From US resume to UK CV
The same facts, a different document: two A4 pages instead of one Letter page, no objective, grades with their scale and UK spelling. Here is the switch, annotated.
A good US resume is a strong start for a UK application, but it is not yet a UK CV. Below, one fictional graduate’s resume as sent, and the CV it becomes; the full conventions are in the UK CV format, part of Applications.
Example CV and resume for a fictional graduate
The UK version
The UK version: a two-page A4 CV for the same fictional graduate
Casey Marlowe
London
casey.marlowe@example.com
+44 7700 900417
linkedin.com/in/example
Right to work: Student visa; available for full-time work from July 2027
Profile
MSc Finance student at LSE with a summer of private credit analysis at a Chicago fund.
Looking for a graduate analyst role in corporate finance or credit in London.
Education
MSc Finance, London School of Economics and Political Science2026 to 2027
London
- Predicted result: Merit
- Courses include corporate finance, asset pricing and financial econometrics
BA Economics, University of Michigan2022 to 2026
Ann Arbor, USA
- GPA 3.8 out of 4.0 (US grading scale)
- Senior thesis on bank lending to small firms after interest rate rises
High school diploma2022
Illinois, USA
- Advanced Placement: Calculus, Economics, Statistics
Experience
Summer Analyst, Private Credit, Kestrelmoor CapitalJune to August 2025
Chicago, USA
- Built a cash-flow model for a mid-market loan, used by the deal team in its credit memo
- Screened 40 borrowers against the fund's lending criteria and summarised each on one page
- Presented a sector note on speciality food manufacturers to the investment committee
Research Assistant, Department of Economics, University of MichiganSeptember 2024 to May 2026
Ann Arbor, USA
- Cleaned and merged three public datasets on small-business lending in Stata and Python
- Drafted the data appendix for a faculty working paper
Part-time Tutor, Quillfen TutoringSeptember 2023 to May 2025
Ann Arbor, USA
- Taught statistics and economics to six school students each week
- Asked to train two new tutors in my second year
Positions of responsibility
Treasurer, undergraduate economics society, University of Michigan2024 to 2025
- Organised the society's budget and termly speaker events with alumni in finance
Volunteer tax preparer, community tax clinic2024
Ann Arbor, USA
- Prepared simple tax returns for local families under supervision
Skills
Excel: three-statement and discounted cash flow models, pivot tables
Python (pandas), Stata, PowerPoint
CFA Level I candidate, sitting in 2027
Languages
English (native)
Spanish (professional working proficiency)
Interests
Distance running: completed the Chicago Marathon in 2024
Food writing: a monthly column for a student newspaper
References
References available upon request
- Kept: contact details, no photograph. Added: a right-to-work line with the visa type and the limit on hours.
- The objective is gone. A short profile says why you fit this kind of role; it is optional.
- Added a predicted result for the master's, because many UK employers set a minimum grade.
- GPA kept, with its scale written out: a grade from outside the UK system needs explaining.
- Months written as words, places with their country, and spelling switched to UK English: modelling, summarised.
- One Letter page became two A4 pages, the usual UK graduate length, with room for responsibility and languages.
- A references line closes it. It is optional; leave it out if you are short of space.
As sent
As sent: a one-page US resume for the same fictional graduate
Casey Marlowe
London, UK | casey.marlowe@example.com | +44 7700 900417 | linkedin.com/in/example
Objective
To obtain a full-time analyst position in corporate finance where I can apply my financial modeling and analytical skills.
Education
MSc Finance, London School of Economics and Political ScienceExpected June 2027
BA Economics, University of MichiganMay 2026
- GPA: 3.8/4.0; Dean's List, six semesters
- Relevant coursework: Econometrics, Corporate Finance, Money and Banking
Experience
Summer Analyst, Private Credit, Kestrelmoor Capital, Chicago, IL06/2025 to 08/2025
- Built cash-flow model for mid-market loan; utilized by deal team in credit memo
- Analyzed 40 borrowers against fund criteria
Research Assistant, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI09/2024 to 05/2026
- Cleaned and merged three public datasets in Stata and Python
Tutor, Quillfen Tutoring, Ann Arbor, MI09/2023 to 05/2025
- Tutored high school students in statistics and economics
Skills and interests
Excel, Python (pandas), Stata | Spanish (proficient) | Marathon running
- Set on US Letter paper. A UK CV uses A4, so margins and page breaks shift when it is printed here.
- An objective says what you want. A UK profile, if you use one, says why you fit; it is optional.
- No expected result for the master's. Many UK employers set a minimum grade and look for it.
