How to write your work experience on a CV

Your work experience is the heart of your CV – and for good reason. 

It’s the part recruiters pay closest attention to because it shows your track record, and how you’ll continue it at their company.

In this guide, we’ll show you how to write your work experience on a CV properly: tailoring it to each job application, and making sure it clearly shows your tangible impact and genuine value.

First things first, the work experience you include should be listed in reverse chronological order, with the newest stuff at the top – this is the most relevant to your skillset.

There’s no need to list your whole job history – what you choose to highlight is all down to how relevant it is to the roles you’re applying for.

As you’d expect, your recent roles carry the most weight on your CV. Recruiters typically focus on your last 5 or so years of experience, so it’s worth taking time to expand on these. 

Use the below consistent structure for each job entry to make your CV easy to read and scannable.

This bit’s pretty self-explanatory – start each entry with your job title, written clearly and professionally, alongside the company name.

If your title was specific to your company and might not be widely recognised, feel free to adjust it slightly: Customer Service Manager will make more sense to recruiters than Customer Happiness Lead.

CV templates 

Just below the job title and company, write a short 1-2 sentence summary of the company and your role within it. This gives essential context.

You should mention the industry, the size or type of the organisation, and your position within the wider team or department you worked with.

Here’s the bulk of each individual entry: giving employers a practical sense of what you did and how you operated within the team or business. 

Use bullet points for easy reading, and aim to give a well-rounded picture of your daily responsibilities and the skills you demonstrated. These are the sorts of things recruiters are going to be looking for in a CV:

• Who did you work with? – Mention the key people or groups you interacted with, such as customers, clients, senior staff, or external partners. If you managed or supervised others, be sure to include the number of team members or direct reports.
• What tools did you use? – Include the systems, platforms, or software that were essential to your role. This means standard office tools or industry-specific programs and technical platforms like CRM systems and design tools.
• How did you demonstrate your expertise? – Use industry-relevant language, acronyms, and recognised methods or frameworks to show you’re confident and experienced in your field. These will be the keywords recruiters are scanning for, and they show your depth of knowledge.
• What kind of work did you deliver? – If your role involved producing work – whether that’s reports, marketing materials, product prototypes, or creative assets – highlight these responsibilities. Where possible, name key projects or deliverables and describe your role in their creation.
• What kind of environment did you work in? – Give recruiters a feel for the pace and atmosphere of your previous roles. Were you part of a fast-moving team with shifting deadlines, or did you work in a more structured, process-driven setting? This can help employers assess how you’ll fit into their organisation.

Within each role, try to list about 3 bullet points which highlight what you accomplished. Did you help reduce costs, improve processes, or increase customer satisfaction? 

These might include financial wins (like reducing costs or boosting revenue), customer success stories (such as improving satisfaction or helping clients grow), media recognition (including awards or press coverage you contributed to), and internal recognition (like promotions, added responsibilities, or company awards).

Use numbers or specific examples to back this up where possible. Achievements show that you didn’t just do the job – you made an actual impact.

You should be keeping your CV length to 2 pages, so don’t waste valuable space on ancient roles which don’t reflect your current situation.

Old roles follow a similar layout: but should only state the dates of employment, your job title, the company name, and a brief outline. Self-explanatory titles, like Checkout Assistant, don’t even need an outline.

Seeing as you should emphasise newer jobs and save on space, consider combining roles from over 10 years ago, or dropping them entirely. 

And remember that a CV should demonstrate your current expertise and credibility: a fresh graduate doesn’t need to include their summer holiday as a dog walker. Keep the focus on what’s relevant to your target employers.

If you don’t have much formal work experience, don’t panic – you can still create a strong CV that gets attention. Employers understand that everyone starts somewhere, and what matters most is showing that you have potential and transferable skills.

Start by focusing on any relevant experiences outside of paid employment. This can include volunteering, school or university projects, internships, part-time jobs, freelance work, or personal projects. Even running a blog, tutoring a sibling, or helping with a community event can demonstrate skills like communication, organisation, or responsibility.

Treat each entry as you would a job, complete with bullet points outlining what you did and what you learned. If you’ve used software or tools commonly found in the workplace (like Microsoft Office, Google Docs, or Canva), mention those too.

Build your CV now 

To make your work history as effective and impactful as possible, keep these key tips in mind when writing and refining this section of your CV.

Start each bullet point with a strong verb that clearly shows what you did. Words like “managed,” “led,” “delivered,” “developed,” or “coordinated” make your experience sound more dynamic and confident. 

Don’t use the same generic CV for every job. Look at the job description and identify keywords or specific skills the employer is looking for, then reflect those in your bullet points and job summaries.

If a role doesn’t add value to your application – or it’s from 10 years ago and no longer relevant – it’s fine to leave it out or summarise it briefly. Focus on highlighting the experience that’s most closely aligned with the position you’re applying for.

Wherever possible, quantify your impact. Did you increase sales? Save time? Reduce costs? Adding numbers or measurable outcomes makes your achievements feel more concrete and helps employers understand the scale of your contribution.

Include your job title, company name, dates of employment, and bullet points outlining your responsibilities and achievements.

Aim to cover the last 10 years, focusing on the most relevant and recent roles. Older jobs can be summarised or omitted entirely if they’re irrelevant or if space is limited.

Focus on transferable skills from volunteering, part-time work, personal projects, or education. Present them using the same format as formal jobs.

Briefly explain any gaps if needed, and highlight what you did during that time – like studying, volunteering, or developing new skills.

Yes – if they’re relevant and demonstrate useful skills, treat them like formal jobs with role titles, dates, and bullet points.

Aim for 8 bullet points for recent roles, and fewer (1-3) for older or less relevant positions.

Match your bullet points to the job description by focusing on the most relevant duties, skills, and achievements for that specific role.