CVs (or résumés)

• Example CVs

  Here are some example CVs and résumés to help you put the advice on this page into practice. Open in the desktop version of Word.

  • Part-time jobs CV (Word)
  • Earth and Environmental Sciences CV (Word)
  • Management Consulting CV (Word)
  • International Relations example resume US format (Word)

• Match your CV to the job

  First, you should create and regularly update a ‘master’ CV, where you record your most important commitments and achievements. Keep adding to this document with every new course, job, or voluntary opportunity: this document can be as long as you want.

  Then, when you send a CV to an employer, use relevant content from your ‘master’ CV. It should match the job you’re applying for, to show the employer how well you meet their requirements. The more you match your CV to the job, the better your chances of being selected for interview.

  To match your CV to the job, you should look carefully at the job description. This will outline the key skills and experiences the employer is looking for in a successful applicant. Your CV needs to reflect and show evidence of these.

  Even if you don’t have any directly relevant experience, it’s still possible to highlight the key transferable skills you have gained from your degree, work and voluntary experience, or extra-curricular activities. Transferable skills are things like communication skills, commercial awareness, and adaptability. The kinds of transferable skill that the job demands will be clear from the job description. Find out more about the transferable skills employers want (Prospects).

  Additionally, you should carefully research the organisation you’re applying to. This means:

  • visiting their website and understanding their values and culture
  • researching their corporate structure, competitors, products and services
  • following any news stories or press coverage about them
  • attending any online events they are running and following them on their social media platforms.

  Applicant tracking systems

  Applicant tracking systems (ATSs) are a type of software that initially scan, sort and rank your CV in a short space of time, before a human reads it. ATSs are becoming increasingly common, especially among large graduate employers.

  To ensure your CV does not get ‘filtered out’ during this stage, it’s especially important to match your CV to the job description. This includes using ‘keywords’ in your CV that appear in the job description. For example, if the job description repeatedly refers to the need to have ‘sales skills’, make sure that your CV refers to ‘sales skills’ wherever relevant.

  Here are more ways to help make your CV ATS friendly:

  • If the job description calls for a specific qualification or skill that you have, list this on your CV exactly as it appears in the job description.
  • Submit your CV as a Word document, not a PDF, unless you are explicitly given permission to do so.
  • Do not put any information in a document header or footer: it should be in the main body of the document only.
  • Follow the general formatting advice given below, bearing in mind that using unusual fonts, graphics, or designs on your CV may confuse an ATS.

  For additional information about ATSs, see:

  • ATS: What you need to know (Reed)
  • Beat the bots: 6 tips for writing an ATS-friendly CV (TopCV)

• Content

  Use short, bullet-pointed paragraphs to specifically describe what you have done and what the outcome was. Always keep the job description in mind.
  
  You may find it helpful to use the STAR technique to structure your paragraphs. This stands for Situation (S), Task (T), Action (A), Result (R). For example:

  • (Situation) Summer 2020 Red Triangle Ltd (Small brand consultancy) Marketing Intern
  • (Task) Tasked with implementing a marketing plan to attract more customers
  • (Action) Designed and implemented a comprehensive social media strategy, including LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.
  • (Result) Resulted in an increase in traffic of 40% to the company website within four weeks.

  Apply this technique to all activities, whether in your work, volunteering, or extra-curricular interests, to show that you have the skills and experience that the job requires.

  When describing the results of your actions, you should be as specific as possible. You should also quantify whenever you can. Quantifying can involve saying things like:

  • ‘Undertook weekly presentations at both internal and external meetings to a wide audience of over 200 people, ranging from industry professionals to clinicians and fellow researchers’.
  • ‘Achieved a First in a Careers Management Skills module, scoring 94% for teamwork skills’.
  • ‘Increased membership by 35% through effective use of Facebook and innovative activities during Welcome Week’.
  • ‘Led a team that raised £1,450 for a local hospice, sourcing donations from business and the general public’.
  • ‘Authored a literature review, and a 1,500-word New Scientist article, about the link between diet and mental health, aimed at an academic audience’.
  • ‘Promoted to Bar Supervisor after working for the company for 12 months. Managed two staff members, ensuring all aspects of a shift ran smoothly in a demanding, customer-focused environment’.

