A well-structured CV with an ATS Pass tick on one side and a CV Score of 87 on the other ATS Pass 87 CV Score

Why Your CV Matters More Than Ever

Popular jobs can attract a lot of applications, and the first read of a CV is often a quick one: the reader is deciding whether to look more closely. With many employers also using Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) to sort applications before a person reads them, a clear, well-targeted CV makes a real difference.

This guide covers everything you need to know about writing a CV that gets past the robots AND impresses the humans.

CV Structure: The Basics

Every strong CV follows the same core structure:

  1. Contact information — Name, phone, email, LinkedIn (optional: location, portfolio)
  2. Professional summary — 2-3 sentences positioning you for the role
  3. Work experience — Most recent first, with achievements not just duties
  4. Education — Qualifications, institutions, dates, grades if strong
  5. Skills — Hard and soft skills relevant to the target role
  6. Certifications — Professional qualifications and courses

School leaver or graduate? Move education above experience. Our UK CV format guide covers layout, fonts and the right section order for your situation.

How Long Should Your CV Be?

In the UK, 2 pages is the standard for most roles. Here's a quick guide:

  • Graduates / entry-level: 1 page is fine. Don't pad it.
  • Mid-level (3-10 years): 2 pages. Focus detail on your last 2-3 roles.
  • Senior / executive (10+ years): 2 pages, possibly 3 for extensive relevant experience.
  • Academic CVs: Can be longer — publications, research, and grants all count.

For how far back to go and how to cut a long CV, see how long a CV should be in the UK.

Writing Your Professional Summary

Your summary sits at the top of the page, so it's often the first thing a reader takes in. It should answer three questions in 2-3 sentences:

  • Who are you? (role + years of experience)
  • What are you best at? (key skills/achievements)
  • What are you looking for? (target role/industry)
Bad: "Hardworking professional looking for a new opportunity where I can use my skills."

Good: "Frontend developer with 4 years of experience building responsive web applications using React and TypeScript. Delivered 15+ production applications for fintech clients, reducing page load times by 35%. Looking for a senior role at a product-led company."

For more, see our CV personal statement examples, with versions for school leavers, graduates, career changers and managers.

Achievements vs Responsibilities

For many CVs, this is the biggest single improvement you can make. Instead of listing what your job description said, describe what you actually achieved.

The formula: Action verb + what you did + quantified result

  • Before: "Responsible for managing the sales team"
  • After: "Managed team of 8 sales executives, growing quarterly revenue by 23% to £1.2M"
  • Before: "Handled customer complaints"
  • After: "Resolved 95% of customer escalations within 24 hours, improving CSAT scores from 3.2 to 4.6"

ATS Optimisation

Many medium-to-large employers use Applicant Tracking Systems to sort and search CVs. To make sure yours reads well in one:

  • Use standard headings — "Work Experience" not "My Journey"
  • Include keywords from the job description — naturally, not stuffed
  • Use a single-column layout — safest for ATS parsing
  • Save as PDF — preserves formatting and is widely supported
  • Avoid images, tables, and graphics — ATS can't read them
  • Don't put important info in headers/footers — ATS often skips these

Common Mistakes to Avoid

  • Generic objectives — "Seeking a challenging position" tells employers nothing
  • Listing every job since school — Focus on the last 10-15 years
  • No numbers — Quantify everything you can
  • Typos — One spelling error can cost you an interview
  • Same CV for every application — Tailor your CV to each role
  • Including "References available on request" — It's assumed; don't waste space

Next Steps

Ready to put this into practice? Check your CV free to find out what's holding it back in 30 seconds, then create a free CV Mojo account to build your CV with our visual editor and use AI tools to optimise it for ATS and specific job postings.