What to include in a CV in 2023

What should you include in your CV ?

What you include in your CV is important. It is your first impression and is what will secure you that all-important job interview.

But with so many different pieces of advice and with employers' wants and needs changing over time it can be difficult to know what to include in a CV in 2023.

That is why we've put together this guide of what employers want from your CV in 2023

This is an overview of what to include in your CV

Your name and contact details – At the top so nobody misses them
Your profile / personal Statement – A short section about yourself
Your skills – Tell them what you are good at
Work experience – Where you've worked and hen
Education/qualifications – What you've studied

Name & contact details

Put your contact details at the top of your CV so employers can find them easily.

The details you should include are:

Your name
Your email address - Use a professional email (or create one just for job searching)
Your telephone number
Your location (doesn't need to be your full address but it helps them know that you are local to the job)

Do not include

Links to your social media profiles (this is not an opportunity to get more TikTok followers)
Your date of birth
A photo of yourself

A short profile/personal statement

When applying for a job your CV will be one of many that lands on an employer's desk. This is your chance to stand out from the crowd. The trick here is to keep it short, and on point and make it relevant to the employer. This is not your life story

So, what should you include in your profile or personal statement? Include your recent and relevant qualifications - for example, "I'm a recent graduate in business management"

Where you've worked - for example, "I have experience in working in high street retail for one of the UK's largest clothing retailers" What are your relevant skills - Try and match this to the employer's needs, for example, "I have previous managerial and sales experience"

Why do you want this job - Talk about why you want this job and why you are the right candidate.

Remember you only have a few seconds to get your message across, so write a persuasive short paragraph that tells people why they should hire you – and make sure you tailor your profile to the job you are applying for as this will make your CV stand out to employers.

Your skills section

Highlight what you are good at by including a core skills section just below your personal statement.

This is a bullet point list that shows what skills you have and that you are a match for the job you are applying for. Despite this being the second thing on your CV it will probably be the first thing an employer looks at. Include skills and experience that employer's are looking for - for example, technical skills like - Excel, Word, and Photoshop and soft skills such as - customer service, complaints handling, time management and problem-solving.

Your work experience

Now it’s time to add your work experience. Don’t worry if this is your first job and you have no direct work experience yet.

You can include school projects, work placements, voluntary work – or anything else that might be relevant.

You should list your work experience starting with your most recent job first and going backwards in time.

Each job should include:

The dates you worked there
Your job title
The companies name

Then underneath that a short description. You should aim to include a brief description of your duties, the skills you used and any key achievements you had working there. Again keep it short and relevant.

Your education & qualifications

You should add your most important qualifications at the top of your CV in your personal statement and core skills. A detailed list of your education should be put at the bottom of your CV.

This section depends on how much work experience you have, the more work experience you have the less detail you'll need in the education section.

If you have previous work experience just include a list of your highest education (such as your degree) along with other important qualifications you have.

If you have less work experience list all of your qualifications from high school to now and detail any projects or experience that is relevant to the job you are applying for. Finally, try and keep your CV to just one page. A CV is designed to peak an employers interest to offer you an interview, it isn't your life story so keep it short and on point.

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