What should and shouldn't be on your CV? The complete checklist

Every CV is a collection of choices. Photo or no photo? Stars next to your Excel level? An intro paragraph at the top, or do you get straight to the point? Most people simply copy whatever they once saw somewhere, without ever asking themselves whether it still holds up. Time to put that right.

Photo: it depends, and that's not a cop-out answer

A photo isn't compulsory in the UK, and the law even nudges you slightly in the other direction — employers are supposed to assess skills, not appearance. Yet a large share of applicants still include one. The reality is more nuanced than a simple "yes" or "no":

• Applying in the Netherlands, Germany or many other European countries? A professional photo is allowed, but not required.
• Applying in the UK or the US? Leave it out. There, a photo is actually discouraged because of anti-discrimination legislation.
• Not sure if your photo is flattering enough? Then no photo is always better than a mediocre one. A holiday snap with sunglasses will cost you more points than it earns you.

If you do use a photo, make sure it matches your LinkedIn profile. Two different faces across two channels only raises questions.

Stars and bars for your skills: nice to look at, bad for the robot

This might be the most underestimated CV mistake. Stars, progress bars and percentages next to your skills look tidy — to a human. To an ATS system, which screens a large share of UK CVs first, they mean absolutely nothing. The software reads text, not graphical elements. Four out of five stars next to "Excel" is simply ignored by the machine.

Worse still: even people who do read it wonder why someone rates themselves at only 80% instead of 100%. Vague and subjective, in other words.

Do this instead: use words. "Basic", "advanced" or "expert" works for skills. For languages, use the European CEFR level (A2, B1, C1). Clear for the recruiter, readable for the machine.

Introduction at the top: short, or not at all

A short profile paragraph at the top of your CV — two to four sentences summarising who you are and what you bring to the table — works well, as long as you keep it brief. It's your sales pitch, not a summary of your entire career. "Driven professional with a passion for people" says nothing and only wastes a recruiter's time. A concrete sentence about your job title, years of experience and your key strength does more work in fewer words.

Don't have a good intro to write? Then it's better to leave it out entirely. A mediocre intro is worse than no intro at all.

Personal details: less is more

Date of birth, marital status, number of children — these no longer belong on a UK CV as standard. Not because they're forbidden, but because they add nothing to the assessment and can encourage unconscious bias. Name, location, phone number, email address and, optionally, your LinkedIn profile are enough.

References: the line nobody needs to read

Adding "References available on request" at the bottom of your CV is allowed, but in practice it's a non-starter: every recruiter already assumes you can provide them if asked. Only list references with name and contact details if the job listing explicitly asks for them — and even then, only at a later stage of the process, not as a standard CV entry.

Hobbies: keep it short, or relevant, not both at length

A list saying "reading, travelling, sport" says little and mostly just fills space. If you have a hobby that genuinely says something relevant to the role — a committee position at a sports club, a side project connected to the field — you can briefly mention it. The rest can safely be left out.

The quick checklist

Do	Don't (usually)
Short, concrete profile paragraph	Stars or bars for skills
Name, location, contact details	Date of birth, marital status
Text labels for level (basic/advanced/expert)	"References available on request" without being asked
Photo — only professional and relevant to the country	A long, generic hobby list

Not sure if your own CV passes this checklist?

Most applicants have no idea how many of these points have secretly been sitting on their CV for years — simply because nobody ever checked. With CV Refresh you upload your existing CV and the tool automatically removes the outdated elements: stars become text labels, unnecessary personal details disappear, and the formatting is made ATS-friendly. Within a few minutes you'll have a version that matches 2026, not 2015.

Check your CV with CV Refresh →

In short

• Photo: only professional, and not in countries like the UK or the US.
• Stars and bars for skills are unreadable for ATS systems — use text labels instead.
• A profile summary is fine, but keep it short and concrete — otherwise leave it out.
• Date of birth and marital status no longer belong on a UK CV as standard.
• "References available on request" is unnecessary unless specifically asked for.