  You should use strong action words at the start of your CV entries, bullet points and sentences to make a strong impression. See a list of action verbs.

• Structure

  Your CV should have a clear and consistent structure. This can vary, but the following headings, in the following order, are common: 

  Contact details

  Your name, address, telephone number, professional email address (this can be your St Andrews email address), and LinkedIn profile. 

  Personal profile  

  A brief (no more than 50-word) overview of you, your ambitions, your experience and your skills, especially those most relevant to the job you are applying for. If you are short of space, you can omit this section, unless there is a specific reason to include it. 

  Education 

  List your educational achievements. Give details of modules or subjects studied if this will directly benefit your application.  

  Work experience and volunteering 

  Include all work and voluntary experience relevant to the role you are applying for.  

  Positions of responsibility 

  Note any posts you have held that involve some element of responsibility. These do not need to be paid and could include, for example, a treasurer role within a student society.  

  Achievements 

  List any notable achievements, such as academic or extra-curricular awards, like being included on the Deans' List or achieving the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. 

  Skills 

  Note any skills or qualifications you have that may not be demonstrated elsewhere on your CV, such as Microsoft Office Specialist certifications.  

  Interests 

  These can be included if they help your application, such as when they suggest that you possess strengths and skills relevant to the role you are applying for.  

  Referees 

  When providing contact details for your referees, provide their full name, title, business address, email and telephone number. Otherwise, write ‘References available upon request’. If you are short of space, you can omit this section, unless there is a specific reason to include it. 

• Formatting and length

  Your CV should be consistently and professionally presented. Employers will reject applications with poor spelling or grammar, so write in good English and revise English grammar rules. If applying for jobs in the UK, ensure you use British spelling throughout.

  If you use English as a second language, the University's Learning and Writing Centre offers one-to-one tutorials to help you improve the accuracy of your language in job and internship applications.
  
  You should also take note of the following points:

  • CVs can vary in length - always check the job description. As a guideline:
    • For term-time jobs, one A4 page.
    • For work experience, internships and graduate jobs, one or two A4 pages. 
    • For academic jobs, CVs tends to be longer and can include more information in the form of appendices.
  • The font should be no smaller than size 10 and no larger than size 12. Use a modern and professional font style, such as Arial, Calibri or Times New Roman.
  • List your experiences and education in reverse chronological order (most recent at the top) so the employer sees your most recent experience first. An exception to this is if your most recent experience is not your most relevant experience: always draw attention to your most relevant experience by putting it at the top of the first page.
  • Avoid using too much text – be concise and use short sentences.
  • Write in the third person and use action verbs to make your writing impactful.
  • For UK CVs, don't include a photo (unless you are asked for one), your date of birth or your marital status.

• Academic CVs

  Academic CVs are used to apply to academic roles, usually within a university or other higher education institution. They are similar to non-academic CVs, but differ in a few important ways:

  • They should focus much more on your academic achievements and research activities. This includes degrees you have been awarded, articles or books you have published, conferences you have organised, and presentations you have given.
  • They should emphasise your academic teaching experience, including that gained when you were a research postgraduate.
  • They should include your professional memberships and details of any grants or funding that you have been awarded.
  • If you have specialist research skills, such as the ability to read certain languages, you should note this.
  • They can be much longer than non-academic CVs, often several pages long. However, like non-academic CVs, they should still be clear and concise.
  • At least one of your referees should be a member of academic staff.

  When structuring your CV, you may want to create dedicated sections for your publications, teaching experience, and research activities. Be sure to put the most important of these on your CV’s first page.

  For further guidance, see academic CVs for PhD applications (FindAPhD). 

International CVs

Though the advice on this page is applicable to CVs in general, employers’ expectations for your CV may differ depending on the country you are applying in.

GoinGlobal (login required) is a resource that gives advice on tailoring your CV for international jobs, with guidance on CV expectations in over 45 countries.

See also advice on working abroad (Prospects).