UK CV example: a full sample CV with notes on every section

Looking for a CV example for the UK? Below is a complete sample CV, written the way UK employers expect to see one, followed by notes on every section explaining what it does and why. Use it as a model: keep the order, the headings and the style of the bullet points, and swap in your own details.

The example belongs to an office manager with about nine years’ experience, because that is a typical, mid-career UK CV. Further down you’ll find how to adapt the same layout if you’re a graduate, changing career, returning after a break or applying from abroad. To build your own in the same shape, start from our copy-and-paste UK CV template.

The full UK CV example

This is what a good CV looks like in the UK. The employers are described rather than named, but in your own CV you would give the real company names.

On a real page, set out in a plain font with clear spacing, this fills just under two sides of A4. Now let’s go through it section by section.

Notes: name and contact details

The name is the heading. There is no “CV” or “Curriculum Vitae” title, because the reader already knows what the document is.

• Town only, not a full address. “Nottingham” tells the employer you’re local, which is all they need at this stage.
• One phone number and one email. The email is simply her name. If yours is an old nickname, set up a new one just for job hunting.
• No photo, age or date of birth. These are normal in some countries but not in the UK.
• LinkedIn is optional. Add your profile link only if it is complete and matches your CV.

Notes: personal statement

The statement is four sentences and does three things: says what she is (an office manager with nine years’ experience), proves the scale of the job (35 staff, budget, suppliers, health and safety), and says what she wants next. A recruiter knows within seconds whether she fits their vacancy.

Notice what it leaves out: no “passionate”, “dynamic” or “go-getter”.

For more on writing this section from scratch, see our step-by-step guide to writing a UK CV.

Notes: key skills

Every skill in the example is something an employer could check or ask about: named software, a type of task, a responsibility. None of them is a personality trait. That matters for two reasons. Recruiters skip vague words, and the screening software many employers use looks for the specific terms in their job advert.

Notes: work experience

This is the heart of any UK CV, and it is where the example earns its interviews. A few things to copy:

• Most recent job first, with job title, type of employer, town and dates in month and year.
• More detail for recent roles. The current job gets five bullets, the previous one four, and the hotel job from the start of her career gets a single line.
• Results, not just duties. “Saving around £4,000 a year” and “now used for every new hire” show what changed because she was there.
• Present tense for ongoing duties in the current job, past tense for finished achievements and for previous jobs.

Not every bullet needs a number. “First point of contact for clients by phone, email and at reception” is fine because it shows the range of the job. Aim for at least one clear result in each recent role, and only use figures you could explain at interview.

Notes: education and extras

Education

With nine years of work behind her, education goes after experience and stays short: the degree with its classification, then a single line for A levels and GCSEs. Grades for school qualifications are no longer needed at this stage, but showing English and Maths is still useful because many employers ask for them. If you’re not sure how your qualifications compare, GOV.UK explains what the different qualification levels mean.

Additional information

This line holds certificates and licences that don’t fit elsewhere but could tip the decision: a first aid certificate and fire marshal training are genuinely useful for an office manager. In other jobs this might be a CSCS card, a DBS check, an SIA licence or a forklift licence. Hobbies are left out because they add nothing here.

References

There is no references section and no “references available on request” line. Employers assume you’ll provide them when asked.

How it looks on the page

The content matters most, but the presentation should make it easy to read. The example follows the usual UK conventions:

• one column, with the headings in bold and plenty of white space between sections
• no tables, text boxes, icons or skill bars, which screening software can misread
• a common font such as Arial or Calibri, with the body text around 11pt
• British spelling throughout: organised, programme, licence
• saved as a PDF named Joanna-Clarke-CV.pdf, unless the advert asks for a Word file

For margins, font sizes and how to line up dates, see our guide to CV format and layout in the UK.

Adapting the example to your situation

The same structure works for almost everyone in the UK. Only the emphasis changes.

Graduates and school leavers

Put education above work experience, add relevant modules or projects, and include part-time jobs and volunteering as experience. One page is enough. Our guide to writing a CV with no work experience shows how.

Changing career

Use the personal statement to name the job you want and the skills that carry over. Then pick the bullets from your past roles that prove those skills, even if the job titles look unrelated.

Returning after a break

Add a single dated line for the break, for example “Career break: raising a young family (Jan 2022 – Aug 2025)”, plus any courses or volunteering you did during it. Keep it brief and factual.

Applying from abroad or new to the UK

Follow the example’s layout rather than your home country’s, describe overseas employers briefly so a UK reader understands them, and add a short line about your right to work if it helps. Our UK CV vs US resume guide covers the details, and GOV.UK explains how to prove your right to work to an employer.

Compare your CV with the example

Put your CV next to this UK CV example and check each point:

• Does your name sit at the top as the heading, with only your town, phone and email beneath it?
• Could a stranger tell what job you do, and what you want next, from your first two lines?
• Is every item in your skills line something an employer could test or ask about?
• Does each recent job show at least one result, not only a list of duties?
• Do older roles shrink to a line each, so your recent work gets the space?
• Is your education in the right place for your stage of career?
• Have you removed the photo, date of birth, references and hobbies that say nothing?

If several answers are “no”, our guide on how to fix your CV walks through the most common problems one by one.

A CV example is most useful as a pattern, not a script. Keep the structure of this UK CV example, write every line about your own work, and adjust it for each job you apply for.

Frequently asked questions