How to Structure a CV: CV Format Guide for 2024
A good CV structure is the foundation of a successful job application. Learn how to structure a CV perfectly and make a professional first impression.
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‘Please find attached my CV’ is a common phrase. However, it also tends to be questioned. At first, it seems to be grammar-wise, but after a moment of reflection, one realises it’s a bit old-fashioned.
An email is not a business letter; a lot has changed since the handwritten or manually typed business letter had its heyday. Using this and similar phrases isn’t wrong, but there are much better alternatives. Want to get to know them? With this article, you'll figure out when you might need to use ‘please find attached my CV’ or alternatives and you'll get 45 expert examples of what to say instead.
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Lauren Bryant
T: 077 4444 5555
E: lauren.bryant@lcmail.co.uk
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/laurenbryant
Personal statement
Energetic and highly organised administrative assistant with 4+ years’ experience supporting teaching and administrative staff as well as management in tertiary education contexts. While working at Griffiths College, reduced office operating costs by 5%, improved visiting lecturer satisfaction levels by over 50% and saved the admin team a total of over 10 working hours per week. Looking for an opportunity to put accumulated knowledge and well-practised administration skills to good use in helping Moore’s Business School maintain and exceed its high standards.
Work experience
Administrative Assistant
Griffiths College, Liverpool
August 2018—present
Administrative Assistant
Sands Institute of Technology, Liverpool
March 2016—July 2018
Education
A-levels: Accounting, French, English
Houghton Hall High School, Liverpool, 2013 – 2015
8 GCSEs (including Mathematics and English)
Houghton Hall High School, Liverpool, 2011 – 2013
Skills
Languages
Volunteer work
The phrase ‘Please find attached my CV’ is frequently used in professional communication to inform that a CV or a resume is attached to the email or message. Below, you can find the most typical scenarios in which you might need this statement after your CV is written:
When applying for a job, you either use a form on the company website or an email where you attach your CV and a cover letter. ‘Please find attached my CV’ is a very typical way to indicate that a recruiter can find your Curriculum Vitae in the attachment.
When building connections with other professionals, you can share your CV to make these contacts even more impactful. Providing a summary of your skills and experience exposes you to new career opportunities and helps you make informed career decisions. When emailing your colleagues and attaching your CV, you use a ‘Please find attached my CV’ phrase to ensure they know there’s an attachment.
If you send a business proposal or offer services to a potential client, you might often include your CV to highlight your expertise and relevant experience (and that's where a good CV summary comes in handy, too). Mentioning that you attach your CV is helpful, especially since your recipients might not expect it.
If you apply for educational programs or scholarships, you might want to provide your CV to demonstrate your academic achievements (especially when having no work experience). Mentioning the attached CV helps navigate your email deftly and is useful for a recipient.
If it’s not categorically wrong, then why not use it? The first reason is confusing formal writing with old-fashioned turns of phrase. You want to draw your readers’ attention to the curriculum vitae and job application letter, which makes sense, but why do this exactly this way?
There’s a huge overlap between formal and old-fashioned writing, but they’re not the same. You can be formal without being anachronistic. Phrases such as ‘Please find attached my CV’ quickly become background noise. You don’t want any part of your job application to be glossed over this way.
Below is a list of some of the most common phrases used to draw a recruiter’s attention to attachments. Read through the list, and don’t worry if you recognise many of them from your own emails (we all do). Just try not to start glossing over them as you near the end of the list. This is what recruiters feel.
Apart from the obvious ‘please find’ formula, there are a few other things to look out for:
There are many other ways to draw a recruiter’s attention to your attachments. If there’s a trick to it at all, then it’s working naturally in your email. Put it another way: take away the crutch of a ready-made phrase, and you’ll come up with your own without even realising that you’re doing it.
A strong CV summary will convince the recruiter you’re the perfect candidate. Save time and choose a ready-made personal statement written by career experts and adjust it to your needs in the LiveCareer CV builder.
Below is a list of examples to give you a sense of what you’re aiming for. The key idea is to keep the flow and tone of your email going. Write to a recruiter, not at them. This will keep them engaged as they read rather than skipping over those phrases they’ve read a dozen times already that day.
There’s also a school of thought that says you don’t have to mention attachments at all. According to this way of thinking, ‘my CV is attached’ is as superfluous as ‘please find attached my CV’. Email clients and webmail interfaces make it clear that files are attached, and spelling it out is unnecessary.
Something must be said for this line of thinking, but it’s important to remember that not all email clients and webmail interfaces are created equal. The person at the other end might be using something as antiquated as Outlook and could overlook your attachments if you don’t mention them.
Then again, the job advert might have required you to put something like ‘Jane Smith – Admin Assistant CV submission’ in the subject line. In cases like this, mentioning the attachments might indeed be unnecessary. At the very least, knowing that saying nothing is an option certainly takes the pressure off.
You can do other things to ensure your email or online job application gets into the right folder once received. Keep the following things in mind to give your application the best possible chance:
You don’t have to be a CV writing expert. In the LiveCareer CV builder you’ll find ready-made content for every industry and position, which you can then add with a single click.
I hope this article has convinced you to leave the likes of ‘Please find attached my CV’ and ‘Pursuant to our telephone conversation’ behind as well as giving you the confidence to reach for more natural and modern alternatives. Comments, questions, anything to add? Share your thoughts below.
Our editorial team has reviewed this article for compliance with Livecareer’s editorial guidelines. It’s to ensure that our expert advice and recommendations are consistent across all our career guides and align with current CV and cover letter writing standards and trends. We’re trusted by over 10 million job seekers, supporting them on their way to finding their dream job. Each article is preceded by research and scrutiny to ensure our content responds to current market trends and demand.
About the author
Since 2013, the LiveCareer UK team has shared the best advice to help you advance your career. Experts from our UK editorial team have written more than one hundred guides on how to write the perfect CV or cover letter.
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A good CV structure is the foundation of a successful job application. Learn how to structure a CV perfectly and make a professional first impression.
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