What to Put on a CV: Every Section Explained (2026 Guide)

What Should Be on a CV?

A strong CV has 6–8 sections, presented in a specific order that makes it easy for recruiters to find what they're looking for. Here's exactly what to include — and what to leave out.

The Essential CV Sections

1. Contact Information

At the very top. Include:

• •Full name (large, bold — this is your heading)
• •Phone number (mobile, always on)
• •Email address (professional: firstname.lastname@gmail.com)
• •LinkedIn URL (optional but recommended — linkedin.com/in/yourname)
• •Location (city and country — no full address needed)
• •Portfolio or GitHub (for creative or technical roles)

Leave out: Date of birth, marital status, nationality (UK/US — these invite discrimination and aren't needed). In UAE and Germany, these are expected — check the conventions for your target market.

2. Personal Statement / CV Profile

A 3–5 line summary at the top of your CV that tells the recruiter who you are and why they should keep reading.

Include:

• •Your job title or level (Senior Marketing Manager, Graduate Engineer, etc.)
• •Years of experience and key specialisation
• •One standout achievement or USP
• •What you're looking for

Avoid: Clichés ("passionate", "hardworking", "team player"), starting with "I", being vague, making it longer than 5 lines.

Example:

"Results-driven digital marketing manager with 6 years growing B2B SaaS companies. Led a team of 5 at a Series B startup, scaling paid acquisition from £15K to £120K monthly spend at 3.1x ROAS. Seeking a Head of Marketing role in a high-growth technology business."

3. Work Experience

The most important section. List in reverse chronological order (most recent first).

For each role, include:

• •Job title
• •Company name and location
• •Dates (Month Year – Month Year, or "Present")
• •3–6 bullet points of achievements (not tasks)

The achievement bullet formula:

Action verb + what you did + result (with numbers)

• "Reduced customer churn by 23% through implementation of a proactive onboarding sequence, saving £340K ARR"
• ✗"Responsible for reducing churn"

Action verbs to use: Led, Built, Grew, Reduced, Launched, Delivered, Scaled, Managed, Designed, Implemented, Negotiated, Increased, Saved, Drove

Numbers to include: %, £/$, headcount, time saved, revenue generated, team size, project value, ranking

4. Education

List in reverse chronological order. Include:

• •Degree title and classification (e.g. BSc Computer Science, 2:1)
• •University name and location
• •Graduation year (or expected)
• •A-Levels: subject and grade
• •GCSEs: mention if strong (e.g. "9 GCSEs A*–B including Maths and English")

Leave out: Primary school. Individual GCSE grades if you have A-Levels and a degree. Grades below a 2:2 (mention the degree, skip the grade).

Add if relevant:

• •Dissertation title (if related to target role)
• •Relevant modules
• •Academic prizes or scholarships

5. Skills

A concise, scannable section — primarily for ATS keyword matching.

Format options:

Categorised (best for technical roles):

Languages: Python, JavaScript, SQL

Cloud: AWS, GCP, Azure

Tools: Docker, Kubernetes, GitHub Actions

List format (best for non-technical roles):

Salesforce · HubSpot · Google Analytics 4 · Tableau · Excel (Advanced) · SQL

What to include:

• •Technical tools and software
• •Programming languages and frameworks
• •Industry-specific platforms (Bloomberg, Workday, EPIC)
• •Professional methodologies (Agile, PRINCE2, Six Sigma)
• •Languages (Spanish C1, French B2)
• •Relevant certifications with dates

What not to include:

• •Skill bars or ratings (Python ████░░ 4/5) — meaningless and ATS-invisible
• •Generic soft skills like "communication" or "teamwork" without evidence
• •Outdated or irrelevant software

6. Certifications and Professional Development

A short section listing formal qualifications that support your application:

• •AWS Solutions Architect — Associate (2024)
• •Google Analytics 4 Certification (2024)
• •PRINCE2 Practitioner (2023)
• •ACCA Part Qualified
• •First Aid at Work (2025)

Include the year — certifications without dates look potentially expired.

7. Voluntary Work and Extracurriculars (Optional)

Worth including if:

• •You're early in your career and need to demonstrate skills
• •The voluntary work is directly relevant to the role
• •It demonstrates leadership or significant achievement

Format it like work experience: organisation, role, dates, and 1–2 achievement bullets.

8. Interests (Optional)

One line, only if genuinely interesting or role-relevant. Skip "reading and socialising."

• "Amateur marathon runner (sub-3:30, London Marathon 2025)"
• "Co-founder of a 400-member local startup networking group"
• "Published author: short fiction in three UK literary magazines"

What NOT to Put on a CV

CV Length: How Long Should It Be?

Two pages is the UK standard for most professionals. Three pages is rarely justified. One page is only appropriate for graduates and career changers with short histories.

CV Section Order

The order that works for most people:

1. Contact information
2. Personal statement
3. Work experience
4. Education
5. Skills
6. Certifications
7. Voluntary work (if relevant)
8. Interests (if relevant)

Exception: If you're a graduate or career changer with limited work experience, move Education to position 3 and work experience to 4.

Check What Your CV Is Missing

Not sure if you've included everything? FixerCV's free analysis scans your CV against the job description you're applying for and tells you exactly what's missing — keywords, sections, formatting issues, and weak bullets.

Free analysis in 60 seconds at fixercv.com. No sign-up required.