with your Student Adviser that they agree it’s a reasonable prediction.  

Employment and work experience    

  • Describe your responsibilities and skills used for each position  
  • If appropriate, divide this section into relevant experience and additional work experience    

Additional skills and interests    

  • Don't just list these - describe your involvement and emphasise your achievements and keep them recent and relevant  
  • If appropriate, divide these into two sections    

How to structure your CV

CVs can be structured in different ways.    

Chronological CV

  •  This is the most used format and includes a detailed education and work experience section in reverse chronological order. It can highlight how you have progressed over time, so may not be suitable if you have changed jobs a lot or are looking at a career change.    

Skills based CV

  • This uses the skills required for the job as its structure and gives evidence to demonstrate that you have these skills. This can be a good approach if you have lots of experience in one career area, and want to change careers, or if you’ve had lots of short-term jobs and want to summarise the skills you’ve developed.    

 Combination CV

  • A combination of the chronological CV and the skills-based CV. It lists education in reverse chronological order, followed by relevant skills gained from work experience and education. This works well when you want to highlight particular skills for a job. 

 Creative CV

  • Most often used for jobs that focus on art, design, visual effects and technology (sometimes also advertising, media and publishing). 
  • Watch this recording as part of our March 2023 focus on Creative and Cultural Careers, to understand the differences between creative and traditional CVs and decide what works best for your job search.

Use our content checklist below to see if you're ready to move on to improving your CV. You can click on each step and see what progress you're making.

Get feedback on your CV

Make use of CareerSet to get instant feedback on your CV.