How to write the work experience section on your CV

List your work experience professionally

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Updated on September 8, 2025

CV Whizz » How to write a CV » Work Experience on your CV

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Writing up the work experience section on your CV correctly is crucial, as it’s often the section UK recruiters focus on first.

When the work experience section of your CV is well-structured, it’ll not only highlight your achievements but also make it easier for recruiters and potential employers to see your suitability for the role.

Use this guide alongside our online CV building tool to save time, structure your CV with clarity, and present your work experience in a way that meets UK recruiter expectations.

Why the work experience section matters

The work experience section is the heart of your CV. It’s where UK recruiters go to see your employment history and relevant achievements to evaluate your suitability for the role you’re applying for.

By structuring this section correctly and presenting recruiters with the information they want to see, you make it easier for them to quickly assess why you’re a strong fit.

This is an important advantage in today’s competitive job market, especially since the number of unemployed people per vacancy rose to 2.0 in December 2024 to February 2025 – up from 1.9 in the previous quarter.

How to write work experience on a CV

When listing your work experience on a CV, there are three key components that you need to focus on: clarity, relevance, and tailoring your experience to the specific job you are applying for.

Clarity

Clarity ensures the details around each of your previous roles are easy to read. You should use bullet points to highlight responsibilities and achievements, and avoid the use of long paragraphs that can overwhelm recruiters.

For example, instead of writing “Responsible for social media,” write “Managed social media accounts, resulting in 25% higher engagement in six months.”

Relevance

Relevance means focusing on previous work experiences that align with the job you’re applying for. Make sure that you emphasise transferable skills and accomplishments that demonstrate your suitability for the role. It’ll help the recruiter understand why you’re a good fit.

Tailoring

Tailoring your CV to the job you’re applying for will give you the best chance of standing out. Use mirror keywords from the job description on your CV, emphasise your most applicable skills, and select examples that reflect what your potential employer values.

This approach ensures your work experience clearly communicates both competence and fit for the role.

Key details to include in your work experience section

If you’re wondering what to include in your CV work experience section, we’ll get into that in more detail now.

The main purpose of the work experience section on a CV is to provide recruiters and potential employers with a clear and concise snapshot of your professional background.

By including the right details in a structured manner (as can be seen in all of our CV template examples), you can effectively highlight your achievements, demonstrate relevance to the job, and make your CV easier to scan.

By focusing on key elements like job title, employer, location, dates, and a strong description, you’ll ensure that your work experience is both credible and compelling to the person going through your CV.

Job title

When listing a job title in the employment history section of your CV, make sure you use the official title and tailor it slightly if needed to match the role you’re applying for.

We recommend you avoid generic terms like “Assistant” or “Staff” when a more specific title can better reflect your responsibilities.

For example, instead of writing “Customer Support Staff”, use “Technical Support Advisor.”

Company or organisation

Always make sure that you include the correct name of your company with proper capitalisation. Recognisable names can catch the recruiters’ attention and add credibility to your experience.

For example: “ABC Inc.” instead of just “ABC.”

Using the full, official name ensures accuracy and professionalism. It also helps recruiters quickly identify the organisation and understand the context of your experience.

Job location

The city or the region of the job is a basic piece of information that you can add after the company name to provide useful context. It can be especially important for roles where location matters.

Dates of employment

When writing out the work experience section on your CV, it is crucial to be meticulous with important details such as your dates of employment.

Usually, dating the start and finish of your contract with the month and year is sufficient.

An example would be (Jan 2021 – Mar 2023).

Job description

Your job description is a key piece of information that will help recruiters and potential employers understand your responsibilities, skills, and contributions in previous roles.

Since you don’t have a lot of space to work with, to write an effective job description, we recommend you use concise bullet points to highlight key tasks, skills, and measurable achievements.

For example: “Managed social media campaigns, increasing engagement by 30% over six months.”

How to show your experience when you have gaps or limited history

Even if you have gaps in your employment or don’t yet have a whole lot of work experience, you can still present a strong CV to recruiters and potential employers.

Some details you can add to strengthen your CV include:

• Volunteering work: Highlight transferable skills, e.g., “Volunteered at local charity, organised fundraising events, and managed communications.”
• Internships: Showcase relevant achievements, e.g., “Marketing intern at ABC Ltd, developed social media campaigns that increased engagement by 20%.”
• Personal projects: Include relevant independent projects that clearly demonstrate your skills.
• Freelance or temporary roles: Emphasise your results and responsibilities rather than length of employment.
• Transferable skills: Skills like leadership, teamwork, organisation, and communication can all strengthen your CV, so don’t hesitate to include them.

Tips for making your work experience stand out

Making your work experience stand out in a competitive job market can be a challenge, so here are a couple of tips that can help you catch a recruiter’s attention:

• Highlight your achievements, not just duties: Focus on results that demonstrate your impact.
• Quantify your successes: Use numbers, percentages, or timelines to give concrete evidence.
• Mirror job ad terminology: Include keywords and phrases from the role description to show relevance.
• Use action verbs: Start each bullet with strong verbs like “managed,” “implemented,” or “led.”
• Tailor entries to the role: Emphasise the experience that’s most relevant to the position you’re applying for.
• Keep bullets concise: Limit each point to one or two lines for clarity and readability (like these bullet points).

Formatting your CV work experience section

To make your work experience section look professional and be easy to read, proper formatting is essential.

To format your CV correctly, follow the checklist below:

• Use a clear, readable font (e.g., Arial or Calibri, size 10 to 12).
• Keep consistent spacing between roles and sections.
• Align text neatly, with clear headings for each job.
• Use bullet points for achievements instead of long paragraphs.
• List roles in reverse chronological order.
• Proofread carefully for grammar and spelling errors.

To speed up the process, use our online CV builder. It’ll not only save you time, but ensure your CV is well-structured and recruiter-friendly.