- GPA without context: UK employers do not use it, so a UK reader cannot place 3.8 unaided.
- US spelling: modeling, analyzed, utilized. For a UK role, careers services say to use UK English.
- Squeezed onto one page, as a résumé is. A UK graduate CV has room for two.
Same facts, a different document
The switch changes the document, not the person. Casey’s internship, research job, tutoring and grades appear in both versions; what changes is length, paper, order of emphasis and spelling.
In the UK, resumes are called CVs (short for Curriculum Vitae).
The documents are counterparts: Oxford’s careers service (opens ox.ac.uk) treats them as one thing with regional differences.
Length is the change you see first: two A4 pages, which Manchester’s careers service (opens careers.manchester.ac.uk) calls the most common UK style.
If you see an advert asking for a résumé it’s likely that they have in mind a one-page document.
More on Letter and A4Less on Letter and A4
Then the paper: change Letter to A4 first. Oxford notes that North America uses Letter where the UK uses A4. Letter is wider and shorter than A4, so a Letter file printed in London can lose its margins or break a line across two pages. Reflowing the text once, on the right page, is quicker than patching it later. Everything else in the switch is easier when the page underneath it is already the one a UK recruiter will print.
The converter: six changes, in order
Make the changes in this order; each sets up the next.
| Step | Change | Why a UK reader needs it |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Set the page to A4 and let it run to two pages | UK offices print on A4, and two pages is the usual length |
| 2 | Delete the objective; write a two-line profile only if it adds something | The reader wants to know why you fit, not what you want |
| 3 | Add a predicted result for any degree still in progress | It answers the minimum class many employers set |
| 4 | Give every grade its scale: “GPA 3.8 out of 4.0 (US grading scale)” | A scale makes a grade from another system readable |
| 5 | Write dates as months in words, and places with their country | Nobody has to decode 06/2025 or look up Ann Arbor |
| 6 | Change to UK spelling, then add a right-to-work line under your contact details | The first signals care; the second saves an employer a question |
The last change saves an employer a question.
Include your visa status on your CV. You can typically add this information to the heading or your contact details section.
Three worked examples are on your visa status on a UK CV.
More on dates and placesLess on dates and places
Numeric dates such as 06/2025 make a reader stop and decode, and the US and UK read them in different orders. Writing “June to August 2025” removes any doubt. Adding “USA” to a US town helps a reader who does not know Ann Arbor, and it shows at a glance where you have studied and worked. Keep one format in every section, so the dates line up down the page.
More on predicted results and grade scalesLess on predicted results and grade scales
LSE Careers suggests a phrase such as “predicted result 2:1” for a degree in progress, and notes that many employers set a minimum class of degree as an entry requirement. Manchester asks students whose education was outside the UK to say what their grades are equivalent to. A GPA with its scale does that work without guessing a conversion, and Berkeley’s guide reminds its students that the UK does not use GPAs at all.
Turn the objective into a profile, or drop it
The objective goes first. It says what you want; a UK profile, if you write one, says why you fit.
| As sent: the objective | The UK version: the profile |
|---|---|
| To obtain a full-time analyst position in corporate finance where I can apply my financial modeling and analytical skills. | MSc Finance student at LSE with a summer of private credit analysis at a Chicago fund. Looking for a graduate analyst role in corporate finance or credit in London. |
The UK version puts what Casey has done before what Casey wants, names a place and a sector, and drops the adjectives a reader cannot check.
Two good lines are enough; if you cannot write two that do this work, leave the profile out.
More on the optional profileLess on the optional profile
The UK version also loses the US spelling of modelling on the way. Manchester describes the profile as optional: a brief outline of your motivation and selling points, three to six lines, and not a list of skills. Because it is optional, the education section can open the CV instead, with your latest degree and its expected result at the top of page one. An empty profile costs more space than it earns.
What carries over from the US version
Plenty survives the crossing: short lines, strong verbs and concrete results suit a UK CV just as well.
| Keep from the US version | Change for the UK |
|---|---|
| Short lines that start with a verb | Paper size: Letter to A4 |
| Results you can explain in interview | Length: one page to two |
| Reverse chronological order | Objective out; profile optional |
| No photograph or date of birth | GPA with its scale; predicted result |
Reverse chronological order is shared: Warwick’s careers service (opens warwick.ac.uk) asks for the most recent first, as the example already does.
For UK CVs, you shouldn’t include date of birth, marital status, gender, nationality, or a photograph.
