Successful CV formatting depends on the CV template that you choose and how your CV format showcases your experience, skills and achievements.
Format your curriculum vitae well and both the recruiter and ATS software will find exactly what they are looking for.
But what are the considerations when formatting a CV? While fonts and graphics are visually important, there are also deeper structural considerations. If telling your career story requires a slightly different format from the norm, you should feel empowered to make that decision. It is your story - tell it in the way you feel is best.
In which circumstances might you highlight your skills over your experience? Is there a benefit in following the format norms? How is the job seeking environment of 2024 influencing the structure of CV templates? Here is what we will cover:
How you structure your CV format will depend on what aspects of your candidature a future employer wants to see in your application, but it is also very much dictated by the hard realities of your previous career. When you only have one or two pages to highlight your value, how you present your narrative can make a huge difference.
Firstly, let’s explore some more universal curriculum vitae formatting questions:
Tailor your format as well as your content. While we will explore how your career circumstances might dictate a particular format choice, your CV should be designed to optimally indicate your fit with each role. If one job description is deeply prescriptive in terms of the skillset they are looking for, a skills-led functional CV might well make more sense than a traditional reverse chronological format.
There are certain widely accepted norms on how to format a UK CV that no job seeker should ignore. No matter how “innovative” you consider your application, these few simple CV format rules are nearly set in stone:
While there are many CV format choices to make, you should never veer too far away from the norm on the above questions. You want the recruiter to be noticing your skills and experience rather than questioning left-field typeface choices.
Choose a font that your future employers are used to reading. Changing a font on a CV format is not difficult, so a sneaky way of seeming to fit in is to choose one that your employers are used to reading. Look at their emails and employer branding materials – what font are they using? You might not think that it matters, but subconsciously it might well start to ring a few bells.
Now we have covered the basics, there are three main types of CV:
This is when they are typically used:
Let’s explore the three CV format types in more detail:
Here’s a reverse chronological CV format that places recent experience at the top:
The reverse chronological format (sometimes known as traditional or chronological) is widely accepted as the best way of proving employment suitability.
Your most recent roles and experiences are considered to be most relevant to any new role, your recent employers will be scrutinised with interest and even something as simple as scanning how long you were at your most recent role will lend a degree of credibility to your potential fit.
The “reverse” aspect of the CV format means that your roles are listed in reverse order. While you don’t need to list your very earliest roles, you should be careful to avoid gaps as the chronological curriculum vitae can make them stand out.
Familiarity lets a reader focus on the content. There are many reasons why the reverse chronological CV format is ubiquitous. If you have standard work experience, there is little reason to distract from it with funky formatting choices.
Every reverse chronological CV format should have the following sections:
Let’s look at these in detail below.
Essential contact information will be expected to be in the header of any CV format. Make sure that it doesn’t take up too much space and choose colours and designs that don’t distract from your core content.
The short elevator pitch of the personal statement (or CV summary) is also included prominently in either format. It is a free-flowing block of text that is bespoke for each role and it should grab a recruiter’s attention with its personal format.
The trick with including work experience in a reverse chronological format is to include an equal amount of content for the past 2-3 roles. This will make your experience seem more significant than if you include a lot of info on the most recent role and less on previous ones. Spread out the experience you wish to demonstrate.
If you are a student or recent university graduate, then your education section should be included above the work experience. Education offers an important indication of potential in any early-career CV format. If you don’t have much work experience, then you should consider the merits of a functional CV.
While the skills section may not come at the bottom of the CV in some CV template formats, it is probably a section that is less visible. Your work experience sections will contain many of the key skills and attributes that an employer is looking for, so in this format skills are an added bonus (and ideally should not repeat what has been said in the employment part).
The hiring manager will notice the format before they get into the content, so the format choices that you make will form their first impression. Clean formatting and an absence of grammatical errors is one of the first things that recruiters take in when they scan a CV, according to Mashable.
Here’s an example of effective functional CV formatting putting skills first:
There are certain situations when your skills and abilities will be more important to securing your next role than your past employment experiences. A functional CV format can put your skills front and centre in the following situations:
In situations where your past is not the best indicator of future potential (maybe because you did not have sufficient chance to practice your skills), or when your skills base is simply too varied to outline in the work experience section, a functional CV will do the job nicely.
When you write a functional CV with a large emphasis on your skills, your CV will read differently to 95% of other candidates. If your skill base is sufficiently impressive, then this can only be a positive thing.
No one gets a job by walking into an interview and reeling off a list of skills. You will still have to tell the story behind your skills, but by highlighting them in a CV you are inviting the recruiter to explore further. Be ready to talk about them.
