What Makes a British CV Different — and How to Write One

A British CV is not simply a resume with a different name. It follows its own conventions around length, structure, personal information, and tone — and getting those conventions wrong can quietly undermine an otherwise strong application. Whether you are moving to the UK for work, switching from an American-style resume, or writing your first CV from scratch, this guide covers what British employers actually expect.

How Long Should a British CV Be?

The standard length for a British CV is two pages of A4. One page is acceptable for graduates or people with very limited work history. Three pages is occasionally appropriate for senior professionals with extensive publications or technical credentials, but this is the exception rather than the rule.

This differs from American practice, where a one-page resume is often treated as a hard rule for most candidates. In the UK, two pages is the norm regardless of career stage, and trying to compress a solid ten-year career onto a single page will usually make your CV look thin rather than disciplined.

What Personal Information to Include

A British CV typically opens with your name, phone number, professional email address, and a link to your LinkedIn profile if it is up to date. You should include your general location — city or region is enough — so employers know you are based in the UK or can confirm your proximity to the role.

You do not need to include a photograph, your date of birth, your nationality, or your marital status. Unlike CVs in some European and Asian countries, the British CV convention actively discourages this information. UK equality legislation means employers are not supposed to make decisions based on age, ethnicity, or family status, and including these details can put both you and the employer in an awkward position.

If you have the right to work in the UK and it is not obvious from your background, a brief line confirming this is worth adding — but keep it factual and concise.

The Professional Profile

Most British CVs open with a short professional profile, sometimes called a personal statement or career summary. This sits directly below your contact details and runs to three to five sentences. Its job is to tell the reader who you are professionally, what you bring to the role, and what you are looking for next.

Write it in the third person without using your own name, or in a neutral voice that avoids starting every sentence with "I." Keep it specific. "Marketing manager with eight years of experience in B2B SaaS, specialising in demand generation and content strategy" is far more useful than "a highly motivated professional with a passion for results."

Work Experience

List your roles in reverse chronological order, starting with your most recent position. For each role, include the job title, employer name, location, and dates of employment (month and year is standard). Follow this with a short description of your responsibilities and, crucially, your achievements.

Achievements are where most British CVs fall short. Listing duties tells an employer what your job description said; listing achievements tells them what you actually did. Where you can, quantify the impact — the size of the team you managed, the budget you controlled, the percentage by which you grew something, the problem you solved. If a number is not available, describe the outcome in concrete terms.

For roles more than ten to fifteen years ago, a brief summary of two or three lines is usually enough. The detail should sit in your recent and most relevant experience.

Education

Education follows work experience for anyone who has been in employment for more than a couple of years. Graduates with limited work history may choose to lead with education instead.

Include the institution, the qualification, the subject, and the year of completion. For UK degrees, include your classification (First, 2:1, 2:2, and so on). For A-levels and GCSEs, a summary line is sufficient — you do not need to list every subject unless a specific qualification is directly relevant to the role.

Professional qualifications and certifications belong here too, or in a separate section if you have several.

Skills and Additional Sections

A skills section works best when it is specific rather than a list of soft-skill buzzwords. Technical skills, software proficiency, languages, and industry-specific tools are worth listing. "Excellent communicator" and "team player" add nothing and are best demonstrated through your experience descriptions instead.

Other sections you might include, depending on your field:

• Professional memberships (for example, CIPD, ACCA, or RICS membership)
• Publications or presentations, for academic or research roles
• Volunteer work, if it is relevant or demonstrates skills not covered elsewhere
• Interests, kept to one brief line — only include them if they are genuinely distinctive or relevant

References

The phrase "References available on request" used to appear at the bottom of every British CV. It has largely fallen out of fashion because it states something obvious. You can omit it entirely. Employers will ask for references when they need them.

Formatting and Tone

A British CV should be clean and easy to scan. Use a readable font at 10 to 12 points, consistent spacing, and clear section headings. Avoid graphics, columns, and decorative elements if you are submitting through an applicant tracking system, as these can disrupt how the document is parsed.

The tone should be professional but not stiff. British employers generally respond well to clarity and directness. Avoid American-style superlatives — describing yourself as a "rockstar" or "ninja" in any discipline will land poorly in most UK hiring contexts.

Spelling follows British English conventions: organisation not organization, colour not color, programme not program (unless referring to software). If you have been writing in American English, run a careful check before you submit.

One Final Check

Before sending your British CV, read it as a hiring manager would — someone who has thirty seconds to decide whether to keep reading. Your most relevant experience and strongest achievements should be visible without any effort. If they are buried in the middle of a dense paragraph on page two, restructure until they are not.