How to write a CV that gets shortlisted

Whoever reads your CV first, whether a recruiter, a hiring manager or a workshop supervisor, will make a quick decision: can this person do the job we need doing? Your CV needs to answer it clearly. Here is how, for professional roles and skilled trades.

Get the basics right

Length

For most people, two pages is plenty. Early in your career, one page is often enough. Nobody shortlists a CV for being long. They shortlist it for being relevant.

Layout

Clear headings and a clean layout suit both human readers and the applicant tracking software many employers use. Avoid:

• Tables, text boxes and columns, which can scramble when software reads them
• Photos, graphics and skill "ratings" shown as bars or stars
• Unusual fonts or very small text

Use a standard order: contact details, a short profile, work history with the most recent job first, qualifications and tickets, then anything else relevant.

Format

Send a PDF unless the advert asks for something else, so your layout stays intact. Give the file a sensible name, such as "Jane-Smith-CV.pdf", rather than "CV final v3".

Make the top of the page count

Start with your name, phone number, email address and town or city. Underneath, write a short profile of a few lines saying what you do, what you are good at and what you are looking for. Make it specific to you:

• Weak: "Hard-working team player with excellent communication skills."
• Better: "Customer success manager from a B2B software background, focused on onboarding and renewals for mid-sized accounts."
• Better: "Time-served CNC machinist, setting and operating 3- and 5-axis mills on Heidenhain and Fanuc controls, looking for a days role."

If you have the right to work in the UK, say so, and state your notice period.

Professional roles: show outcomes, not duties

A frequent mistake is listing responsibilities. "Responsible for managing client accounts" tells the reader what your job description said. It doesn't tell them whether you were any good at it.

For each role, pick out what you achieved, and make it measurable where you can:

• Revenue you brought in or targets you hit
• Costs or time you saved
• Processes you improved, and what changed as a result
• Projects you delivered, and their scale
• People you managed or trained

Use your own real figures. If you can't share exact numbers, describe the result plainly, for example: "Rebuilt the month-end close process, shortening the timetable and reducing errors." Every number on your CV should be one you can explain at interview.

Start each bullet with a strong verb such as built, led, launched, reduced or negotiated, and keep it to one or two lines.

For software roles, list the languages and tools you have used in real work and link to relevant projects. For finance roles, give your qualification, its status (qualified, part-qualified or studying) and the systems you know.

Skilled trades: be specific about tickets and kit

Trade employers want to know exactly what you can do and on what equipment. Phrases like "experienced engineer" don't help them. Detail does.

Qualifications and tickets

Give these their own section near the top. Include:

• Your apprenticeship, NVQ, City & Guilds, HNC or equivalent
• Welding codes, with the standard, process, material and position
• 18th Edition, CSCS, forklift, IPAF, first aid and any other cards or licences
• Expiry dates where they apply

Machines, controls and processes

Name them. A supervisor reading your CV is looking for a match with their own shop floor.

• CNC machinists: machine types (lathe, mill, mill-turn), number of axes, controls (Fanuc, Heidenhain, Siemens, Haas, Mazatrol), and whether you set, prove out, program at the machine or use CAM software
• Sheet-metal workers: press brakes, guillotines, punching or laser, the materials and thicknesses you work with, and whether you read drawings and mark out
• Welders and fabricators: processes (MIG, TIG, MMA), materials (mild steel, stainless, aluminium) and positions
• SMT operators: pick-and-place machines, reflow ovens, AOI, and any IPC standards you have trained to
• Maintenance engineers: electrical, mechanical or both, PLC systems, hydraulics, pneumatics and the production lines you have kept running
• Calibration engineers: the measurement disciplines you cover and any experience working to ISO/IEC 17025 in a UKAS-accredited lab

Mention the kind of work too: prototype, small batch or high volume, the sectors you have worked in, the tolerances you regularly hold and the quality systems you have worked to.

If you drive and have your own transport, say so. For shift work it often matters.

Tailor it every time

You don't need a new CV for every application, but you should adjust it. Make sure what the advert asks for is easy to find, move your most relevant experience higher, and use the advert's wording where it honestly describes what you have done.

What to leave out

• Your full address, date of birth, marital status or a photo
• Your reasons for leaving previous jobs
• Your salary history
• Hobbies, unless they are relevant to the role
• "References available on request", which employers assume anyway
• Full detail on jobs from long ago; a line or two each is enough

Gaps in your work history are fine. A short, honest line explaining one is better than leaving the reader to guess.

Check it before you send it

Read it aloud, check the spelling, dates and contact details, then ask someone you trust to read it too.

When your CV is ready, take a look at our live vacancies across professional roles and skilled trades. If nothing fits right now, you can send us your CV through our contact page.