Skills Based CV Template and Format: 6 UK Examples
By Mustafa Tarabya, founder of CVBooster · Published · Updated
11 min read
A skills based CV template puts three or four skill headings at the top of the page, each proved by two or three bullets from any part of your life, and moves your employment history to a short list underneath. The constraint is that it only works when the skills are the ones in the advert. Careers Wales describes it as a CV that "highlights skills and achievements relevant to the job you are applying for rather than your employment history." Below are six complete skills based CV examples, tagged by level, the skill based CV format section by section, and when a chronological or combination CV is the better choice. Written by Mustafa Tarabya, who hired for his own company, read every application himself and now writes CVBooster's guides.
Everyone who sits down to write a skills based CV has the same quiet hope: that the format will hide the awkward bit. It will not. The gap, the short contracts or the job in a different field are still on page one. What the format does is make sure the reader meets your evidence first.
When to use a skills based CV
The Open University says a skills based CV "emphasises your skills and personal qualities rather than your employment history" and can suit you if you are "changing career and want to show employers how transferable skills gained in other types of employment will be relevant for the post". It also names two other cases: extensive gaps, and "a series of short term paid or voluntary roles".
If none of those is you, use a chronological CV. A reader who sees a skills layout from someone with five steady years in the same field starts wondering what is being hidden.
Entry level: graduate with part-time and society experience (174 words)
PRIYA NAIR Leeds | 07700 900431 | priya.nair@example.com | linkedin.com/in/priyanair
PROFILE History graduate applying for graduate schemes in operations and project support. Three years of part-time retail work alongside study, plus two years running events for a student society. Comfortable with spreadsheets, rotas and other people's deadlines.
KEY SKILLS Organisation - Planned eight society events a year, including venue booking, budget tracking and the volunteer rota. - Balanced a full degree with sixteen hours a week of paid work in the final year.
Communication - Wrote the society newsletter and presented the annual report to the students' union. - Handled customer queries and refunds at a busy shop counter.
Data and IT - Built a shared spreadsheet that tracked event spending against the society grant. - Microsoft Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Google Sheets, Canva.
EDUCATION BA History, 2:1 | University of Leeds | 2023 to 2026 A levels: History, English Literature, Economics
EMPLOYMENT AND VOLUNTEERING Sales Assistant | Clothing retailer, Leeds | 2023 to 2026 Events Officer | University History Society | 2024 to 2026
Skill based CV format: the layout section by section
The layout matters more on a skills based CV than on any other, because the reader is looking for the employer names and dates and will be irritated if they cannot find them. Prospects advises you to "try to include all the skills mentioned in the job description or person specification, as these are the attributes that the employer is looking for." Then list your employment history below the skills.
Use this order, on one or two pages:
- Header: name as the title, town, mobile, email, LinkedIn if it is current.
- Profile: three sentences on who you are, what you can do and the job you want.
- Key skills: three or four headings copied from the advert, each with two or three proof bullets.
- Employment history: job title, employer, town, dates. One line each, or one line plus one bullet.
- Education and training: newest first, short.
- Volunteering or interests, only if they prove a skill from the advert.
The skill based CV format differs from the other two UK formats in one place only: what comes first. A chronological CV leads with your jobs, newest first, and puts skills inside each job. A combination CV, sometimes called a hybrid, keeps a short key skills section of three or four lines and then a full work history with bullets under every job. The skill based format turns the weight around, so the skills section carries most of the bullets and the work history shrinks to titles, employers and dates. If your last two jobs are relevant to the advert, the combination format usually reads better; if they are not, the skill based format lets your evidence come first.
Skills based CV example for a career changer
A career changer has real experience; it is just labelled wrong. The skills headings do the translation, so the reader sees "stakeholder management" before they see "nursery".
Mid level: nursery room leader moving into HR administration (176 words)
SARAH OKAFOR Bristol | 07700 900285 | sarah.okafor@example.com
PROFILE Nursery room leader with seven years in early years settings, moving into HR administration. I run rotas, staff records and training logs for a team of six, and I am completing a CIPD Level 3 Certificate in People Practice in the evenings.
