CV examples to adapt to your experience

Choose an example by career stage and responsibilities, not just job title. A student needs space for education and projects; an experienced applicant needs evidence from recent jobs. Compare the example with the actual posting before borrowing its structure.

List the tasks you could already perform and the experiences that demonstrate them. A retail role might show customer communication, scheduling or stock management. A university project might show research, teamwork or a specific technical method. Keep the evidence that helps the employer understand your fit, even when your previous job had a different title.

Copy the reasoning behind a bullet, then write your own evidence. A useful experience entry explains an action, its context and its outcome. Replace vague phrases such as responsible for customers with a specific description of the requests you handled and the tools you used.

Only add numbers you can explain and support. If you do not have reliable totals, describe the scope of the work instead: the type of customers, the procedure or the team involved. Do not inherit an example's invented employer, certification or achievement. Fictional material is a writing aid, never a record of your experience.

Make your experience, education and relevant skills easy to locate. Use recognizable section headings, consistent dates and a clear sequence from recent roles to earlier ones. For a UK or Irish application, leave out a photo and personal details such as marital status.

Include a professional email address and a phone number you actually check. A relevant portfolio or project link can give context to technical or creative work. Explain unfamiliar qualifications without claiming a UK equivalence you do not hold. Keep language levels and software knowledge accurate, because an interviewer may ask you to demonstrate them in practice.

Read the exported document alongside the job advert before sending it. Check that the most relevant experience is visible near the top and that the wording reflects your actual contribution. Remove repeated duties that add no new information about your abilities.

Open the PDF and inspect its page breaks, dates and contact details. Copy its text into a plain text editor to check the reading order. An applicant tracking system, or ATS, may process the document differently depending on its configuration. A readable file helps, but no template or automated score can guarantee an interview or a hiring decision.