Examples & writing guide
IT CV example and writing guide for 2026
Updated 13 July 2026
A good IT CV makes the technical detail easy to follow and connects your work to a practical result. This guide shows how to shape an IT CV for support roles, systems, networks, cloud infrastructure or operational security roles.
Examples by experience level
Junior IT Support Technician
TemplateNavy Atlas4 / 5
Why this works
This entry-level IT CV pairs a short support role with a substantial university placement, using defensible figures to show technical ability, dependable service and readiness for greater responsibility.
Continue writing your CVIT Support Engineer
TemplateTeal Signal2 / 5
Why this works
This IT CV sample connects technical support work to service reliability, faster resolution and a controlled systems rollout, using figures the fictional candidate could explain at interview.
Continue writing your CVSenior IT Operations Manager
TemplateBlue Horizon3 / 5
Why this works
This IT CV sample connects technical leadership to service reliability, security, cost control and measurable operational improvements across a large estate.
Continue writing your CVJunior vs senior: what changes
| Aspect | Junior | Senior |
|---|---|---|
| Personal statement | Lead with relevant study, practical projects, transferable service skills and the kind of IT work you can already handle. | Open with technical scope, leadership responsibility and two or three outcomes tied to efficiency, service quality or security. |
| Technical evidence | Show hands-on troubleshooting, installation, account support and basic systems or network maintenance through placements, labs, projects or early employment. | Show ownership of complex services, technical decisions, risk, integrations or automation, while keeping the evidence relevant to the vacancy. |
| Achievement scale | Use modest, credible measures such as tickets completed, devices configured, users helped or documentation articles updated. | Use wider measures such as services, sites, teams, budgets, project milestones or sustained operational improvements, but only when the figures are defensible. |
| Project work | Describe your contribution, the tools used, the issue addressed and what you learnt or delivered. | Describe project direction, dependencies, stakeholders, delivery decisions and measured business or operational results. |
| People and communication | Evidence patient user support, clear explanations, reliable handovers and sensible escalation of unresolved cases. | Evidence leadership, coaching, prioritisation and communication between technical teams, users and decision-makers. |
| CV emphasis | Give education, placements and transferable evidence enough space to compensate for a shorter employment history. | Keep early roles brief and devote more space to recent leadership, technical scope, project management and measurable outcomes. |
How to write an IT CV
Use a reverse-chronological format, starting with your latest role and working backwards. One or two pages usually gives you enough room to show relevant work without burying the evidence. Keep the layout plain: clear headings, consistent dates and ordinary text that remains readable when copied into an application form.
Tailor the CV to each vacancy. Read the advert closely, note the responsibilities and terminology that genuinely match your background, then bring that evidence towards the top. An IT CV template is a starting point, not a finished application.
| Section | What to include | What to leave out |
|---|---|---|
| Contact details | Name, UK location, mobile, email and professional profile URL | Photo, date of birth and full street address |
| Personal statement | Target role, relevant experience, strongest technical area and one useful outcome | Generic claims such as "hard-working IT professional" |
| Experience | Employer, title, dates and concise achievement bullets | Long lists of routine duties without context |
| Skills | Tools, platforms and methods you have used | Every technology mentioned in the advert |
| Education | Awarded qualification, institution and dates | Unfinished courses presented as completed |
| Extras | Relevant projects, volunteering, languages or publications | Hobbies that add no useful evidence |
Personal statement
Write two or three sentences for the specific role. An entry level IT CV can lead with practical study, a home lab, volunteering, customer service or a placement. An experienced candidate should name the environment they supported, the scale of their responsibility and the result they delivered.
Experience and skills
Put the strongest evidence first within each role. Technical knowledge matters in IT work, but a skills section is more convincing when the experience section proves where you applied it. For mid-level and senior applications, make room for project-management evidence alongside technical delivery. Keep wording precise, and use recognised abbreviations only when the reader is likely to understand them.
Education and extras
List education in reverse-chronological order. Give the exact awarded title rather than describing a broad subject area. Projects can help a junior IT CV, particularly when they show a defined problem, the work completed and a verifiable result. Keep optional material short.
Personal statement examples
IT support technician with three years' experience resolving user, hardware, software and network issues across office and remote environments. Managed an average of 28 cases a day while meeting agreed response times on 94% of tickets, and rewrote 35 support articles that reduced repeat queries by 18%. Now seeking a systems support role with greater responsibility for monitoring, account administration and service improvement.
I am a passionate and hard-working IT person with good computer skills. I enjoy technology, work well alone or in a team and am looking for an exciting role where I can grow.
Writing your experience
An experience bullet should tell the reader what changed because of your work. A useful structure is: action + technical scope + measurable result. The number might describe case volume, users supported, devices configured, response performance, downtime, repeat incidents or time saved. Use only figures you can defend; if confidential data cannot be disclosed, give an honest scale such as the number of sites or devices.