KEY SKILLS Records and compliance - Keep staff training records, DBS renewal dates and first aid certificates up to date for six staff. - Prepare the room's paperwork for Ofsted inspections and internal audits.
Scheduling - Build the weekly rota around ratios, part-time contracts and annual leave requests.
People support - Induct new practitioners and students on placement, including their first week checklist. - Handle sensitive conversations with parents and staff and record them accurately.
Systems - Famly, Microsoft Excel, Word and Outlook.
EMPLOYMENT HISTORY Room Leader | Day nursery, Bristol | 2022 to present Nursery Practitioner | Day nursery, Bristol | 2019 to 2022
EDUCATION AND TRAINING CIPD Level 3 Certificate in People Practice (in progress) Level 3 Diploma for the Early Years Workforce
Skills based CV example for a gap in your work history
The Open University warns that if you use this format to soften a gap you should "Be prepared though to explain any gaps at interview". So do not pretend it is not there. One honest line in the employment list is enough; the skills section does the rest.
Mid level: returner after five years caring for family (157 words)
JAMES WHITTAKER Norwich | 07700 900917 | james.whittaker@example.com
PROFILE Accounts assistant returning to work after five years as a full-time carer for a parent. Before that, six years in purchase and sales ledger for a building supplies firm. Refreshed my Sage and Excel skills this year and looking for an accounts assistant post.
KEY SKILLS Bookkeeping - Processed supplier invoices, matched them to purchase orders and chased missing paperwork. - Ran month end bank reconciliations for two accounts.
Organisation - Managed a family member's appointments, benefits paperwork and household budget for five years.
IT - Sage 50 Accounts, Microsoft Excel (VLOOKUP, pivot tables), Xero course completed this year.
Communication - Answered supplier queries by phone and email and agreed payment dates.
EMPLOYMENT HISTORY Career break, caring for a parent | 2021 to 2026 Accounts Assistant | Building supplies firm, Norwich | 2015 to 2021
TRAINING AAT Level 2 Certificate in Accounting | Xero Advisor course (online)
Our guide to a career break on a UK CV has more wording for the gap line itself.
Skills based CV example with no work experience
A school leaver or a first jobseeker can still fill three skill headings from school, clubs, caring at home or volunteering. Keep it to one page.
Entry level: school leaver applying for a first job (137 words)
OLIVIA HUGHES Cardiff | 07700 900664 | olivia.hughes@example.com
PROFILE Year 13 student finishing A levels, looking for a weekend or full-time customer service job from June. Reliable, used to early starts from swimming training, and confident talking to people I have not met.
KEY SKILLS Customer service - Volunteer at a charity shop every Saturday, serving customers and pricing stock.
Teamwork - Member of a swimming club for eight years, now helping coach the under 10s on Thursdays.
Communication - Gave a speech to Year 7 parents at the school open evening.
Numeracy - Take cash and card payments at the charity shop till and count up at closing.
EDUCATION A levels (predicted): Biology B, Maths C, Welsh C GCSEs: 9 including English and Maths
VOLUNTEERING Shop Volunteer | Charity shop, Cardiff | 2025 to present
If you need help with the profile line, the guide to a CV personal statement with no experience has more openings.
Skills based CV example for short contracts and temp work
Agency workers and contractors often have ten short entries that look chaotic in date order. Grouping by skill shows the pattern: the same work, done in many places.
Mid level: temp administrator with eleven agency assignments (145 words)
DANIEL MORRIS Manchester | 07700 900352 | daniel.morris@example.com
PROFILE Administrator with four years of agency temping across councils, housing associations and logistics firms. Quick to learn a new system, and used to being the person who picks up a backlog on day one. Looking for a permanent post.
KEY SKILLS Data entry and records - Cleared invoice and timesheet backlogs at three employers within the assignment period. - Kept tenancy records accurate on two different housing systems.
