How to write a CV: advice, tips and template for students and graduates

Your CV is often the first thing a potential employer will see when you apply for a job. And we all know that first impressions count.

On average, you’ve got just six seconds to impress the reader – it seems harsh, but it's true. It’s especially the case with large corporations and businesses that have heaps of student and graduate CVs to review. When so many people apply for the same role, recruiters don’t have time to read every detail, so they'll be looking for scannable and concise CVs.

Lucky for you, Bright Network’s here to help you write your CV. Use this guide (and our handy CV template) to create a CV that’ll give you a competitive edge when applying for leading internships and grad schemes in the UK.

In this graduate CV advice guide, we’ll run through:

• What is a CV?
• How to write your CV as a student or graduate
• Should you include a photo on your CV in the UK?
• How to make your CV technology-friendly
• CV template for nailing your layout

Plus, we'll share our top CV and writing tips along the way.

'CV' is short for curriculum vitae, which means 'course of life' in Latin. Essentially, it's a name for the document summarising your work experience, qualifications, skills, achievements and education. CVs are a crucial part of many job application processes, and often they're the first impression an employer will have of you.

You might have also heard CVs referred to as 'resumés'. Either way, the document is usually one page that succinctly shows off who you are as a professional.

There's a tonne of information online about what to include in your CV, which can be overwhelming – and sometimes even contradictory.

You don’t need to include every 'nice-to-have' tip out there on the internet. There are a few personal preferences that you’ll want to ignore, as well. You certainly don’t need to put a photo on your CV because somebody on LinkedIn told you to!

It's sometimes tricky to work out what advice to listen to and which to tune out, but fear not. We’ve cut through the nonsense and compiled a list of the key sections every CV needs and the types of information you should include.

It’s always worth tailoring your CV for each new job you’re applying for, but that won’t affect what sections you include – just the content in each section. So, use the elements below to make the basis of a CV that’s easy for you to tweak and tailor to each individual application.

The steps to writing a strong CV are:

If your CV impresses a potential employer, the hiring manager needs your contact details so they can tell you the good news.

At the very top of your CV, you should include your:

• Full name
• Location. You can include your full address if you'd like, but it's not necessary. A city or town name will do.
• Phone number. Remember, you’ll need to start picking up withheld numbers once you’ve sent off your CV.
• Email address. not all employers pick up the phone to get in touch. By sharing your email and mobile number, you’re giving them multiple ways to contact you. Also, remember to use a professional email address. You don’t want embarrassing nicknames here!
• LinkedIn URL. Adding your LinkedIn URL shows that you're open to connecting, and it provides even more evidence as to why they should interview you. Think of it like an extended CV.

Your personal profile (also called a personal statement) on your CV should be short and snappy. Aim for 70 words or less.

Briefly describe who you are, your key achievements and skills and your career aspirations. Make sure to tailor your personal statement to the specific role, company and industry you’re applying for. If you’re open to relocating, consider including that. too.

A strong profile will help you stand out from the hundreds of other CVs an employer is sifting through. Include information that shows your passion for the industry and why you’d be a great fit for the role. This is your space to shine – use it to highlight what makes you a unique and desirable candidate!

Need help selling yourself? Read our guide on how to write an outstanding personal profile for your graduate CV.

The easiest and most common way to format your work experience on your CV is to make a list in reverse chronological order – that means starting with your most recent job first.

Underneath each experience, add two to five bullet points that focus on achievements or specific things you did that the employer might be interested in. Percentages and statistics are your friends – but don’t overuse them, and don't make them up if you don't have any.

As an example, if you’re applying to a social media role and you want to demonstrate that you previously grew a brand’s Instagram following, calculate that number and convert it into a percentage. This makes it more noticeable and easier to read, as our eyes are drawn to numbers in the text.

Worked in a different sector to the role you want? Make sure you emphasise transferable skills on your CV when listing these points. Remember to change up the order of your bullet points, too, so that the most relevant activities and responsibilites are top of the list.

Two or three jobs or experiences should be enough to form a strong CV, but try to include all your experiences if you can. You'd be surprised at what employers might value – for example, you might not think that working in a shop is relevant to your future as a lawyer, but your customer-service skills will mean you're comfortable dealing with clients.

Your experiences don’t have to have all been paid jobs, either. Include any relevant volunteering, society committee roles uni placements. If you’re concerned about gaps, check out our guide on five things to do to help build your CV while at university and how to get a job without much work experience.

