Simple Template You Can Use

If you are looking for a CV sample for a UK job application, the good news is that a strong CV does not need to be complicated, overly designed or packed with corporate buzzwords.

It needs to make it easy for an employer to understand who you are, what experience you have and why that experience is relevant to the job you are applying for.

The same applies if you are an employer trying to improve the quality of applications you receive. Giving candidates a simple UK CV template or example can be particularly useful when recruiting for entry level roles, returning workers or positions where applicants may not be confident CV writers.

Below, we have included a straightforward CV sample that candidates can adapt, followed by practical advice on what to include, what to leave out and how to make a CV easy for both recruiters and recruitment systems to read.

UK CV sample

Alex Morgan
Leeds, West Yorkshire
07700 000000
alex.morgan@email.com
linkedin.com/in/alexmorgan

Personal profile

Experienced customer service professional with five years’ experience working in busy customer facing environments. Confident handling enquiries, resolving problems and building positive relationships with customers. Now looking for a Customer Service Advisor position where I can use my communication and organisational skills within a supportive, growing business.

Key skills

• Customer service and relationship management

• Telephone and email communication

• Complaint handling and problem solving

• CRM and database management

• Microsoft Office

• Organisation and time management

Employment history

Customer Service Advisor | Example Services Ltd, Leeds
January 2023 to present

Provide telephone and email support to business and consumer customers, handling enquiries from initial contact through to resolution. Work closely with operational teams to resolve issues quickly and maintain strong customer satisfaction levels.

Key achievements include improving response times within the team, supporting the introduction of a new CRM system and regularly receiving positive customer feedback.

Customer Service Assistant | Example Retail Ltd, Leeds
June 2020 to December 2022

Supported customers in a busy retail environment, processed orders and payments and dealt with customer queries and complaints. Developed strong communication, teamwork and problem solving skills while working to daily service and sales targets.

Education and qualifications

Leeds College
Level 3 Diploma in Business
2018 to 2020

Example High School, Leeds
GCSEs including English and Mathematics
2013 to 2018

Additional information

Full UK driving licence.

References available on request.

A simple UK CV template to copy

If you would prefer to start from a blank structure, this simple UK CV template can be copied and adapted for most job applications.

NAME
Town or city
Telephone | Email | LinkedIn, if relevant

Personal profile

Write three or four lines explaining your experience, strongest skills and the type of role you are looking for. Tailor this section for each vacancy rather than using the same generic statement for every application.

Key skills

Choose around five to eight skills that are genuinely relevant to the vacancy.

Employment history

Job Title | Employer
Month Year to Month Year

Give a concise overview of your responsibilities, then include specific achievements or results where possible.

Repeat this for previous relevant roles, working backwards from your most recent position.

Education and qualifications

Qualification | School, college, university or training provider
Dates

Include qualifications that are relevant or useful to the role.

Additional information

Include information such as a driving licence, relevant professional membership or language skills where appropriate.

References

References can usually be supplied later in the recruitment process, so there is no need to include another person’s contact details on your CV.

The National Careers Service guidance on CV sections suggests simply stating that references are available on request.

What should a UK CV include?

A good UK CV should usually contain your contact details, a short introduction or personal profile, employment history, education and relevant skills. Your most recent work experience should generally appear first, making it easier for employers to understand your current level of experience.

The National Careers Service recommends tailoring your CV to each job and highlighting the particular skills and experience the employer has asked for.

There is no need to tell an employer everything you have ever done. Your CV should help them quickly identify the information that matters for this particular vacancy.

For most candidates, that means giving more space to recent and relevant experience and less space to jobs or qualifications from many years ago that have little connection to the role.

What personal information should you leave off a UK CV?

This is one area where UK specific CV advice is particularly important.

You should include enough information for an employer to contact you, such as your name, telephone number and email address. A LinkedIn profile can also be useful where it is relevant.

However, the National Careers Service CV guidance advises candidates not to include their age, date of birth, marital status or nationality on their CV.

You also do not generally need to include a photograph.

Your CV should be about your suitability for the job.

What does an ATS friendly CV actually mean?

Many employers use an Applicant Tracking System, usually shortened to ATS, to receive, organise and manage job applications.

An ATS should not automatically be thought of as a robot that decides whether you get an interview. Different employers use different systems and configure them in different ways. Some recruitment processes also use additional automation or AI tools that can analyse, score, rank or filter applications.

The Information Commissioner’s Office guidance on automated recruitment decisions explains that recruitment technology may analyse applications for particular words, skills or qualifications and, depending on the employer’s process, may then score or rank candidates.

For candidates, the sensible approach is therefore not to try to “beat the ATS”. Instead, create a CV that is clear, relevant and easy for both software and people to understand.

Use straightforward headings such as Employment History, Education and Skills, avoid unnecessary graphics or complicated layouts, and make sure the words you use accurately reflect your actual experience.

Most importantly, read the job advert carefully.

If an employer is asking for account management experience and you genuinely have account management experience, make sure that is obvious on your CV. Do not hide it behind vague phrases such as “excellent people person”.

That is not keyword stuffing. It is simply making your relevant experience easy to find.

Tailor your CV to each job

One of the most effective ways to improve a CV is also one of the simplest: do not send exactly the same version to every employer.

The National Careers Service recommends looking closely at the job advert, job description and essential criteria and tailoring your CV to the vacancy.

If an employer wants somebody with experience managing a team, for example, do not simply list “leadership” as a skill. Explain where you managed people, how many people you managed and, where possible, what you achieved.

Compare:

Managed a customer service team.

with:

Managed and supported a team of eight Customer Service Advisors, including performance reviews, training and day to day workload planning.