More on the header and page twoLess on the header and page two
If your resume already leaves those details off, as the example does, the header needs only the visa line. Manchester calls nationality optional, and suggests naming the countries where you have studied and worked instead. The extra page is room, not an invitation to pad. Use it for what the US format squeezed out: positions of responsibility, languages and interests, each given a line or two. A society you ran or a language you work in tells a UK recruiter something the first page cannot. Two thin pages read worse than one full one, so stop when the facts run out.
Read the result as a UK recruiter would
Before you send it, read it as a stranger would. Does page one show your latest degree and expected result, your latest role, and whether you can take the job?
Check the spelling too. Warwick asks for UK English; converted documents hide US forms: modeling, analyzed, organized, program. Set the checker to English (United Kingdom).
Some employers (e.g. investment banks) expect just one page, so check beforehand
So keep both versions, built from the same true facts, and send the one the advert asks for.
More on claims and referencesLess on claims and references
Check the claims as well as the words. Each bullet should be something you did and can talk about; Prospects tells candidates to make clear what they specifically did, even in a team. The interview will test the CV line by line. References need one decision. Manchester says referees are not normally essential at this stage, and Prospects notes that “references available upon request” is optional. The example ends with that one line; leave it out if you need the space.
If you are an American student at a UK university, the edition for American students covers the rest of the hunt.
This week
- Change your page size from Letter to A4 and reflow the document
- Delete the objective, or replace it with a two-line profile
- Write your GPA with its scale, and add a predicted master's result
- Switch the spell checker to English (United Kingdom) and run it
Sources
- University of California, Berkeley, Global Internships: London resume guide In the UK, resumes are called CVs (short for Curriculum Vitae). ... In the UK we do not use GPA's Read
- LSE Careers: CVs, cover letters and application forms (guide, 2021) If you see an advert asking for a résumé it’s likely that they have in mind a one-page document.In most situations this is more important for undergraduates than postgraduates as many employers specify a certain class of degree as an entry requirement. ... You can use a phrase such as “predicted result 2:1”. Read
- University of Oxford Careers Service: CVs A curriculum vitae (CV), or résumé in North America, is a concise summary of your skills, experience, achievements, and education. ... Default page size, A4 (21 cm x 29.7 cm) is replaced by Letter (8.5″ x 11″ or 21.59 cm x 27.94 cm)Keep it to one or two full pages (academic CVs may be longer), check if there is specified page limit in the application guidanceSome employers (e.g. investment banks) expect just one page, so check beforehand Read
- University of Manchester Careers Service: Step 1: Creating your CV The 2 page reverse chronological CV is the most common style of CV for the UK and is suitable for most situations.A personal profile is optional; it can be used to give the reader a brief outline of your motivation for applying and showcase your unique selling points, it is not a list of skills. It should be brief 3-6 lines.Nationality is optional but it is good to mention the countries in which you have worked and studied to show you have a global mind-set.It is not normally essential to have your referees contact details on your CV, or even put references available on request. An employer will request these later.Some employers may request a 1 page CV, the rules are the same but you need to be very concise and focussed on the requirements for the job. Read
- University of Manchester Careers Service: CVs for international students You will need to explain your education and grades if you did not do your pre-university education in the UK. What is it equvalent to in the UK educational system? Read
- University of Warwick Careers: CVs Check for spelling and grammar, make sure it is UK English if you are applying for position in the UK.Make sure your sections are in reverse chronological order (with the most recent experience at the top and the oldest at the bottom).For UK CVs, you shouldn’t include date of birth, marital status, gender, nationality, or a photograph. Read
- University of Manchester Careers Service: Talking to employers about your visa Include your visa status on your CV. You can typically add this information to the heading or your contact details section. Mention the type of visa you hold (or are eligible to apply for), its expiration date, and any relevant work restrictions if applicable. Read
- Prospects (Jisc): How to write a CV You don't need to provide the names of referees at this stage. You can say 'references available upon request' but most employers would assume this to be the case, so if you're stuck for space, leave this out. Read
- Prospects (Jisc): Competency-based interviews Focus on your role in the situation. It's okay to acknowledge teamwork, but make clear what you specifically did and decided. Read
Read next
- ApplicationsThe UK CV format, for international students Two pages, no photograph: an annotated example and a template
- For American students at UK universities Calendar, CV, routes and tax, for US citizens
- ApplicationsYour visa status on a UK CV One honest line: three worked examples for the CV header
Pictures on this page
- Bank junction and the Royal Exchange, City of London, March Photograph: Rcsprinter123, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0, cropped
- The City of London skyline across the Thames, September Photograph: User:Colin and Kim Hansen, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped
