How to include conferences and seminars on your CV

Are you wondering if you should include conferences and seminars on your CV? Many professionals question whether they make a real difference, or if it’s better to focus solely on job roles and qualifications.

Conferences and seminars can add genuine value when building your CV. Whether you were an attendee or a speaker, your experience evidences your ongoing professional development and specialised knowledge.

This guide will help you decide when and how to include conferences and seminars on your CV. You’ll learn how to present your skills and expertise to potential employers with clarity and confidence.

Should I always add conferences and seminars to my CV?

When building each section of your CV, relevance is key. Your CV should highlight the skills, experiences, and qualifications that are most valuable for the role you’re applying for.

Not every event you’ve attended needs to be listed. The goal is to create a tailored, focused document that presents you as the ideal candidate for a specific job. Here, it’s also worth noting the difference between a conference and a seminar.

• Conferences are typically large-scale professional events where experts gather to share research, present findings, or discuss industry trends.
• Seminars are smaller educational sessions aimed at developing specific skills or knowledge. 

If you’re unsure how to include conferences attended or where to position them on your CV, use our CV builder. It gives you a clear, guided structure to help you present your most relevant achievements and events effectively.

When to add seminars and conferences to your CV

Including seminars and conferences on your CV can add value, but only when they serve a clear purpose. The key is to feature them when they enhance your suitability for the role you’re applying for.

When not to include conferences and seminars

While conferences and seminars can strengthen a CV, including too many or irrelevant ones can have the opposite effect. Unfocused or excessive listings may clutter your CV, distract from your key qualifications, and make it harder for hiring managers to identify your core strengths.

Key considerations before including events on your CV

Before adding conferences and seminars to your CV, use this quick checklist to decide whether they bring value:

• Is the event directly relevant to the job or industry?
• Did it help you develop specialised skills or knowledge?
• Did you have an active or notable role (speaker, panellist, organiser)?
• Does it demonstrate ongoing professional development?
• Will it strengthen your profile more than other qualifications or experiences you could feature instead?

If the answer isn’t ‘yes’ to at least one of these, it’s better not to include it on your CV.

Types of jobs where conferences matter most

In certain industries, attending or presenting at conferences can play a significant role in career progression and credibility. These events often serve as platforms for knowledge sharing, networking, and showcasing expertise.

Make sure to highlight your conference attendance or any speaking roles if you’re applying for a job in:

• Academia and research
• Technology and data science
• Healthcare and medicine
• Consulting and business leadership
• Creative industries and media

How to add conferences to your CV?

When adding your conferences to your CV, formatting is key. Recruiters are often looking over many CVs, so structuring yours effectively will help your experience to stand out.

To maximise impact, it’s vital that you include the right information in the right place. Otherwise, you risk making your CV feel cluttered or leaving out the most important information.

Bullet points are a good way to set out the key conference information you want to share, while keeping the details brief. That way, potential employers can quickly skim through the details and gather all the relevant information.

Key information to include for maximum impact

There are several key pieces of information that you should include when talking about a conference on your CV, including:

• Name of the conference
• Location and date of the event
• What your role was in organising, planning, and running this event (if applicable)
• All activities you participated in during this event (e.g., attending presentations or workshops, leading discussions)
• If you won any awards for your involvement with this event (for example: Best Speaker)

The best practice is to include only the most relevant details for your professional profile and the job you’re applying for.

Example

• British Psychological Society Annual Conference, Liverpool, Apr 2023
• Participant, London AI in Healthcare Forum, May 2022
• Presenter, “Gamification in Online Learning Environments.” Presented at the Education and Technology Conference, Birmingham, Sep 2021

Where to add conferences and seminars on your CV

When talking about conferences and seminars on your CV, it’s important to position them where they’ll best highlight your experience and expertise, while keeping the CV clear and focused.

By using effective strategies, like the ones suggested below, you can achieve this and maximise the potential of your CV.

Positioning conferences and seminars within your job experience

Although there’s no one-size-fits-all rule for how to list conferences and seminars on a CV, for most candidates it’s best not to list a long series of events and conferences on their CV.

