CVs and applicant tracking systems
Most UK graduate employers put applications through an applicant tracking system before a recruiter reads them. These guides explain what that software does with a CV, how the UK format differs from what many international students are used to, and how to match a CV to a specific advert without stuffing it with keywords.
To see how your own CV reads, the free ATS check scores it against a job advert you paste in.
14 guides, newest first. How we write and correct them
Your LinkedIn Profile Is Your Second CV: The UK Graduate's Checklist
Recruiters check LinkedIn before they call you back. A section-by-section checklist for a UK graduate profile that survives that check, not just looks nice.
How to Tailor Your CV to a Job in 10 Minutes (Without Starting Over)
A five-step, ten-minute system for tailoring your CV to any job advert: mark up the advert, reweight your evidence, mirror the honest keywords, check and send.
Applying to 100 Jobs and Hearing Nothing? It's Your Strategy, Not Your CV
A hundred applications and silence is a strategy problem, not a CV problem. Why mass applying fails against modern screening, and the targeted system that converts.
5 CV 'Rules' That Are Quietly Costing You Interviews
One page only, designed templates, adjective-heavy profiles: five pieces of CV folklore UK graduates still obey, and what the evidence says to do instead.
CV Keywords: How to Match Your CV to the Job Advert Without Keyword-Stuffing
Learn how to find the right CV keywords in any job advert and weave them into real evidence: a 15-minute tailoring method that never tips into stuffing.
How to Beat the 6-Second CV Scan: A Step-by-Step Guide
Recruiters give your CV seconds, not minutes. Beat the 6-second CV scan with this step-by-step checklist covering the ATS parse and the human first look.
ATS-Friendly CV Format: The Rules That Actually Matter in 2026
The ATS-friendly CV format rules that genuinely affect parsing in 2026, and the folklore you can ignore. A copyable spec for UK graduate CVs.
3 CV Lines Quietly Getting You Auto-Rejected (and How to Fix Them)
Three lines on real graduate CVs that quietly get applications rejected: why recruiters and ATS filters skip them, and the exact rewrite for each.
What Is an ATS and How Does It Actually Read Your CV? A Plain-English Guide
What is an ATS and how does it really read your CV? A plain-English guide for UK graduates: what tracking systems actually do, myths debunked.
The Best CV Builders for UK Graduates in 2026: Zety, Resume.io, Kickresume, Novoresume and Canva Compared
Zety, Resume.io, Kickresume, Novoresume and Canva compared honestly for UK graduates: real free tiers, auto-renew traps, A4 support and where GoRizzume fits.
The Best Free ATS CV Checkers for UK Graduates (2026, Compared Honestly)
Five free ATS CV checkers compared honestly for UK graduates in 2026: what each one actually gives you free, the catches, and one zero-tool test.
UK CV format for international students (A4, no photo, 2 pages)
The UK CV conventions that differ from other markets — page size, length, no photo, structure and tone — with a section-by-section template.
Free ATS CV checker: how UK applicant tracking systems read your CV
What an ATS actually does to your CV before a human sees it, the formatting that breaks parsing, and how to check yours for free.
The 7 UK CV mistakes international students make
Photos, "I", the three-page resume: the seven CV habits from home that British recruiters quietly bin, why each one costs you, and what UK hiring expects instead.
Data and tools for this topic
- Graduate schemes, stage by stageTests, interviews and assessment centres per employerData
- UK application deadlinesClosing dates checked against each employer's own siteData
- Licensed visa sponsors by cityThe Home Office register of licensed sponsors, refreshed dailyData