• Outline your key achievements and responsibilities
• Include skills you’ve developed and use specific examples
• Write very concisely and only include relevant details
• Include all your experience, even if you think it’s not relevant. Highlight the transferrable skills you’ve learned!

Have you had jobs that aren't related to your desired career, but still want to highlight the transferable skills you've learned from them? Here's an example of how to show off the skills and experience you might have gained from working in a coffee shop, for example:

Barista, Coffee Shop | London

• Provided high-quality customer service in a fast-paced environment
• Trained and supported new team members, developing coaching skills

If you’re applying for a role as a recent graduate, the most important thing to highlight is your degree: the subject, the grade you achieved and the uni you studied at.

If you’ve got room and want to add information about specific modules you took, go for it, but only if it’ll impact the employer's decision to take your CV to the next step.

Once you’ve got a degree, it’s less important to list out earlier qualifications, but you can still mention them if you’ve got space. Lots of graduates are confused about whether they should include their GCSEs. If you’ve graduated from uni, just include the number of GCSEs you achieved with a simple grade indication (eg. eight GCSEs grades A*-C or 9-6). There’s no need to list each subject individually once you’ve achieved higher qualifications (ie. A Levels or a degree).

If you’re still in full-time education, feel free to call out specific subjects. To save space, just list the GCSEs your employer will be most interested in, such as Mathematics, English and anything that relates to the role. You can then add on something like “five other GCSES achieved at grades A*-C or 9-6”.

After some formatting help? Watch our video for expert advice on creating the ideal CV layout for UK CVs to learn all the space-saving tricks.

This is where you include your technical and personal skills that relate to the role you’re applying for.

Be honest here – if you list something as your skill, make sure you’re skilled in it. If you lie about having a certain skill, you risk getting yourself in a tricky situation – either during the interview stage or struggling when hired.

Remember that your CV’s a form of personal marketing, but it should still be a true reflection. So, believe in yourself and your skills but don’t pretend to be someone you’re not. As a graduate, employers won’t expect you to know everything.

Want some more tips on what to include here? Read our advice on the five ways to make your CV stand out and the ten key career skills employers look for.

Unless you’re applying for a modelling or acting role, there’s no reason to include a picture on your CV. In fact, it’s advisable to use a CV layout without a photo in the UK due to anti-discrimination laws. Your appearance shouldn’t influence anyone’s hiring decision unless it’s part of the role (ie. modelling or acting, as we’ve mentioned).

Instead of using up valuable space for a photo (even if it’s you in your best dress), use that space for extra information an employer will care about. Maybe you want to include some hobbies or interests outside of your career or education – this helps the employer imagine you in their team and decide whether you’d fit in with the company culture.

Although it’s obvious to you that you’ve got references to back you up, some employers still expect you to tell them that. Usually, a ‘references available on request’ note is sufficient here. Save space by skipping the photo and leaving room to call out your references.

Some companies are now using technology tools as part of their hiring process to reduce the time recruiters spend reading CVs. Sometimes, these tools use AI to scan your CV.

Many recruiters also screen CVs using ATS (applicant tracking system). Like AI screenings, ATS looks for specific parts or keywords used on your CV that relate to the job role or what the employer’s looking for.

Because of the rise of ATS and AI screening methods, you want to make sure your CV’s just as appealing to technology as it is to humans.

To give your CV the best chance of getting through, follow these tips:

• Keep it simple. Avoid symbols, pictures or overly complicated formatting.
• Use standard and easy-to-read section headings, eg. skills, education.
• Include keywords. It’s always a good idea to include keywords from the job description in your CV – but keep it natural and don’t add them in for the sake of it. If you're not sure what keywords to include, look at the skills the job post asks for, or adjectives used to describe the working environment, like fast-paced, problem-solving or customer satisfaction.
• Avoid abbreviations and spell out acronyms – for example, if you’ve got your teaching PGCE, although it uses up space, write the whole words out (Postgraduate Certificate in Education) next to the acronym.

To learn more about how to use AI in your job search, visit our complete guide to using AI for job searching and applications.

Now that you know what to put in your CV, it’s time to start building yours. But where do you begin on a blank page?

To help you get off to a good start, we’ve compiled all the best knowledge from our team to bring you our best-practice CV layout for UK applications.