A better idea would be to handpick the most impressive events and include them under the job description for a particular role that’s relevant to the position you’re applying for.

Example

Project Manager
SpecDoc Ltd, London | 2022 – Present

• Delivered IT projects on time and within budget
• Attended: ‘Agile in the UK’ Conference, London (2023)
• Speaker, ‘Digital Transformation in SMEs’ Seminar, Manchester (2022)

Seminars can also be included in the ‘Education’ section of your CV, especially if they’re part of your continued professional development.

Creating a separate section for significant conferences and seminars

In some cases, creating a separate section for this type of experience is more effective. This could be the case if you’ve presented at multiple conferences or taken on leadership roles such as keynote speaker or panel chair. 

Additionally, if you want to showcase your industry engagement beyond formal job duties, making a separate section for this experience is advisable. This can be particularly useful in academia, research, or fields where public speaking and industry presence matter.

Example

Conferences and Presentations

• Keynote Speaker: ‘Ethics in AI Development’ at the Tech for Good Forum, Oxford, Apr 2024
• Presenter: ‘AI Bias in Recruitment Tools’ at HR Tech Europe, Amsterdam, Oct 2023
• Panel Moderator: ‘The Future of Work’ at Digital Skills Summit, Birmingham, Jun 2022
• Attendee: Data Science Festival, London, Nov 2021

If your speaking roles have been recognised with an award, funding, or any other type of acknowledgement, you could also create an additional ‘Achievements’ section on your CV.

For conference attendees: How to showcase your attendance

A common mistake that many professionals make is listing conferences attended with no additional details. This doesn’t give much context, lessening the value of the experience and showing a lack of impact.

Instead, we recommend that you focus on what you gained from your attendance, whether it’s new knowledge, skills, or connections. This helps potential employers see how the event contributed to your professional growth.

Including key takeaways and relevant learning

When detailing your conference experience, make sure that you mention any specific workshops or sessions that enhanced your skills or expertise in the field.
You should also highlight any certifications earned, new methodologies learned, or actionable insights that you’ve applied afterwards.

Example

• Gained hands-on experience with Tableau in a live data visualisation workshop.
• Attended a keynote on inclusive hiring practices. Applied learnings to update internal recruitment training.

Highlighting networking opportunities

Conferences are one of the best places to develop your professional network. If relevant, describe how you connected withindustry leaders or peers and how those interactions led to ongoing collaborations or mentorships.

Example

• Followed up with a keynote speaker, resulting in an ongoing mentorship.
• Connected with fellow attendees from the official planning committee and secured a follow-up meeting to discuss possible collaboration.

For conference presenters: How to highlight your presentation

Presenting at a conference or a professional event is a notable achievement that showcases your experience in the industry and ability to communicate and engage with a large crowd.

Make sure to position these details effectively on your CV so they clearly demonstrate your expertise and credibility in the sector. 

Describing your role as a speaker or presenter

When highlighting your presentation experience, make sure that you include any key details that clearly describe your role and give additional context.

Some helpful details to include could be: the audience size and type, the presentation format, or the topic you covered. This will help you establish credibility and relevance.

Example

• Delivered a solo presentation on mobile UX trends to 300+ attendees at UX Live 2023.
• Invited panellist for the ‘Green Tech Futures’ roundtable hosted by Innovate UK.

Emphasising the impact and recognition of your presentation

If you received any follow-up invitations, this can demonstrate the impact of your presentation. 

Audience engagement metrics can provide a clear picture of your influence and the value your insights bring to the field.

Example

• The presentation led to an invitation to speak at the 2024 EMEA Data Summit.
• My talk was cited in industry blog coverage and reached 2,500+ views on LinkedIn.

Linking your presentation to skills and achievements

Over 70% of employees consider good presentation skills to be essential for career success. 

Effectively presenting your experience helps you evidence a wide range of abilities, from data analysis, research, and subject-matter knowledge to collaboration, communication, and public speaking.

By clearly linking your presentation experience to these competencies, you provide concrete examples to potential employers of how you apply your knowledge in real-world situations and contribute to team success.

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