Examples & writing guide
Model CV example: writing guide for 2026
Updated 31 July 2026
A strong model CV gives bookers a quick, factual account of your experience, range, training and results. This guide covers fashion, editorial, runway, advertising, ecommerce and commercial assignments, with a model personal statement and practical advice you can adapt using evidence you can defend.
Examples by experience level
Junior Model
TemplateNavy Atlas4 / 5
Why this works
This model CV sample turns early commercial and runway assignments into specific evidence of reliability, range, direction-taking and on-set performance.
Continue writing your CVSenior Model
TemplateAshford1 / 5
Why this works
This model CV sample makes the portfolio, current digitals, physical statistics and agency representation easy to find, then backs seniority with varied bookings, international work and defensible figures.
Continue writing your CVJunior vs senior: what changes
| Aspect | Junior | Senior |
|---|---|---|
| Personal statement | Leads with training, transferable performance experience, preferred modelling areas and evidence of taking direction. | Leads with years of experience, established specialisms, booking scale and a strong commercial or creative result. |
| Experience evidence | Uses test shoots, small paid assignments, student productions or promotional work, with clear context for each credit. | Prioritises substantial campaigns, repeat bookings, runway or editorial credits and work completed in different markets. |
| Achievement metrics | Uses modest, defensible figures such as looks modelled, products presented, shoot hours completed or usable images selected. | Uses evidence of scale such as campaign days, markets covered, repeat bookings, team size or catalogue volume. |
| Skills emphasis | Shows posing foundations, body awareness, punctuality, grooming and the ability to interpret instructions quickly. | Shows range across briefs, consistent delivery during long shoots, reliable quick changes and confident work with photographers, stylists and directors. |
| Portfolio and representation | Provides an easy-to-open portfolio link and current digitals, with a focused selection that proves potential without padding. | States current agency representation clearly and directs casting teams to recent campaigns, editorials, runway work and relevant physical statistics. |
| Training and extras | Places relevant training prominently when professional credits are limited. | Keeps older training concise and gives more room to recent work, selected achievements and specialist capabilities. |
How to write a model CV
Use a clean, reverse-chronological layout that reads well on a mobile or laptop. Aim for one page if you have limited experience. A second page is reasonable when a longer booking history, selected credits or relevant training adds useful evidence. Follow British CV conventions: leave out your photograph and date of birth. Instead, provide an immediately accessible portfolio link and keep any requested digitals with the application materials.
Maintain a master CV containing your complete skills, qualifications, work history, volunteering and additional training, then tailor a copy to each opportunity. Career guidance for models seeking work favours pairing a well-structured CV with a portfolio. The CV records your experience, skills and achievements; the portfolio provides visual evidence of your range. Include relevant training rather than relying on booking credits alone.
| Section | What earns its place |
|---|---|
| Contact details | Name, location, mobile, professional email and a working portfolio or profile link |
| Personal statement | Experience level, relevant specialisms, strongest evidence and one defensible result |
| Experience | Recent bookings first, with the brief, medium, scope and measurable outcome |
| Skills | Abilities that match the assignment and are supported elsewhere in the CV |
| Education and training | Qualifications and relevant training, written exactly as awarded or completed |
| Extras | Languages or performance experience when they support the brief |
Tailor the emphasis to your market. A fashion model CV usually gives more space to runway shows, editorial shoots, agency representation, collaborations, physical statistics and the particular look shown in the portfolio. A commercial model CV can foreground advertising, catalogues, ecommerce and television work, with acting experience, voiceover, versatility and the ability to follow direction where relevant. If your work centres on creating the garments rather than modelling them, the fashion designer CV guide is a closer fit. Put the closest match near the top rather than giving every category equal weight.
Write each experience entry as a compact record of the assignment. State what you modelled, the production type and its scale, using verified figures such as looks, set-ups, deliverables or repeat bookings. Established models can lead with professional experience and agency representation. New models can place relevant education and training higher, then use clearly labelled test shoots, performance work or transferable employment to show reliability and confidence.
Personal statement examples
Versatile commercial and fashion model with four years of experience across ecommerce, lifestyle advertising and runway assignments. Confident interpreting direction, adapting expression and body positioning to different briefs, and maintaining consistency through long shoot days. Completed 28 verified bookings in the past year, including six assignments for repeat clients.
Hard-working model looking for exciting opportunities in fashion and advertising. I am photogenic, passionate and comfortable in front of the camera. I work well with everyone, can do any style and would be a great addition to your next project.
Writing your experience
Treat every experience bullet as evidence, not a duty copied from a casting brief. A useful pattern is action + assignment scope + result or verified measure. Start with what you did, add enough production detail to make the work understandable, then finish with a figure taken from a call sheet, invoice, published asset or another record you can check. Measures might include looks, set-ups, deliverables, timed changes, repeat bookings or hours on set.
