HOW TO WRITE A CV: INFORMATIONS FOR 2020 (with examples)

When it comes to job scearching, your CV is vital. Get it right on, and you’ll have an interview in no time, but get it wrong, and you may suffer rejection after rejection. Every CV is dissimilar as you needup  to show why your set of skills makes you eligible for the position you’re applying for at that moment, but all follow a similar structure.

This advice will show you how to write a great CV that’s ready for 2020.

What is a CV?
Your CV, short for curriculum vitae, is a personal marketing papers used to sell yourself to expected employers. It need to tell them about you, your master history and your skills, capability and achievements. Finally, it should highlight why you’re the finest person for the job.

A CV is required when submitting for a job. Additionally to your CV, employers may also need a cover letter and a full application form.



What to apply in your CV in 2020
While the structure of a CV is versatile, bending to your amazing skill set and experiences, there are specific sections that employers expect to see on your CV disregarding.

Here are the sections you must apply in your CV:

Name, professional title and contact details
The first portion of your CV, positioned at the top of the page, should carry your name, professional title and contact details. Under no context should you title your CV with ‘curriculum vitae’ or ‘CV’ as it’s a waste of useful space. Handle your name as the title instead.

When it comes to your contact details, your email address and phone numbers are essential. Once upon a time, it was customary to apply your full address on your CV. Today, you merely need to list your town and county.

If you prefer, you can also apply a link to your LinkedIn profile in this part – but only if it’s up to date!

Here is an example of how your name, professional title and contact details could look:

Personal profile
A personal profile, also known as a personal argument, career object and professional profile, is one of the most important prospect of your CV. It’s a short paragraph that sits just beneath your name and contact details giving potential employers an overview of who you are and what you’re all about.

You should adapt your profile to every job you apply for, highlighting unique qualities that match you to the role. Goal to keep your personal statement short and sweet, and no longer than some sentences. To make the most of this part, you should try to address the following:

Who are you?
What can you provide the company?
What are your career goals?
If you want more on how to write your personal argument, it’s worth look our comprehensive guide.



Experience and employment history
Your employment history part gives you a chance to outline your previous jobs, internships and work experience.

List your experience in reversal chronological order as your new role is the most applicable to the employer.

When listing each status of employment, submit your job title, the employer, the dates you worked and a line that summarizes the part. Then bullet point your key obligations, skills and achievements, and support each point with powerful verbs and figures to support each claim and showcase your influence.

It helps to choose the duties most applicable to the job you’re applying for, particularly if it’s a long list. If you have several years’ worth of experience, you can shorten the detail of old or irrelevant roles. If you have status from more than 10 years’ ago, you can delete them.

Here’s an example of how to lay out each status of employment on your CV:

Like your experience part, your education should be listed in reversal chronological order. Provide the name of the institutions and the dates you were there, followed by the qualifications and grades you accomplish.

If you have lately left education, you may write your degree, A-levels or GCSEs (or equivalents) like so:

If you have a degree, you might list a few of the most relevant modules, assignments or projects underneath.

For masters that are a little further along in their careers, or have many certificates in their repertoire, you can lay your qualifications out in this way:

Additional sections
There is a array of additional sections that may strengthen your CV and highlight your skills. Here are some you can include if you have room:

Key skills: If you’re writing a usable CV, or have some abilities you want to show off to the employer immediately, insert a key skills section underneath your personal profile. You should target to detail four to five abilities at most.

Hobbies and interests: If you feel that your CV is missing, you can boost your document by inserting a hobbies and interests section at the end. This can help to show how well you fit into the company or the industry. For example, if you’re applying for an environmental job, why not include that you have a big interest in climate change activism?


Be careful though; avert listing hobbies that don’t add value to your CV or are run-of-the-mill, like reading. Draw on interests that make you stand out or are relevant to the job.

References: Like containing an address on your CV, adding your referees to the end of your CV is no longer standardised. You can include a line that reads ‘references available on request’, but if you don’t have room, it’s acceptable to remove it altogether.

Formatting and spacing guidelines
If you’re uncertain of how to format your CV, it’s valuable downloading a few CV templates to familiarise yourself. After all, formatting and spacing your CV is equally as useful as the content.

Here are some formatting and spacing points to keep in mind:

Length: The basic length of a CV in the UK is two pages. Nevertheless, one size doesn’t fit all, and so for some professionals, one or three pages may be more appropriate.

Headings: Each part must be introduced by a big, bold heading to ensure an easy read.

Font type: Most employees will receive your CV in a digital format, so choose a clear font like Calibri or Arial. You can use various font type for your headings, but keep it professional and easy-to-read too.

Font size and page margins: The body of your CV must be between 10 and 12 point font, and your headings between 14 and 18 points. Maintain your page margins around 2.5cm, but never reduce them to less than 1.27cm or your CV will appear cluttered and hard to read. White space ensures clarity and professionalism.

Proofreading and consistency: Your formatting should be consistent throughout your CV to keep it looking slick. Don’t mess your polished look by covering typos and inaccuracies; proofread like a professional to capture every mistake or invest in intelligent spellcheckers like Grammarly.

Tailoring, keywords and ATSs: It’s perfectly satisfactory to keep a generic copy of your CV for your own records, but if you’re applying for a job, it must be tailored to the role. Not only will this show employees why you’re a match, but it will help your application beat the ATS robots too.

Saving the file: It’s probably you’ll send your CV via email or through a job board like CV-Library. Save your CV as a pdf file to assure recruiters can open it on any device. A pdf will also keep formatting, so you can be sure that employers will see your CV as you intended.

What not to include
There are various of details that you shouldn’t include on your CV. Here are a few of the common ones:

A headshot: In many countries, it’s popular practice to include a photo of yourself on your CV. But the UK is not one of them.

Age and date of birth: The only dates that must be on your CV are from employment and your qualifications. Your age doesn’t affect your ability to do the job, and it’s illegal for employers to ask about age under the Equality Act 2010.

Marital status: Like your age, your marital status and dependents don’t impact your ability to do your job. These details are protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010, and it’s against the law for employers to ask about them, so don’t include them on your CV.

Next steps
Get your CV right from the outset, and you may well find a job soon. Your CV is your opportunity to make a great first impression and secure yourself an interview, so follow this 2020 guide and then upload your CV to apply for your next job.



THANK YOU!