Indian Resumes Versus UK CVs
A large majority of individuals I support are Indian nationals who although possess fantastic professional experience, valuable knowledge and highly impressive academic backgrounds, struggle to secure interviews and achieve success with their UK job search simply because they are not aware of the format and expectations required of UK CVs. Please don’t let this be you. Your CV is the very first step to achieving your goal of living and working in the UK.
My professional experience of supporting individuals from a range of diverse backgrounds, gives me first hand insight into the differing approaches to CVs, dependant on an individual's social and cultural background. It is definitely not a one size fits all approach. It is a matter of context. The content and layout of CVs differ across countries and cultures and essentially mirror the status quo of recruitment practices in each country. For example, a UK CV is often 2 pages, includes a professional profile section and highlights a balance between your interpersonal skills in addition to your technical ones. If you are serious about getting a job in the UK, then investing time, effort and money into ensuring your CV is up to UK standards is pertinent before even thinking about starting your job search. You don't know what you don't know though, right? This is where I can help. Having looked at hundreds of CVs for Indians looking for a job in the UK, I have not only developed sound knowledge of the differences between Indian resumes and UK CVs, but also identified a number of common mistakes which could see your CV instantly rejected.
So here are the 10 things NOT to do on a UK CV.
1. On a UK CV, you should never include a photo, your marital status, age, nationality and visa status. You only need, your name, (address), LinkedIn URL, email and phone number
2. Remember you are applying for job in the UK so its vital that you use British English, not American English (s instead of z please). Always spellcheck and get someone to proofread to check your grammar. Do not underestimate your use of English too. This is vital for the tone of your CV and how you come across to the reader and the impression you give off. This is quite a complex and tricky thing to get right, and very overlooked in career guidance and applications but one where a lot of overseas applicants often fall down on due to the way their applications have been formulated and the way they have used English in terms of vocabulary and sentence structure.
3. Something I see a lot on Indian resumes is a PROJECTS section. This can be quite confusing for UK employers and recruiters because it isn't a standard section of a UK CV. The title of your research project can go into your EDUCATION section and any projects you have worked on as part of a job, go into your WORK EXPERIENCE section.
4. You don't need to include the names and contact details of referees on your CV. A simply phrase, References available on request is suffice. You also don't need a declaration at the end.
5. Using a generated Microsoft word or Canva CV template with columns, colours, borders and all that jazz. Columns have their purpose and place, but it's not on your CV. It's not a natural way to read, so it's very off putting and distracting to the reader. There is also no need to have coloured font on your CV- it doesn't add to your experience, skills or knowledge and can also be distracting.
6. There's no need to have an obscene number of bullet points in your WORK EXPERIENCE section. Stick to 5-6 and ensure you are consistent with the number, and that each bullet point evidences your skills, and quantifies the impact you made in each role.
7. If you are going to include interests/hobbies then professionalise them in an EXTRA-CURRICULAR section. There's no need to include, ‘socialising, travelling and reading'. But if you are a member of a cricket team, dance club or participate in any other local groups/clubs then these can be included.
8. There is no need to have some random words in sentences changed to bold throughout your CV. Bold should only be for your name, and headed sections.
9. Tables are not the norm for UK CVs, so you don't need to include these at all.
10. Don't undersell yourself by lumping your volunteering, extra-curricular activities, certificates and awards all into an ‘additional information section’. You need to show you value the breath of your experience by distinguishing between them and putting each experience under the relevant sections. This way, employers and recruiters will also value it.
You don’t know what you don’t know through, right? Hopefully the above provides some useful tips for you to get started and provide some insight into the differences between Indian resumes and UK CVs. I hope you have found this helpful and informative.
If you have any comments about this article or want to share your own story about CVs please do not hesitate to get in touch .careers@praino.co.uk
Thanks for reading!
Bianca Praino
Founder & Global Mobility Career Consultant
Praino Careers