The second version gives the employer something useful to assess.

This is also why the quality of the vacancy itself matters. A clear job advert helps candidates understand exactly what experience and skills they need to demonstrate. Employers can find more guidance in our job description examples and UK templates.

Keep your CV clear and easy to read

The National Careers Service recommends using a clear font, consistent formatting, sensible headings and bullet points, as well as checking spelling and grammar carefully.

You do not need unusual fonts, progress bars showing that you are “85% good at communication”, photographs, complicated coloured charts or a layout that looks like a restaurant menu.

For most jobs, clarity beats cleverness.

Employers and recruiters are often reviewing a large number of applications, so make it easy for them to find the information they need.

Common CV mistakes to avoid

One of the most common mistakes is sending exactly the same CV for every vacancy. Another is filling it with descriptions of responsibilities without demonstrating what the candidate actually achieved.

Spelling mistakes, incorrect contact details, confusing employment dates and pages of irrelevant historic information can also make an otherwise suitable candidate harder to assess.

Generic phrases are another bugbear. Almost everybody can write that they are “hardworking”, a “good communicator” or a “team player”. Those phrases become much more credible when the CV provides examples that demonstrate them.

Employment gaps do not automatically make somebody a poor candidate either. The National Careers Service recognises that gaps in work history are normal and can occur for many different reasons.

The important thing is that your CV gives an employer a clear and honest picture of your experience.

Why employers might want to share a CV template

Not every strong candidate is a strong CV writer.

That distinction matters.

Someone may be an excellent engineer, driver, administrator, salesperson, technician or care professional without being particularly good at formatting a CV or knowing what recruiters expect to see.

Giving applicants access to a simple CV template can help them present their experience more clearly and can make applications easier for employers to review.

It can be particularly useful when recruiting people returning to work, school leavers, career changers or candidates who have been in the same job for many years and have not needed to write a CV recently.

A template should never be used to make every candidate look identical. Its purpose is simply to give people a clear structure in which to show their experience.

Better applications start with better recruitment advertising

The quality of applications employers receive is not determined by CVs alone.

A clear, well written job advert makes it much easier for candidates to understand whether they are right for the role and what information they need to demonstrate when applying.

If the advert is vague, candidates are being asked to guess.

That is why at Ad Talent Recruitment we put so much emphasis on advert writing and optimisation as part of our recruitment campaigns. The aim is not simply to generate the greatest possible number of applications. It is to help employers attract people who genuinely understand the role and are more likely to be suitable.

Our flat fee recruitment packages combine advert writing and multi job board advertising with applicant management and optional candidate screening, allowing employers to choose the level of support they need without paying traditional percentage based recruitment agency fees.

We also believe the candidate experience should not stop once somebody clicks apply. Clear communication throughout the recruitment process matters too, which is something we discuss in our guide to candidate ghosting and why good recruitment communication matters.

A good CV makes life easier for candidates and employers

A strong CV does not need to be complicated.

For candidates, the aim is to present relevant experience clearly, honestly and in a way that makes it easy for an employer to understand why you may be suitable for their vacancy.

For employers, remember that the quality of somebody’s CV is not always the same thing as the quality of the candidate behind it. A brilliantly formatted CV does not automatically make someone brilliant at their job, just as an average looking CV does not necessarily mean the person lacks the skills you need.

Recruitment works best when employers provide clear information, candidates present their experience honestly and both sides communicate throughout the process.

If you are an employer and need help attracting better candidates, view our recruitment packages or contact Ad Talent to talk through your next vacancy.

Frequently asked questions about UK CVs

What should a UK CV look like in 2026?

A UK CV should be clear, easy to read and focused on the role being applied for. It will usually contain contact details, a short personal profile, employment history, education and relevant skills. There is no single compulsory design or format.

How long should a UK CV be?

For most job applications, keep your CV concise enough that an employer can quickly understand your relevant experience. One or two pages will suit many candidates, although senior, technical or academic careers may legitimately require more detail.

The important thing is relevance rather than trying to hit an exact page count.

Should I put my date of birth on my CV in the UK?

No. The National Careers Service advises applicants not to include their age or date of birth, marital status or nationality on a CV.

Should I include a photo on a UK CV?

Usually not. For most UK jobs there is no need to include a photograph unless appearance is genuinely relevant to the profession, such as certain modelling or performance roles.

Do ATS systems automatically reject CVs?

Not necessarily. An ATS is primarily used to help employers manage recruitment and applications. Some employers also use automation or AI technology that can analyse, rank, score or filter applications, but the exact process varies between organisations.

The Information Commissioner’s Office provides useful information for jobseekers about how automated recruitment decisions may be used.

Should I use keywords in my CV?

Yes, where they accurately describe your experience.

Read the vacancy carefully and use relevant terminology from the job description naturally. If an employer asks for particular software, qualifications, industry knowledge or experience and you genuinely have it, make sure that information is easy to find.

Avoid stuffing your CV with keywords that you cannot support with genuine experience.

Should every job application use the same CV?

Ideally, no.

Your core employment history will usually remain the same, but your personal profile, key skills and the emphasis you place on different parts of your experience should be adapted according to the vacancy.

This is also the approach recommended by the National Careers Service.

Should I include references on my CV?

You generally do not need to include the names and contact details of referees on your CV. References are normally requested later in the recruitment process.

You can simply state that references are available on request.

What is the best CV format for UK job applications?

For most jobs, a straightforward reverse chronological CV works well. This means listing your most recent employment first and then working backwards.

Use recognisable section headings, readable fonts and consistent formatting. The aim is to help employers quickly understand your experience rather than impress them with complicated design.