Professional modelling work can include photographic, catwalk, promotional and commercial assignments. Select credits that fit the opportunity instead of listing every job. Commercial models may describe how modelling and acting supported advertising on websites, in print, on social media or on television. If you have worked internationally, give the market, dates and assignment accurately; models working internationally may travel to markets where their services are in demand.
| Before | After |
|---|---|
| Modelled clothes for an online shop | Modelled 36 garments during an eight-hour ecommerce shoot, completing four planned styling changes per hour |
| Walked in several fashion shows | Walked in three runway presentations at a regional fashion event, completing seven timed outfit changes across two days |
| Worked well with the photographer | Interpreted photographer and stylist direction across 12 product set-ups, completing the agreed shot list 40 minutes early |
The revised bullets make the assignment and its demands visible. When there is no fair outcome metric, use scope. Locations, looks, consecutive shoot days or approved assets can still show what the job involved. Never estimate a result merely because a number looks impressive.
Choose plain, active verbs: modelled, interpreted, adapted, delivered, completed, walked, rehearsed, presented, collaborated and maintained. Use led, coached or coordinated only when you held that responsibility. A senior model can demonstrate scale through repeat bookings, multi-market work or demanding production schedules. A junior model can draw on training, test shoots, performance work and customer-facing employment, but should label unpaid practice honestly.
Tie skills to situations. Explain how you changed angles, expressions or body position to convey a mood; kept poise, balance and rhythm across runway looks; responded quickly to photographers, stylists or directors; sustained performance through a long shoot; or adapted between creative briefs. This gives the reader evidence instead of an isolated list of claims.
Key skills & ATS keywords
Hard skills
Soft skills
ATS keywords
Education & certifications
List each awarded qualification exactly as it appears on the certificate, followed by the institution and completion year. Add relevant modelling, acting or performing-arts training when it strengthens your application, and record the provider, course title and date accurately. Career guidance treats relevant training or certification as preferred evidence for model applicants and strongly recommends including training on a UK model CV. Put short workshops beneath formal education and describe their focus without presenting attendance as professional work.
Aspiring UK models may choose to take simple Polaroid-style digitals before approaching relevant agencies. This is optional application guidance, not an educational award, so keep digitals outside the certifications section. For a particular agency application, consult and follow that agency's published submission process. Keep requested photographs and links with the submission materials.
Equity membership concerns a separate application route and is not a universal model qualification. For models applying for Equity membership, evidence of professional fashion work, such as photographic, catwalk, promotional or commercial assignments, may support the application. List Equity membership only when you hold it and can substantiate the entry.
Child-modelling routes can involve separate paperwork. For children or young people registered with a modelling agency in England, the route calls for a parent-signed licence application, a copy of the child's birth certificate and a medical certificate from the child's doctor before work is arranged. The relevant child-agency route also calls for two passport-sized photographs. When an agency finds a particular job for a child or young person, the route calls for a completed Part 1 licence application recording the exact date, times, location and chaperone arrangements. Term-time work for a child or young person follows a route that calls for a no-objection letter from the child's school head teacher.
For licensed AI modelling work, aspiring UK models may choose to register a digital twin. Treat this as optional, route-specific guidance rather than education, and mention it only when it relates to the work sought.
Common mistakes to avoid
AvoidUsing one generic model CV for every fashion, commercial and e-commerce casting.
InsteadKeep a detailed master CV, then select the work, training and skills that fit each brief. A commercial application can foreground advertising, catalogue, e-commerce and acting experience, while a fashion application can give more space to runway and editorial credits.
AvoidListing bookings without explaining the format, scope or result.
InsteadGive each credit enough context to be useful. Name the type of assignment, your contribution and a figure you can defend, such as the number of looks, shoot days, products or completed takes.
AvoidWriting a vague model personal statement from stock phrases such as "passionate model" and "hard-working professional".
InsteadState your experience level, modelling specialism, strongest practical skills and one concrete achievement. If you are new to modelling, draw on relevant training, test shoots and transferable performance experience.
AvoidTreating the model CV as a substitute for a portfolio.
InsteadUse the CV to explain your experience, skills and achievements, then add an immediately accessible portfolio link containing work relevant to the casting. Keep current digitals available and follow each agency's published submission process.
AvoidLeaving out the practical details that help a casting team assess fit.
InsteadFor a fashion model CV, state agency representation and relevant physical statistics, then link to current visual work. Check the brief before adding details so the submitted document remains focused.
AvoidClaiming every modelling style or inflating booking figures.
InsteadMatch each specialism to a booking, training course, test shoot or portfolio category. Keep your master CV current and use only credits and figures you can defend.
Frequently asked questions
Aim for one page when you are starting out. A senior model with extensive relevant credits may use two pages, but edit firmly and keep the strongest recent work near the top.
Use relevant training, test shoots, student projects, performance work and customer-facing experience. Describe what you did and add only defensible details, such as the number of looks, shoot duration or size of the production team.
A UK-style CV carries no photo. Add an immediately accessible portfolio or professional profile link, keep current digitals separately, and follow the casting or agency's published image-submission process.
Do not add a credential merely to fill space. List relevant training you have genuinely completed, with the provider and date, and mention a role-specific qualification only when it applies to your route or the brief.
Start with a focused model personal statement, then translate earlier work into evidence of taking direction, punctuality, stamina and confident product presentation. Back those points with relevant training or portfolio work instead of renaming unrelated duties.
Keep one accurate master record, but tailor the submitted version. A fashion model CV usually foregrounds runway shows, editorial shoots, agency representation and physical statistics; a commercial model CV can give more weight to advertising, catalogues, e-commerce and acting experience.
From example to application
Turn this model 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.