The Irish CV format in one table
| Section | What it contains |
|---|---|
| Contact details | Name, town/county, phone, email, LinkedIn. No photo, no age, no PPS. |
| Personal profile | 2–4 sentences: who you are, your strongest results, what you want next |
| Work experience | Newest first; 3–5 achievement bullets per recent role |
| Education | Qualifications with institution and year, newest first |
| Skills | A short, honest list matched to the job ad |
| References | “Available on request” — one line, no names |
The profile: your seven seconds
The profile is not an autobiography — it’s a headline. Formula that works: role + years + strongest measurable result + what you’re looking for. Compare:
- Weak: “Hardworking team player with excellent communication skills seeking new challenges.” (Says nothing — everyone claims this.)
- Strong: “Retail supervisor with 5 years’ experience leading teams of up to 12. Cut stock loss 15% and top of region for add-on sales two quarters running. Looking to step into assistant management.”
Bullets: achievements, not duties
The single biggest upgrade for any CV: turn every “responsible for” into a result with a number. Duties describe the job; achievements describe you doing it well.
- “Responsible for rosters” → “Planned weekly rosters for a 12-person team, cutting overtime spend 8%”
- “Handled customer complaints” → “Resolved 20+ complaints a week with a 90% same-day close rate”
- “Helped with training” → “Trained 8 new starters on tills and service standards”
No exact figures? Honest estimates beat vagueness: “teams of up to 12”, “roughly €15k of stock weekly”, “one of 3 keyholders”.
What Irish employers do NOT want to see
- A photo — unusual in Ireland and quietly binned by many recruiters to avoid bias questions.
- Date of birth, marital status, PPS number — employers can’t ask, so volunteering them only creates awkwardness.
- A third page — cut older roles to one line each before you ever go past two pages.
- One CV for every job — reorder skills and rewrite the profile per application. Ten tailored applications beat fifty identical ones.
Finish with the pair
A CV rarely travels alone. Pair it with a short cover letter — our cover letter guide and Irish samples cover that side, and the CV builder produces the CV itself in the exact format above.
Frequently asked questions
How long should a CV be in Ireland?
Two pages maximum. One page is fine early in your career. Recruiters skim the first page in seconds, so the profile and your most recent role carry most of the weight.
Should an Irish CV have a photo?
No. Photos are not expected in Ireland and most recruiters prefer CVs without them. The same goes for date of birth, marital status and PPS number — leave all of them off.
CV or resume — is there a difference in Ireland?
In Ireland the document is called a CV, but it means the same thing Americans call a resume: a 1–2 page career summary. The long academic CV is a different beast used only in academia.
Do I need to list referees on my CV?
No — the Irish convention is a single line: "References available on request". Give names and numbers only when an employer actually asks, and warn your referees first.