CV Format: Best UK Samples & Templates for 2024

Changing jobs is stressful. Going through hundreds of job listings can take hours. And then, all these doubts about your job application: Is it professional enough? Is the CV format right?

Let’s address them straight away. In a matter of minutes, you’ll understand how to format a CV for any profession in the UK.

This guide will help you to understand what does a good CV look like in terms of structure. You'll also learn about 2 main UK CV formats to consider for your application and the pros and cons of each.

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The LiveCareer online CV maker lets you build a professional CV fast and download it as a PDF or DOC.

Want to read more about CV writing? Check these guides, too:

• Best AI CV Makers to Help You Write Your CV
• Can AI Help Write Your CV? Tips & Guidelines
• Canva CV Templates & Best Alternatives
• CV and Resume Differences to Figure Out
• Is ChatGPT Helpful When Writing a CV?
• Should You Even Put Address Details on a CV?
• Speculative CV: What Is It & How to Write
• Transferable Skills & Why They Really Matter
• What is Europass CV & Do You Need One
• What is a Perfect CV and How to Write One

What is a CV format?

CV format is the structure that determines how your CV looks. It helps to keep your CV in check to make it look neat. A typical CV format has the following sections: contact information, personal statement, education history, work experience, skills, and added sections like hobbies and interests.

Besides that, CV formatting relates to headings, CV fonts, bullet points, spacing, etc.

UK CV formats for jobs: 2 types

When deciding on a professional CV format, you have these 2 options:

• Reverse-chronological CV format, which focuses on work experience.
• Functional CV format, which gives a spotlight on the candidate’s skills.

Now, let me explain chronological and functional CV formats in more detail:

1. Reverse-chronological CV format

Reverse-chronological CV format is considered the most popular one. It emphasizes work experience and career achievements, starting with the most recent positions and continuing with previous jobs. This professional CV format is easy to adapt for candidates of all experience levels.

What does the reverse-chronological CV format look like? It should feature the key CV sections in the following order: header, personal statement, work experience, education, skills, and added sections.

Let’s see the example:

CV format template—reverse chronological CV 

As you can see, this CV format highlights the candidate’s professional experience, displaying his most recognizable accomplishments. It also presents tangible examples of his work to underline his engagement and impact. 

Should you choose the reverse-chronological CV format?

The reverse-chronological format is widely accepted by recruiters, and it emphasizes work experience, which is often the most sought-after by employers. Using this CV format will help you draw a recruiter’s attention and provide exactly what they expect.

At the same time, the reverse-chronological CV format might unnecessarily underline some deficiencies, such as limited work experience or frequent career changes. So first, I recommend that you check if this CV format matches the dynamics of your work history. What gets you the job might not always be your work experience.

Pros & cons of a reverse-chronological CV format

Pros:

• This CV writing format is known by all recruiters.
• It fosters clarity and simplicity, and it’s the easiest one to navigate for the reader.
• It highlights your career progression and most recent accomplishments first.
• It can be easily scanned by Applicant Tracking Systems.

Cons: 

• It makes career gaps and unusual career choices easy to spot.
• Might not be the best for freelancers who work on short-term projects.
• It is not recommended for individuals who switch careers often.

Now, let me showcase an alternate UK good CV format that is definitely better suited for those with limited experience or nonlinear career paths.

A strong CV summary will convince the recruiter you’re the perfect candidate. Save time and choose a ready-made personal statement written by career experts and adjust it to your needs in the LiveCareer CV builder.

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2. Functional CV format

Functional CV format, also called skill-based CV, highlights mostly the applicant’s qualifications. The work experience section is minimized in this CV format, and most of the attention is given to a candidate’s skills and abilities.

What does the skills-based CV look like? It starts with a personal statement, followed by the key skills section containing key hard skills and soft skills with short descriptions. Below, it displays your work experience, education levels, and additional information you want to include.

Before you decide if you want to write a skill-based CV, see this functional UK style CV format example:

CV format template—functional (skill-based) CV

In the functional CV format, your work experience is woven into the skills section. It’s an efficient way to draw a recruiter’s attention to your unique abilities while still keeping enough focus on your professional achievements.

Should you use the skills-based CV format?

