Creating a best CV to help you start your career in the UK

CV is the absolutely one of the most important elements which can make a big difference in your job seeking, not to mention a great way to put all of your skills, experience, and qualifications in one place. In fact, a well written CV could be the difference between getting an interview and not being considered for the role.

To help you understand what they’re all about, and how the CV is UK is different from in other countries, here are a few things you should know about CVs:

What is CV

A CV (also known as a Curriculum Vitae, or résumé), is a written overview of your skills, education, and work experience.

They may be used for a variety of reasons, however, the most common of these is to send to prospective employers when looking for a new job.

UK CV rules:

CV, not Resume: The term ‘CV’ is most common in the United Kingdom. The terms ‘resume’ and ‘curriculum vitae’ are rarely used.

Language: Be sure to write your CV in proper British English - for example, write ‘labour’ rather than ‘labor’ and ‘optimise’ rather than ‘optimize’.

Length: Your UK CV should not exceed two pages - “no longer than two sides of A4”, according to Rachel Swain at Prospects.ac.uk.

UK CV Format, Order and Layout:

Photo: A photo is not expected on your UK CV. While common in the rest of Europe, it is rare to see a picture on a CV in the United Kingdom. In certain roles, such as some sales positions or a creative job where visual presentation is key, a picture may be acceptable, but be sure to research the company first.

Personal Information: The only personal information required for a UK CV is your contact information - your name, home address, mobile phone number and email address (which should be some variation of your name: firstname.lastname@example.com or something similar). No other personal information should be included.

Profile: Your CV should begin with a brief description, no more than five lines of text, that describes who you are, what you can do, and what you bring to the position you are applying to. Your personal statement should be tailored to the job description - focus on the skills and experience that make you suited for this particular job. Personal statements are not mandatory, but they are a great way to grab an employer’s attention.

Education: Education should also be listed from most recent to least recent. Include all relevant certifications, including institution names and dates. For Graduate, Your education section should come before your work experience.

Work experience: Display your previous internship or work experience  in reverse chronological order, beginning with the most recent. However, for some students who didn’t have work experience, you can write your university work experience instead, including the students Union, students society. 

Other sections for your UK CV:

Skills: It is common to include a simple list of skills kept separate from your work history. This provides a quick, at-a-glance look at what you excel at, without delving into your experience too much.

Volunteer and social experience: Volunteering experience should be noted on your CV. If you prefer, you can include volunteer experience in your Work History section, but remember to specify when a role is a volunteer position.

Languages: Feel free to note any languages you are fluent in. This is particularly important when the job calls for multiple languages.

References: It is not necessary to include references in your CV. Instead, follow up with references to an employer separately when asked.

How to write your experience:

1.       When write your experience, the language should be brief and clear. You can use STAR methods to write your experience. STAR method means situation, task, action, and result.

You need to clearly state what the situation and your task is, how you process your task and                 what result you achieved, what stills you requires from this task.

2.       You need to always check the job description of the position which you are going to apply for. You need to check the key words in the job description including: skills, specific terms, then you need to use the same key words in your CV.

Final tips:

• Be logical
• Keep it brief (and relevant)
• Check spelling and grammar
• Choose a professional font
• Use headings and bullet points
• Use a template
• Never use the same CV for all the position.

It might seem that there are quite a lot to do for creating a CV.

Think about it early, start it early, submit early, and the offer for your new job will soon belong to you.

UKEC hope you can have a bright future in the UK, if you have any further questions about study and self-development in the UK please follow our Facebook and contact us, UKEC is always there for you.