How to Write a CV: A Step-by-Step Guide With Examples (2026)

Updated November 8, 2026.

In short: to write a CV, start with the job advert, then build the document in this order: contact details, a short personal profile, work experience (most recent first), education, skills, and optionally interests and references. Describe each job in two or three lines or bullet points that show what you achieved, match your wording to the advert, keep it to two A4 pages, and have someone else proofread it. That is the sequence the UK National Careers Service, Prospects and Oxford's careers service all teach.

How do you write a CV, step by step?

1.Read the job advert first. Note the skills, qualifications and duties it asks for. The National Careers Service says to write your CV "to match the job and company you're applying for."

2.List everything you have done. Oxford's careers service suggests making a private list of all your experience, achievements and key dates (education, work, prizes, societies, languages, IT skills) before choosing what goes in.

3.Keep the most relevant items. Prospects says to cut anything that doesn't sell you or isn't relevant to the job, and to summarize old detail from ten years ago.

4.Add your contact details. Name, phone number, email address, and a LinkedIn link if you have one.

5.Write a short profile. A few lines under your name on who you are and what you want to do next.

6.Write your work experience. Most recent job first, with job title, employer, dates and what you did.

7.Add education and skills. Qualifications, where you studied and the dates; then languages, software and job-specific skills.

8.Check it and save it. Two pages at most, consistent formatting, no spelling mistakes, and a sensible file name.

The sections below expand on steps 5 to 8.

How do you write a CV profile?

Keep it to a few short lines directly under your name and contact details, as the National Careers Service advises. Say what you do, name the skills the job asks for, and say what you are looking for. Prospects suggests focusing the profile on the sector you are applying to, since your cover letter will be specific to the job. It also lists "team player," "hardworking" and "multitasker" as generic, over-used phrases; show those qualities with an example instead.

Example (an illustration, not a real applicant): "Customer service adviser with three years in a busy contact centre, handling phone, chat and email queries for a broadband provider. Trained four new starters on the call-handling system. Looking for a team leader role."

A CV profile works the same way as a resume summary; our resume summary examples show 30 more, by experience level and job.

How do you describe work experience on a CV?

For each role, give the job title, employer and dates, then two or three lines or bullet points. The National Careers Service suggests writing "what you did" with the STAR method (situation, task, action, result). Oxford's careers service uses a similar CAR approach: context, action words, results.

• Start with an active verb. Prospects' examples are "created," "analysed" and "devised."
• Show scale and results. Oxford recommends "numbers, percentages, and values to quantify your impact."
• Use the right tense. Past tense for finished roles, present tense for the job you are doing now (Oxford).
• Count more than paid jobs. The National Careers Service says to include work placements and volunteering as well as paid work.

Before and after, as illustrations:

Use your own numbers, and only ones you can explain at interview.

How do you list education and skills on a CV?

Education: the name of each qualification, the school, college or university, and the dates you attended (National Careers Service), most recent first. Early in your career, education can sit above work history; once you have relevant experience, put work first.

Skills: Prospects suggests the languages you speak and the software you can use competently, kept relevant to the job, and warns not to exaggerate because you will need to back up your claims at interview. Oxford adds that basic IT skills are assumed; list specialist software instead. For ideas, see our resume skills list; the same skills work on a CV.

How do you write a CV with no experience?

Put education first, then use projects, volunteering, placements and part-time work as your experience. The National Careers Service says first-time applicants can focus on skills learned through projects, work experience or volunteering, and can include interests that show skills: captaining a sports team, for example, shows leadership and organization. Our guide to writing a resume with no experience has more examples.

What should you leave off a CV?

• Personal details a UK employer doesn't need: age, date of birth, marital status and nationality (National Careers Service). Oxford adds that you don't need your home address. Conventions vary by country; Germany's Federal Employment Agency, for example, tells applicants to include date and place of birth.
• The words "Curriculum Vitae." Your name is the title (Prospects, Oxford).
• Referees' contact details. Write "references are available on request" (National Careers Service), or leave the line out if space is tight (Prospects).
• Anything you can't back up. Prospects warns that the facts on a CV are easy to check.

How do you check a CV before you send it?

• Keep it to two A4 pages, unless the employer or field expects more.
• Use one clear font at 11 point or bigger and the same style throughout (National Careers Service).
• Ask someone else to check spelling and grammar (National Careers Service); Prospects also suggests reading it aloud or from bottom to top.
• Save it with a professional file name and in the format the advert asks for.
• Send it with a cover letter unless the employer says otherwise (Prospects). See how to write a cover letter.

If you are applying online, upload it to the free ATS checker to see whether software can read every line; the ATS CV guide explains what to fix. For layout rules and a template, see CV format; for complete drafts, see CV examples.

Frequently asked questions

How do I write a CV for the first time?

Start with your contact details and a short profile, put education first, and use projects, volunteering, placements and part-time work as experience. The UK National Careers Service also points to a CV builder tool from the Department for Work and Pensions.

How long should my CV be?

Two A4 pages at most for most jobs, according to the University of Chester careers team, quoted by Prospects. Academic CVs, and some senior or medical CVs, run longer.

What are the 5 main sections of a CV?

Contact details, an introduction (profile), education history, work history and references, according to the National Careers Service. Most CVs also add a skills section.

Should I change my CV for every job?

Yes. The National Careers Service, Prospects and Oxford all advise tailoring your CV to each job advert, for example by highlighting the skills the employer asks for.

Can I use AI to write my CV?

Prospects says yes, if you use it sensibly: for research, summarizing job descriptions, templates, drafting and proofreading, but not to write the whole CV or to invent or embellish details. Check every line is true before you send it.

Is writing a CV different from writing a resume?

For a UK or European job CV, the steps are almost the same as for a US resume; the length and personal-detail conventions differ. In the US, "CV" usually means the longer academic record. See the difference between CV and resume and our guide to the curriculum vitae.

Sources

• National Careers Service (UK government), How to write a CV — checked November 8, 2026.
• Prospects (Jisc), How to write a CV — checked November 8, 2026.
• University of Oxford Careers Service, CVs — checked November 8, 2026.
• Bundesagentur für Arbeit (German Federal Employment Agency), Application process in Germany, part 1: curriculum vitae — checked November 8, 2026.