Whether you choose a traditional, reverse-chronological CV format or a skills-based CV format will depend on your circumstances. I often recommend a widely-known chronological CV structure, but there are some cases where you might find a skills-based CV format more accurate.

This CV format works well for individuals with non-standard career paths, such as:

• Freelance artists, consultants, or gig workers.
• People switching from one career to another.
• Recent graduates or entry-level individuals.
• Those with career gaps in work history.

Pros & cons of a functional CV format

Pros:

• It’s ideal to showcase your strong skill set.
• It might help to shift the focus away from your work experience when needed.
• It’s perfect if you have diverse experiences and many transferable skills. 

Cons:

• It’s more difficult to scan for people and ATS systems than the classic CV style.
• It minimises the work experience, which is mostly sought after by recruiters.
• It’s not ATS-friendly, so it might impact your visibility to employers.

How to format a CV?

Most job seekers sit to their CVs with a question: What should a CV look like to stand out? First, take care of the basics, such as structure and formatting. If you prefer making your own CV layout (e.g. in Word) rather than using downloadable templates, you must know the golden formatting rules.

Here’s how to format a UK CV:

Key CV formatting tips

• Apply one-inch margins on all sides of the document.
• Choose a classic CV font such as Calibri or Verdana.
• Use 10–12 pt. font size for paragraphs and 13–14 for headings.
• Set line spacing to 1 or 1.15.
• Align the text to the left side of the document.
• Use bullet points to list information.
• Keep the CV length limited to 2 pages maximum.
• Save the CV in PDF to preserve formatting.

I advise that you browse through sample CV layouts to understand how a CV should look in 2024. You want to make an impression, so keep the appearance of your CV tidy.

If you want to save time, you might opt for free CV templates. They’re quite easy to find, like, for example, Word CV templates. Since they’re pre-formatted, you just need to choose the one you like and fill it out with your information.

You don’t have to be a CV writing expert. In the LiveCareer CV builder you’ll find ready-made content for every industry and position, which you can then add with a single click.

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Best CV format examples

Still, there’s a choice of professional CV builders that help you build your UK style CV from scratch with little effort. They handle your CV formatting correctly and provide suggestions on each section to make it shine. You only need to put your information right there and pick the CV style that reflects your idea.

Here’s a selection of best CV templates you can find in the LiveCareer CV builder—they’re extremely easy to use and adjust, so leave your worries away if making a CV is witchcraft for you.

1. Trendy 4 CV template

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This Trendy 4 CV format leaves the majority of space for work experience, making it the highlight of your application. It also has a distinctive coloured column displaying key contact details, the candidate’s profile summary, and skills, ensuring they’re well visible, too.

2. Modern 8 CV format template

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My next pick is this Modern 8 CV format containing an upper bar with the candidate’s bolded name. Showcasing a candidate’s name prominently has become an effective way to grab attention. The rest of the information is ordered in a typical reverse-chronological format to keep this UK style CV neat and easy to read.

3. Trendy 3 CV template

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Job seekers tend to choose bookmark-styled CVs as they add an appealing touch to their applications. Besides the aesthetics, the navy blue bar in this Trendy 3 CV format helps to highlight the candidate’s professional summary and skills.

4. Professional 5 CV template

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Apart from formatting, it is important that you pay attention to your CV colours. They also significantly impact your CV's visual part, conveying information about your personality and attitude. For example, an orange colour might imply energy and productivity, like in this Professional 5 CV format. 

5. Creative CV format template

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My last choice is the Creative CV format. It’s quite minimalistic and, hence, clear and readable. Contrary to the previous CV formats, it features a different set-up, displaying skills, education, and certifications on the right. Since it has no distinctive graphic elements, subtle orange accents make this CV more interesting.

That’s all there is to know about CV formats. Do you have any questions regarding the differences between the reverse-chronological and skill-based CV formats? Would you like to share your insight on the topic? Let me know in the comments below.

How we review the content at LiveCareer

Our editorial team has reviewed this article for compliance with Livecareer’s editorial guidelines. It’s to ensure that our expert advice and recommendations are consistent across all our career guides and align with current CV and cover letter writing standards and trends. We’re trusted by over 10 million job seekers, supporting them on their way to finding their dream job. Each article is preceded by research and scrutiny to ensure our content responds to current market trends and demand.