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Send a British CV to a UK employer. Send a US resume to a US employer. Send a Europass CV only when the vacancy, the university, or the programme names Europass. The three files carry the same career. They do not carry the same personal details, length, spelling, or headings, and a recruiter can tell in one screen that you attached the file you already had.
If you are comparing a London offer with one in Amsterdam, build two files. Do not add a Europass header to a UK application to “make it more European”, and do not strip a UK CV down to a one-page US resume to look modern. Each choice removes the thing that reader looks for first.
What each reader looks for first
A UK recruiter looks for the target job title, evidence you can do it, and whether you already have the right to work. A US recruiter looks for quantified results on a short page and does not want a photo, a date of birth, or a paragraph about your visa. A Europass reader looks for the standard sections and a CEFR letter next to every language. Give each of them that, in their spelling.
| UK CV | US resume | Europass | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Length | Two pages is normal | One page early career, two later | Two pages |
| Personal details | Phone, city, right to work | City and phone. No photo, age, or visa essay | Europass personal block |
| Photo | Rare, and usually unwelcome | No | Only if the posting asks |
| Spelling | British English | American English | The language of the posting |
| Best for | UK employers and sponsorship roles | US employers | EU mobility and employers that ask |
The UK CV hub is the sample library. Three files cover the cases people get wrong: the UK Skilled Worker visa CV, the UK graduate CV, and the UK registered nurse CV.
The right-to-work line
For a UK employer who may sponsor you, put a short right-to-work line under your contact details. State what you hold today, and state that you need sponsorship if you do. “Indian citizen. Graduate visa valid to March 2027. Require Skilled Worker sponsorship after that.” That is enough. Do not hide it on page two, and do not write a half-page essay about your immigration history.
If you already have indefinite leave, settled status, or British or Irish citizenship, say that in the same spot, in one line. Recruiters screening sponsorship roles use this line to decide whether the application is even possible. A missing line does not make you look more employable. It makes the application look unfinished.
Do not invent a visa category. If a decision is pending, write “application pending” and the date you applied. The CV is not the visa form. It has to agree with the form later.
How to write the British CV
Profile. Four lines, not an objective. Name the title in the advert, the years that match, and one result. “Warehouse supervisor with five years in ambient and chilled grocery. Ran a 30-person night shift and cut mis-picks from 1.8% to 0.6%.” British spelling: organised, specialised, labour.
Experience. Reverse chronological. Employer, city, job title, month and year. Three to five bullets on recent roles, two on older ones. Lead with the result where you have a number. The UK reader will accept a well-written duty, but a page of “responsible for” loses to a page that shows scope: team size, budget, sites, regulated environment.
Education. After experience, once you have three years of relevant work. Degree title, institution, grade if it is strong and recent, year. GCSEs and A-levels stay on a graduate CV and come off once the degree and the work carry the application. List a professional registration (NMC, GMC pin status in the careful form the sample uses, ICE, ACCA) near the education or in a short credentials line, and only if it is current.
Skills. A short list of tools and methods the advert named, provided you can defend them. No star ratings. No “team player” in the skills block. Languages get a plain level, not a CEFR grid, unless the employer is an EU body.
What does not belong. A Europass header. “References available upon request.” A photograph, date of birth, marital status, or nationality beyond the right-to-work line. A US objective. A full street address. Your National Insurance number.
Export PDF unless the portal asks for Word. Then run the ATS resume checker.
What to change when the same person applies in the US or the EU
Starting from the UK CV, the US resume drops the right-to-work paragraph, the photo if one had crept in, and usually a page. Spelling switches to American. Bullets get tighter and more numerical. The profile becomes a summary of scope, not a personal statement.
Starting from the UK CV, the Europass version restores the Europass section order, replaces “fluent” with a CEFR letter, and drops British-only conventions such as A-level lists on an experienced CV. Build that version in the Europass CV maker rather than by retitling the UK file. The Europass examples hub shows the section order.
A worked profile
The same warehouse supervisor, aimed at a UK supermarket group.
“Warehouse supervisor with five years in ambient and chilled grocery, including two as night-shift lead for a team of 30. Cut mis-picks from 1.8% to 0.6% after a slotting change I proposed. Organised, not organized. Seeking the shift-manager role at the Reading RDC. Graduate visa to March 2027; require Skilled Worker sponsorship thereafter.”
Put the visa sentence in the contact block, not buried in the profile, if space is tight. The profile then keeps the result. Either way the sponsorship need is on page one.
What to delete before you press send
- A Europass header on a UK application.
- An American objective (“seeking a challenging opportunity”).
- A headshot, date of birth, or marital status.
- “References available upon request.” They will ask.
- GCSE results on a CV that already has a degree and five years of work.
- A third page of hobbies. Two clear pages beat a cramped one-page US resume with 9-point type.
Frequently asked questions
Can I send Europass to a London employer?
Only if the advert asks for Europass. A private UK employer expects a British CV. An EU institution based in London is the exception, and its advert will say so.
Is a one-page CV better in the UK?
No. Two clear pages are normal for anyone past the first job. Cut school-era hobbies, not recent work. A one-page CV reads as a US resume that was not adapted.
Where does sponsorship go?
One line under your contact details: what you hold today, and whether you need a Skilled Worker visa. Do not attach a personal statement about your immigration story.
Should I include a photo?
No, unless you are applying to a role that is explicitly exempt and the advert asks. UK recruiting practice treats a photo as irrelevant and, often, as a risk for the employer.
Do I use CEFR levels on a UK CV?
Not by default. “English: native. Spanish: professional, DELE B2” is enough. Use the full CEFR grid when the employer is an EU institution or the advert asks for Europass.
British or American spelling?
Match the employer’s country. A UK CV uses British spelling throughout, including in bullets you pasted from a US performance review. Mixed spelling is an easy way to look careless.
Start from a sample on the UK CV hub, and check the PDF with the ATS resume checker before you upload.
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