Basic C.V and Cover Letter Template

Omg thank you so much  for posting this! I have been struggling with how I should write my resume since I'll be having to find a new job in the UK. I was not sure how I should do my resume for a job in the UK and this has been extremely helpful!! 

Great info, thanks!

How would you suggest showing travel?  I spent 20 months traveling around the world (that's how I met my Brit), and it was a major hurdle in finding a job in NYC.  Now I'm looking to the future and finding a job in the UK and I don't want to go through the same hoops. 

Anything for an IT person
Also Photography

IT is kind of broad. Have you thought of meeting with agents to discuss what they expect in a CV?

Just curious - are there any current examples of a CV/Resume? (Is there a difference? Which is expected?) My company is providing me "Transition Services" because of being  laid off, and they're super happy to help me get my resume into the right format for job hunting in Bristol once we finish the visa process. I just need some current examples. Format in the US has changed a lot since 2010, so I wasn't sure if it was the same situation there! (My fiance was happy to tell me that his is terrible and out of date.) Thanks

It's been about 6 years since I wrote my UK CV, but I haven't heard anything about the format changing here.

There are some examples of different types of CV on the Prospects website (graduate/career site) - traditional CV, skills-based CV, academic CV etc.:
How to Write a CV: https://www.prospects.ac.uk/careers-advice/cvs-and-cover-letters/how-to-write-a-cv
Example CVs: https://www.prospects.ac.uk/careers-advice/cvs-and-cover-letters/example-cvs
Top 5 CV mistakes: https://www.prospects.ac.uk/careers-advice/cvs-and-cover-letters/top-5-cv-mistakes
Cover Letters: https://www.prospects.ac.uk/careers-advice/cvs-and-cover-letters/cover-letters

A suggestion for you, look up and see what the UK equivalents are for your GPA, skills, and the like. If you can tell them how you have the skills they want in their language then you have a high likelihood of being hired!

My husband helped me with my CV. Seriously, put your hobbies and interests on your CV. UK employers want to see what you do in your downtime. Weird, right?

Seriously, put your hobbies and interests on your CV. UK employers want to see what you do in your downtime. Weird, right?

I don't find it that weird, but then I grew up here, so it's all I've known .

I think though that my hobbies helped me get my job - when the interview panel asked me about teamwork, I rather than a standard answer about working in a team at university or at my old job. I used an example of climbing a volcano in Guatemala at night and helping everyone I was with to carry on and keep going - we worked as a team to get to the top.

My old roommate and I were discussing why we thought we got the job and not the others who applied. Everyone from her masters course applied for it and only two got an interview. One was my roommate who had various hobbies and had spent several months teaching scuba diving in Australia and travelling in Indonesia. The other was a very academic girl who had no extra-curricular activities and when asked about teamwork could only provide an example of working on a group university project. They were both equally academically qualified for the job but my roommate had the edge because of her cool hobbies and got the job.



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A suggestion for you, look up and see what the UK equivalents are for your GPA, skills, and the like. If you can tell them how you have the skills they want in their language then you have a high likelihood of being hired!

My husband helped me with my CV. Seriously, put your hobbies and interests on your CV. UK employers want to see what you do in your downtime. Weird, right?

Would you possibly be willing to share your CV with the personal details removed? They're having someone help with the writing, and I basically provide them everything they need details-wise and they put it all together.

I usually add my hobbies in the cover letter because they're actually relevant to the career.

I'm a bit worried about college because I never finished my degree, and kinda floundered a bit while figuring out what I wanted to be when I grew up. I have 2.5 years in a somewhat related degree program, and a 1-year certificate, and then was self-taught which for programming disciplines is fairly common here.

Will they actually need high school and college transcripts as a mid-career employee with years of experience?? I started college in 1998, and did the 1-year certificate 10 years ago.

Would you possibly be willing to share your CV with the personal details removed? They're having someone help with the writing, and I basically provide them everything they need details-wise and they put it all together.

I usually add my hobbies in the cover letter because they're actually relevant to the career.

I'm a bit worried about college because I never finished my degree, and kinda floundered a bit while figuring out what I wanted to be when I grew up. I have 2.5 years in a somewhat related degree program, and a 1-year certificate, and then was self-taught which for programming disciplines is fairly common here.

Will they actually need high school and college transcripts as a mid-career employee with years of experience?? I started college in 1998, and did the 1-year certificate 10 years ago.

Let me think on that a little bit, no one's ever asked me that before. Haha.

And seriously, put your hobbies on your CV at the very end. If you're applying for jobs online (which you will) not everyone accepts a cover letter. Most do, but not all. They honestly want to know if you like to bake or make jewelery or do photography or run/hike/bike. They like well rounded individuals at medium to large companies.

Do you know if the career path you're interested in pursuing in the UK requires a University degree? (College is a different thing in the UK, may as well start using the right vocabulary words, right? ) It would be good for you to know, if you really need to hit on your work experience rather than a degree.

What I would suggest is looking at what jobs are you would be interested in applying for in the UK and figuring out how your current skillls, work experience and education apply to their requirements. That lets you see if you need to translate your college coursework and other work skills in to the UK equivalents.

Most popular are ones like Reed, indeed, CV libraryou, and a few others. Sorry I can't remember off the top of my head, I'm on my mobile.

You'd be surprised about some employers liking to see what grades you got in school. No one's asked for transcripts, but I did put my college GPA on there since it was a UK 2:1. As for high school, some jobs have a requirement of taking specific GCSE subjects (some of our high school years). I'm not sure exactly what you want to do for work.

And just as some info for you, since you won't have any UK work experience, don't be discouraged if it takes a bit longer than you expect to get a job. It took me about 6 weeks to get my first job and that was applying for any and every job that I felt I was qualified for. And it wasn't something I actually wanted to do either. Cie la vie, eh?

And just to add..be sure to tailor your CV for each job you apply for. I know that sounds daunting, but a recruiter told me that the first section of your CV will determine if an employer will continue reading, so include lots of keywords relevant to the position if you can in that first section that introduces you.

And with your experience, be sure to really highlight what you did that is most relevant to the job you are applying for. I know this is probably a given, but for example if I applied for a job that works in the community, I highlight everything I did that worked with people as much as possible, and if it was doing online work, I highlight the examples of that first and foremost.

Again, I know this is probably a "duh" moment, but when I was younger, I had my CV/resume that I used as my go-to for any job I applied for. A recruiter pointed it out what I needed to do for each position

I hope that makes sense!

I'm just glad I never really had to go through this process.

And just to add..be sure to tailor your CV for each job you apply for. I know that sounds daunting, but a recruiter told me that the first section of your CV will determine if an employer will continue reading, so include lots of keywords relevant to the position if you can in that first section that introduces you.

And with your experience, be sure to really highlight what you did that is most relevant to the job you are applying for. I know this is probably a given, but for example if I applied for a job that works in the community, I highlight everything I did that worked with people as much as possible, and if it was doing online work, I highlight the examples of that first and foremost.

Again, I know this is probably a "duh" moment, but when I was younger, I had my CV/resume that I used as my go-to for any job I applied for. A recruiter pointed it out what I needed to do for each position

I hope that makes sense!

Thanks yeah, it's definitely the same in the US with your resume. You always want to tailor it to the key words in the posting. In the US you also have to make it by screening software most of the time, so it's not a surprise when you don't get a call back if you didn't have the key things they were looking for (skills, education etc)

I've gotten some excellent advice here, so I should be all set to put it together, and hopefully it'll help anyone else sorting out their first UK CV!