This is a counterintuitive one, but when you put your work experience later in the CV, a recruiter or hiring manager cannot help but read your skills first. You want as much of your candidature to be considered, so this backwards approach could work.
Here’s an example of a combination CV format with a larger emphasis on skills:
With the format of many CV templates, it is entirely possible to have an incredibly visible skills section while at the same time including a reverse chronological work history.
The combination CV format above makes the most of the space dedicated to skills and emphasizes just what a breadth of skills the candidate possesses.
You would normally include 5-6 key skills in a CV as you would want your work experience to be more prominent, but a combination CV can definitely do both. A combination CV may seem more visually “busy” than the two other CV formats, but if you have that much to say about yourself, then why not make the most of it.
Understand the value of white space. An effective CV format optimises the balance of white space to text. You need to give the reader a mental break before they move on to the next section, so make sure that there is not an unrelenting wall of text. Give a taster – they can find out more at an interview.
While this is a lot of information to take in, it is worth taking the time to decide on the right CV format for your situation. Here is a brief summary of what we have shared above with a couple of pros and cons for each format.
Reverse chronological CV format - pros
Reverse chronological CV format - cons
Functional CV format - pros
Functional CV format - cons
Combination CV format - pros
Combination CV format - cons
Choosing the best CV format for the UK can be more difficult if you’re an international applicant and are used to the North American or continental European job markets. Here are only some of the differences between a United States resume and a United Kingdom CV:
Keep in mind though that these differences can be seen as subjective/debatable and will vary depending on region, city, company and so on.
Here’s a (subjective) take from the perspective of an American with CV experience in the United Kingdom:
Or a more formal/expert take from the Financial Times (note how the advice differs regarding 1 and 2-page CVs):
At the end of the day, the best CV format for UK jobs is entirely dependent on the situation. Always analyze the employer and job position. In creative industries, you may add more flair and personality. For entry-level jobs a one-page CV may be more than enough. The best CV format in the UK will change with the circumstances… just as in any other country.
The Europass curriculum vitae system is a well-intentioned initiative to standardize the paperwork that people use to look for jobs in Europe. It’s a web-based system for producing a free electronic document that contains your contact info, work experience, education and other credentials that qualify you to obtain employment.
It should be said that not many European job seekers use it, for various reasons:
There will always be organisations that will request a Europass CV (often in the public sector), but unless it is requested, avoid this CV format at all costs.
Don’t be afraid to try different formats. Certain job application processes may require more information on skills, while others will want to dig deeper into your work experience. Don’t feel that you are obligated to stick with the same CV format for every role. When you use a CV builder, the possibilities of playing around with the formats are unlimited. Go with your gut in terms of what feels right.
2024 has brought some seismic shifts that will have an impact on the medium-term jobs market and although the reverse chronological CV has held sway for so long, the employment market is creating pockets of activity where a functional CV would work just as effectively. Here are the top 3 trends in 2024 CV formatting and formats (based on our experience and research):
1. 2024: the continued rise of the freelancer
According to CNBC, the freelance market is booming, with more than one-third of Americans turning to freelance work this year and employers looking to hire them, especially in the fields of ecommerce, web and mobile design.
For freelancers looking to build on their current skill set, a functional CV is perfect to explore their skills in depth, especially as they are often pitching their services with little knowledge of what might be required of them.
Freelancers often have multiple clients at any one time, so rather than list them all in a reverse chronological CV, it may be more efficient to list your experiences by skill or area of functional expertise.
2. 2024: the dawn of the deep specialist
According to McKinsey, specialization is the way of the future. Employees who can handle one task well are likely to fare better than generalists in the long run.
When you are deep in a certain specialization, you often require more CV real estate to do justice to your knowledge. If you also have some huge career wins, then a combination CV might be able to paint enough of a picture.
3. 2024: graduates with little experience focus on potential
Most grads might have muddled through 2020-2024 in terms of their studies, but very few will have undertaken the traditional internships and volunteer positions that have traditionally set up graduates for their first roles.
Employers are therefore being more forgiving and not expecting so much employment experience, so more early career professionals are exploring their potential with functional or combined CV formats.
How do I format my CV for the ATS?
When an ATS algorithm is scanning your curriculum vitae for keywords, you need to select a format where each CV section contains the normal headings and that the keywords are sprinkled throughout the document. The order of the headings doesn’t matter, but in even the most extreme of functional CVs there should still be a work experience section.
Some key considerations to bear in mind when choosing the best CV format:
Sometimes a job search can be tough. If you have been rejected a few times and you don’t quite understand why, it may be worth considering a slightly different CV format. You can also avoid confusion and guesswork by using our recruiter-approved CV templates - a great way to save time and achieve top results!