Reception and phones - Covered main switchboards and front desks at four sites.
Learning new systems - Worked in SAP, Oracle, Civica and Microsoft 365 across assignments.
EMPLOYMENT HISTORY Temporary Administrator | Recruitment agency, Manchester | 2022 to present Assignments included: city council revenues team, two housing associations, a freight forwarder Customer Service Adviser | Energy supplier call centre | 2020 to 2022
EDUCATION BTEC Level 3 Business
Skills based CV example for a senior career change
At senior level the skill headings get broader and the proof gets bigger: budgets, teams, projects. The employment list still needs titles, so the reader can see the level.
Senior: secondary school head of year moving into learning and development (155 words)
HELEN BRADLEY Reading | 07700 900578 | helen.bradley@example.com
PROFILE Head of Year with fourteen years in secondary teaching, moving into learning and development. I design training, lead a team of eight tutors and present to large audiences every week. Completed a Level 5 Diploma in Learning and Development this year.
KEY SKILLS Training design - Wrote and delivered a staff training programme on behaviour support, used across the whole school.
Leadership - Lead eight form tutors, set their priorities and run their termly reviews.
Stakeholder management - Work with parents, social workers and external agencies on complex pupil cases.
Evaluation - Track attendance and behaviour data each term and report findings to the senior leadership team.
EMPLOYMENT HISTORY Head of Year 9 | Secondary school, Reading | 2019 to present English Teacher | Secondary school, Reading | 2012 to 2019
QUALIFICATIONS Level 5 Diploma in Learning and Development | PGCE Secondary English | BA English
Skills based CV mistakes that cost interviews
Hiding the dates. A reader will go looking for them. Put every job, with month or year, in the employment section, even if it is one line.
Skills nobody asked for. Prospects says to use the skills in the job description. Copy the advert's wording for your headings, so "customer service" stays "customer service" and not "client experience".
Adjectives instead of proof. A heading with no bullet underneath is a claim. Every heading needs at least two things you did.
Too many headings. Three or four strong ones beat seven thin ones. If you have more, drop the ones the advert does not mention.
Forgetting the basics. The National Careers Service says to "use a clear font like Arial, Times New Roman or Calibri in size 11 or bigger" and "use headings and bullet points to make it easier to read". That applies to this format as much as any other. If the job is in the US, the same layout is called a functional resume, and our functional resume template guide covers the American version.
For more layouts in every format, see our CV examples and the ATS CV template gallery.
Frequently asked questions
What is a skills based CV?
A skills based CV groups your experience under three or four skill headings taken from the job advert, each proved with bullets, and lists your jobs briefly underneath. It is also called a functional CV. It suits career changers, people with gaps and people with many short roles, because the reader meets your evidence before your dates.
What does a skills based CV layout look like?
Name and contact details at the top, then a three sentence profile, then the key skills section with two or three bullets under each heading. Employment history comes next as a short list with titles, employers and dates, followed by education and training. One page for early career, two pages at most.
Is a skills based CV a good idea?
It is a good idea if you are changing career, returning after a gap or have had a series of short roles. It is a poor choice if you have steady experience in the same field, because a reader may suspect you are hiding something. When in doubt, use a hybrid: a short skills section above a normal work history.
Where can I find a sample of a skills based CV?
The six examples on this page are complete samples you can copy for a graduate, a career changer, a returner, a school leaver, a temp worker and a senior career change. Prospects and Careers Wales also publish one example each. Change every bullet to your own facts and match the headings to the advert.
What is the format of a skill based CV?
A skill based CV format runs in this order: name and contact details, a short profile, a key skills section with three or four headings from the advert and two or three proof bullets under each, then a brief employment history with titles, employers and dates, then education and training. Keep it to two pages at most.
Do employers accept skills based CVs?
Most do, as long as the employment history and dates are still easy to find. Some application systems read dates and job titles to build a timeline, so keep those in plain text with a clear heading. If an employer uses its own application form, the format question disappears and the skills go into the supporting information box.
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