CV template: General

Your CV is part of your personal marketing toolbox that you’ll use throughout your career. It’s your way of showing your best traits, proudest achievements and track record in the workplace to seal a job interview.

That’s why learning how to write your CV is a crucial part of aiding your career progression. As such, we’ve crafted a general CV template with the experts at StandOut CV to give you an overview of how yours should look.

Using a template will help you condense your experience into headings and bullet points, giving the recruiter a clearer read. Remember to apply the example bullets in the template to your own experience though.

This general CV template is useful if you’re happy in your job, but you want to keep a standardised CV on job boards in case anything better comes along.

Read on for a few extra CV tips to help you use this template.

Make a strong opening

Your personal profile is your introduction to the recruiter. Its purpose is to provide recruiters with a snapshot of your experience and what you’re like as a professional. This should be around four to five lines long and should detail your prime skills, achievements and the goals you’ve set for your career.

Detail your employment history

Another important part of your CV is listing your employment history. You need to write about your most recent positions first, detailing the employer’s name and your job title, duties and achievements. Using bullet points is a great way to demonstrate experience and skills concisely.

State your hobbies and interests

Although it’s not a requirement to state hobbies and interests on your CV, this section can help you become an interesting and likeable prospect.

If you have any interests which demonstrate your potential for learning and taking on challenges, that’s also a bonus. Keep this section concise, and you’ll leave the recruiter wanting to interview you to find out more.

For more tips on how to write a CV, see our guide