Compare these before-and-after versions:
| Weak duty | Stronger evidence |
|---|---|
| Helped users with IT problems | Resolved an average of 24 user cases per day across phone and remote channels, closing 88% without escalation. |
| Updated support documents | Rewrote 30 knowledge-base articles for recurring account and software issues, cutting repeat requests by 16% over four months. |
| Installed computers | Configured and deployed 75 laptops for a site move, completing the roll-out two days before the agreed date. |
The stronger versions work because they identify the action, define the scope and give the reader a result. They also reflect ordinary IT support work: resolving user issues, maintaining documentation, installing and configuring equipment, and managing cases within agreed time limits.
Choose verbs that describe what you actually did. Useful options include diagnosed, resolved, configured, deployed, monitored, repaired, documented, prioritised, tested, automated, restored and escalated. Reserve managed, led and owned for work where you genuinely held that responsibility.
For a senior role, connect the technical change to efficiency, business value or security. A bullet such as "Improved the network" says little. "Led replacement of 42 ageing access points across four sites, reducing recorded connectivity incidents by 31% in the following quarter" gives scale, ownership and an outcome. Mid-level and senior IT CVs should also show project management through budgets, schedules, risks, suppliers or delivery milestones when that evidence is relevant.
Do not force a percentage onto every line. A precise count or timeframe often reads better, and some work is best measured by reliable completion: "Tested 18 applications before an operating-system upgrade and documented four compatibility fixes before deployment." The aim is credible evidence, not decorative arithmetic.
Key skills & ATS keywords
Hard skills
Soft skills
ATS keywords
Education & certifications
Present education after experience unless you are writing an entry level IT CV and your studies provide most of the relevant evidence. For each completed award, give its exact title, institution and completion year. Add selected modules, a final project or placement only when it helps the application. If you are still studying, state the expected completion date plainly.
There is no single qualification route covered by every IT vacancy, so match this section to the role and the evidence you hold. In the UK, BCS offers the BCS Certificate in IT (Ofqual Level 4) for early careers in digital and IT, the BCS Diploma in IT (Ofqual Level 5) for career development, and the BCS Professional Graduate Diploma in IT (Ofqual Level 6) for advanced career development. These are possible routes, not universal entry conditions.
The T Level in digital Support and Security is a Level 3 qualification awarded by NCFE. Candidates who have completed it should use the exact title and issuer rather than shortening the name or implying a different level.
Another route is the Level 6 Software Technician Apprenticeship offered by HMGCC. IT takes three years to achieve the qualification, and HMGCC states that passing it leads to an offered role with the organisation. Applicants for an HMGCC apprenticeship must meet the entry requirements published for the relevant apprenticeship, so check the specific vacancy rather than relying on a general IT CV sample.
Keep short courses separate from formal education. Name the provider, completion date and subject accurately, but do not label attendance as certification. Leave expired, incomplete or irrelevant training off unless its status is clear and it still helps explain your experience.
Common mistakes to avoid
AvoidSending the same broad IT CV for support, infrastructure and security vacancies.
InsteadTailor the personal statement, skills and first few experience bullets to the work named in each advert. Keep only relevant evidence rather than trying to cover every branch of IT.
AvoidListing technologies without showing what changed because they were used.
InsteadConnect each technical skill to a result. For example, state the fault resolved, the users or systems affected and a defensible measure such as resolution time, availability or ticket volume.
AvoidWriting support duties as a job description.
InsteadTurn routine work into evidence: explain the action, its scope and the result. Show how you resolved faults, maintained systems, supported users or improved documentation.
AvoidUsing dense acronyms and vague phrases such as "responsible for IT".
InsteadUse precise, readable language. Name the type of system, issue or support channel and explain your contribution without assuming that every reader knows internal abbreviations.
AvoidFocusing only on technical tasks at senior level.
InsteadBalance technical depth with evidence of project delivery, leadership, analysis and business impact. Quantify improvements to efficiency or security where you have records to support them.
AvoidClaiming percentages, uptime or ticket figures that cannot be checked.
InsteadUse only figures you can defend from reports, service records or your own documented work. If no reliable metric exists, give concrete scope instead, such as the number of users, sites or systems supported.
Frequently asked questions
Aim for one or two pages, depending on your experience. A junior IT CV can often fit on one page, while an experienced candidate may need two to show relevant projects and results without cramming the layout.
Use coursework, home labs, volunteering, placements and customer service work as evidence. Describe what you configured, diagnosed, documented or explained, then give a real measure of scope where one exists.
No. Under British CV conventions, leave out your photo and date of birth; use the space for contact details, technical evidence and achievements.
No. Select the tools and methods that match the vacancy and that you could discuss confidently in an interview. A focused skills section is more useful than a long inventory of software encountered once.
Not for every vacancy. Include a role-specific qualification when it is relevant and accurately named, but give practical evidence equal or greater prominence unless the advert sets a particular condition.
Translate prior work into evidence of problem-solving, user support, prioritisation, documentation or project delivery. Add practical technical projects and tailor the IT personal statement to explain the move without apologising for it.
From example to application
Turn this IT example into a CV that sounds like you.
Keep the structure that works. Tailor the details around your experience, strengths, and the role you want.