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CV examples · UK · 2026

CV Examples UK — By Role and Industry

What does a strong UK CV actually look like for your role? Below: what to include, what to avoid, and a real example bullet for six common UK job types — plus universal rules that apply to every CV.

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Universal UK CV rules — apply to every role

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One page under 5 years, two pages for 5+ — UK convention. Ignore advice from US-centric CV sites that encourage longer.
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PDF or .docx only — Never .pages, .odt, or image files. ATS systems often reject or misparse these.
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No photo — UK CVs don't include photos. Different from German/EU CVs.
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No "Curriculum Vitae" heading — Recruiters know what a CV is. Start with your name.
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Single column, no tables — ATS reads left to right, top to bottom. Tables and columns confuse parsing.
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Quantify every bullet where possible — [Action verb] + [what you did] + [number]. Numbers are the difference between shortlisted and binned.

CV examples by role

1

Software Engineer CV

Mid-level (3–6 years) · Tech

Include

  • ✓GitHub / portfolio link in contact section
  • ✓Technical skills section: languages, frameworks, cloud platforms, tools
  • ✓Bullet points that describe what you built + the impact (users, latency, revenue)
  • ✓Open source contributions or side projects if limited professional experience

Avoid

  • ✗Listing every technology you've heard of
  • ✗Describing tasks ("responsible for backend development") instead of outcomes
  • ✗Omitting deployment environment — cloud vs on-prem matters

Example bullet

"Built a real-time recommendation engine in Python (FastAPI + Redis) that increased average order value by 14% across 1.2M monthly active users."

2

Graduate / Entry-Level CV

Under 2 years · Any

Include

  • ✓Education at the top (degree, grade, modules relevant to the role)
  • ✓Internships, placements, part-time work — any professional experience
  • ✓Projects: university, personal, hackathons, dissertations
  • ✓Societies, committees, volunteering — shows initiative and soft skills

Avoid

  • ✗Padding with school GCSEs (list A-levels only, omit GCSEs unless specifically required)
  • ✗Long personal statements that don't mention the specific role or sector
  • ✗Listing hobbies like "reading" and "socialising" — either omit or make them specific

Example bullet

"Led a 4-person team in a final-year capstone project building a React/Node.js SaaS tool — presented to a panel of 3 industry judges, rated top 10% of cohort."

3

Marketing Manager CV

Mid to senior · Marketing

Include

  • ✓Channels you own: SEO, PPC, email, social, content — be specific
  • ✓Campaign ROI, ROAS, conversion rates, subscriber growth — the numbers that matter
  • ✓Tools: HubSpot, Marketo, GA4, Ahrefs, Klaviyo, etc.
  • ✓Budget managed — "managed £200k paid media budget" shows seniority

Avoid

  • ✗"Results-driven marketing professional" — every marketing CV says this
  • ✗Vague impact: "improved social media presence" — by how much?
  • ✗Missing the skills section — ATS filters heavily on tool names

Example bullet

"Grew organic traffic from 12k to 180k monthly sessions over 18 months via technical SEO audit, topical cluster strategy, and 2× weekly content cadence."

4

Accountant / Finance CV

Any level · Finance

Include

  • ✓Qualifications front and centre: ACA, ACCA, CIMA, AAT, CFA — with status (qualified/part-qualified/studying)
  • ✓Software: SAP, Oracle, Sage, Xero, Excel (advanced), Power BI
  • ✓Business size context: "in a £40m turnover SME" or "FTSE 100 group function"
  • ✓Specific scope: month-end close, statutory accounts, management accounts, audits

Avoid

  • ✗Missing qualification status — recruiters filter on ACA/ACCA qualified immediately
  • ✗No systems listed — finance teams care deeply about which ERP you've used
  • ✗Omitting team size for management roles

Example bullet

"Led month-end close process for a £120m revenue division, reducing close timeline from 12 to 6 business days through process automation and workflow redesign."

5

Project Manager CV

Mid to senior · Cross-sector

Include

  • ✓Certifications: PRINCE2, PMP, APM, Agile/Scrum — list with year
  • ✓Project scale: budget managed, team size, delivery timeframe
  • ✓Methodology: Agile, waterfall, hybrid — and which tools (JIRA, MS Project, Asana)
  • ✓Delivery record: on-time, on-budget, stakeholder satisfaction

Avoid

  • ✗Generic "managed projects" — every PM says this. Specify scope and outcomes
  • ✗Missing the financials — budget managed is a key filter for senior PM roles
  • ✗No mention of stakeholder complexity — executive sponsors, cross-functional teams

Example bullet

"Delivered a £3.2m CRM migration across 6 business units in 7 months, on time and 8% under budget, with zero data loss and 97% user adoption within 30 days."

6

Career Change CV

Any (changing sector) · Any

Include

  • ✓Career change statement at the top — address the transition proactively
  • ✓Bridge evidence: courses, certifications, side projects in the new field
  • ✓Reframed bullets using language from the target sector's job descriptions
  • ✓Transferable skills with quantified context (numbers cross industries)

Avoid

  • ✗Chronological CV that leads with 10 years of irrelevant experience
  • ✗Hiding the career change — recruiters spot it immediately, address it directly
  • ✗No evidence of commitment to the new field

Example bullet

"Former secondary school teacher with 7 years' experience in curriculum design and performance coaching. Now training in data analysis (SQL, Python — 80% through Google Data Analytics Certificate). Seeking junior analyst role where education sector domain knowledge adds value."

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