Cleaner CV Examples That Get Interviews
Updated 22 June 2026
A strong cleaner CV proves you can be trusted to work independently, follow safety rules, and deliver consistent results. Whether you are applying for domestic, office, hospital or industrial cleaning, this guide shows you how to write a CV that passes ATS filters and gets you shortlisted, with real examples at every experience level.
Cleaner CV examples
Entry-Level Cleaner
entryLeads with transferable skills, voluntary experience, and clear availability despite no formal paid cleaning roles.
Experienced Cleaner
midDemonstrates commercial cleaning experience, machine operation, and sector-specific skills (office and retail) with clear metrics.
Senior Hospital Cleaner / Cleaning Supervisor
seniorHighlights infection-control expertise, NHS colour-coding, team leadership, and large-scale healthcare cleaning metrics.
How to write a cleaner CV
A cleaner CV should be one to two pages, reverse-chronological, and tailored to the cleaning sub-sector you are targeting. Open with a personal statement that highlights reliability, relevant training (especially COSHH), and your availability. Follow with a skills section listing certifications, machines you can operate, and key competencies. Then present your work experience with achievement bullets that quantify area covered, time saved, or audit scores. Close with education and any additional information (DBS status, availability, physical fitness). Keep the layout clean and proofread carefully, spelling errors on a cleaner CV read like missing a spot.
Personal statement
Lead with reliability, punctuality and relevant training. State your COSHH awareness, DBS status (if you hold one), and availability for unsocial hours. Keep it 2–3 sentences.
Skills
List COSHH, machines, certifications (BICSc, NVQ Level 2, infection control), and soft skills (lone working, attention to detail). For healthcare roles, add NHS colour-coding and PPE.
Experience
Use bullets with metrics: area covered, team size, supply savings, time saved, audit scores. Mirror 2–3 exact phrases from the job advert ("deep cleaning", "floorcare", "infection control") to pass ATS.
Education and additional info
List qualifications and certifications. State your DBS status, availability, and physical fitness in "Additional Information", these are hard filters for many cleaning roles.
Personal statement examples
Reliable and COSHH-trained cleaner with 5 years maintaining office and retail buildings. Proficient in operating floor buffers, rotary scrubbers and industrial vacuums. Proven track record of 99% attendance, working independently across multiple sites, and achieving 96% client-satisfaction scores. Available for early-morning, evening and weekend shifts.
Hard-working and reliable person looking for a cleaning role to use my skills and grow. A good team player who is passionate about cleanliness and takes pride in doing a good job. Willing to learn and available to start immediately.
Writing your experience
Cleaning achievement bullets follow a simple pattern: task + metric + outcome. Quantify the area you covered, the team you supported, the time or cost you saved, or the audit score you achieved. Employers value reliability and efficiency, so show both.
| Weak | Strong |
|---|---|
| Responsible for cleaning offices and washrooms. | Cleaned and sanitised 6 office buildings totalling 18,000 m², achieving 96% client-satisfaction scores in quarterly audits. |
| Used floor buffers and other equipment. | Operated floor buffers, rotary scrubbers and carpet steam cleaners to maintain hard floors and carpeted areas, completing tasks 20% faster than scheduled. |
| Followed health and safety rules. | Followed COSHH guidelines when diluting and storing cleaning chemicals, with zero safety incidents over 18 months. |
Action verbs for cleaner CVs: Cleaned, sanitised, disinfected, maintained, operated, reduced, achieved, completed, supervised, trained, restocked, reported, followed, implemented.
For hospital and care-home roles, foreground infection-control language: "Followed NHS colour-coding protocols (red for washrooms, blue for general areas, green for kitchens, yellow for clinical/isolation areas) to prevent cross-contamination." For office and retail, emphasise client satisfaction and lone working. For domestic, stress discretion and flexibility.
Key skills & ATS keywords
Hard skills
Soft skills
ATS keywords
Education & certifications
Most cleaning roles do not require formal qualifications beyond GCSEs (or equivalent), but certifications signal professionalism and make you a safer hire. List them in a dedicated "Skills" or "Training" section to keep your CV concise.
Key certifications for cleaners:
- COSHH awareness, the single most-cited hard skill. Shows you can safely store, dilute and handle cleaning chemicals.
- BICSc Licence to Practice, the gold-standard cleaning qualification, especially for healthcare and commercial contracts.
- NVQ/Level 2 in Cleaning and Support Services Skills, a recognised vocational qualification that covers all core cleaning tasks.
- Infection prevention and control, essential for hospital, care-home and clinical cleaning.
- Manual handling, demonstrates safe lifting and moving techniques.
- First aid, valued in lone-working and healthcare roles.
- Food hygiene (Level 2), relevant for kitchen and catering cleaning.
- Working at heights, required for window cleaning and some industrial roles.
DBS checks: State your DBS status and issue date. Domestic and most commercial roles need a Basic DBS; schools and healthcare need Enhanced. Many clients reject certificates older than 3 years, so note a recent one (e.g. "Enhanced DBS check, issued February 2025").
If you hold no certifications yet, many employers offer on-the-job training. Lead with transferable skills, reliability, and a willingness to complete training.
Common mistakes to avoid
Listing duties instead of achievements ("responsible for cleaning offices").
Show outcomes with metrics: "Cleaned 6 office buildings totalling 18,000 m², achieving 96% client-satisfaction scores."
Writing "cleaning equipment" without naming the machines.
List specific kit: "Operated floor buffers, rotary scrubbers, steam cleaners and industrial vacuums."
Omitting COSHH, DBS status, or availability.
State these upfront, they are hard filters. "COSHH-trained, Enhanced DBS (2025), available for early-morning and weekend shifts."
Ignoring sector-specific skills (e.g. NHS colour-coding for hospital roles).
Tailor your CV: for healthcare, add "Followed NHS colour-coding protocols (red, blue, green, yellow) to prevent cross-contamination."
Spelling, grammar or formatting errors.
Proofread carefully. A sloppy CV reads like "missing a spot" and directly contradicts the attention to detail the job requires.
Leaving out voluntary or informal cleaning experience when you have no paid roles.
Count any cleaning tasks: mopping, disinfecting, laundry, communal-area cleaning. Entry-level CVs are accepted on demonstrated tasks, not just job titles.
Junior vs senior: what changes
| Aspect | Junior | Senior |
|---|---|---|
| Personal statement | Leads with COSHH training, DBS status, and availability. Emphasises reliability and willingness to learn. | Leads with years of experience, specialist training (BICSc, infection control), and team supervision or large-scale site management. |
| Skills | COSHH, basic machines (vacuum, mop, floor buffer), manual handling, lone working. | BICSc Licence to Practice, NHS colour-coding, infection control, PPE, rotary scrubbers, steam cleaners, team training, stock management. |
| Experience bullets | Area cleaned, tasks completed, attendance record. Metrics are smaller (e.g. "4 communal rooms"). | Area covered at scale (e.g. "125,000 m² hospital site"), team size supervised, cost/time savings, audit scores, training delivered. |
| Certifications | COSHH awareness, manual handling, Basic DBS. | BICSc Licence to Practice, NVQ Level 2, infection prevention and control, Enhanced DBS, first aid, working at heights. |
| Responsibilities | Cleaning assigned areas, following instructions, restocking supplies. | Supervising teams, training new starters, managing stock and budgets, liaising with clients, ensuring compliance with infection-control and COSHH standards. |