Irish CV format 2026, with free template

How is an Irish CV different from a UK CV?

Very little. gradireland, Ireland's graduate careers site, says UK CVs follow the same format as those sent to Irish employers. That is exactly why small slips stand out: an Irish recruiter expects a British candidate to get the basics right.

The changes are about context, not layout. Irish readers need to know you can work there without a permit, when you can start, and what your UK employers actually do. The table shows each element side by side.

What goes at the top of an Irish CV?

Recruiters read the top third of page one first. That is where they decide whether you are a real prospect or someone who will need a permit and relocation help they cannot give. Answer both questions before they ask.

Put your name on the first line. On the second, your location: an Irish town or county if you are already there, or Relocating to Dublin, available from June 2026, if you are not. Then your mobile with its country code, your email and your LinkedIn address.

On the third line, state your right to work: British citizen, entitled to live and work in Ireland under the Common Travel Area. The UK government's guidance confirms British citizens can work in Ireland, including on a self-employed basis, without needing any permission. Some recruiters still assume a UK applicant needs sponsorship, so say it plainly. The right belongs to British citizens, so this line only applies if you hold British citizenship.

How should you structure an Irish CV, section by section?

Citizens Information, Ireland's public information service, lists what a CV covers: contact details, qualifications and training, work experience, key skills and references. Use this order.

• Profile: three or four lines. Your role, years of experience, sector and the one result you want them to remember. Write it for the job you want, not the one you are leaving.
• Key skills: six to nine short items that match words in the advert. Systems, methods, licences and languages belong here.
• Professional experience: newest first. Job title, employer, town, and month and year for start and finish. Under each, one line on the employer, then three to six achievements with numbers where you have them.
• Education and qualifications: newest first, with grades and dates, as gradireland advises. Add the Irish level if you have a NARIC Ireland statement.
• Professional memberships and training: chartered status, regulator registration and certificates. Say if your Irish registration is in progress.
• References: two referees with job titles and contact details, or a line offering them on request.

Do you need a photo on an Irish CV?

No. Leave it off. Irish employment equality law sets out nine protected grounds, including gender, civil status, family status, age, race and religion, and it covers recruitment. A photo or a date of birth hands a screener information they are not allowed to use, and most would rather not see it.

The same goes for marital status, children, religion and health. None of it appears in the Citizens Information list of what a CV includes, and none of it helps you.

Keep your PPS number off the CV even if you already have one. Citizens Information says employers should not ask for your PPS number when recruiting, only when you actually take up the job.

How should you present UK qualifications and employers?

Irish recruiters know the large UK names. They will not know a regional housing association, a mid-sized Midlands logistics firm or how your NHS trust is structured. Add one line under each employer: what it does, how big it is and your reach. National retailer, 300 stores, 12,000 staff does the job in six words.

For degrees, use the official title, classification, university and year. If a reader might question the level, look your qualification up on the NARIC Ireland database run by Quality and Qualifications Ireland. Its comparability statements are free and compare your award with Ireland's National Framework of Qualifications, where an honours bachelor's degree sits at level 8 and a master's at level 9. QQI says applicants may link the statement in a job application. It is advice, not a legal document, and the employer still decides.

Regulated professions are different. Since 1 January 2021, UK professional qualifications have not been recognised automatically in Ireland, and you must apply to the Irish regulator for your profession. Put your status on the CV, for example Teaching Council registration applied for, with the month. It shows the reader you have started the process.

Do you need a cover letter for jobs in Ireland?

Send one when the advert asks for it. Citizens Information puts it in exactly those terms. Many employers use online application forms instead, and a form's free-text box does the same job, so treat it with the same care.

Keep it to one page. Open with the role and why you fit it in two sentences. Use the middle to match two or three requirements in the advert with evidence from your CV. Close with your right to work and availability: as a British citizen I can work in Ireland without a permit, and I can start from a named date.

Do not repeat your CV line by line. Address it to a named person where you can find one, and use the job title exactly as the advert writes it.

Will an applicant tracking system read your Irish CV?

Often, yes. Larger Irish employers and multinationals recruit through online portals that pull your CV into fields before a person sees it. Write for both readers.

• Use one column, standard headings and a common font. Tables, text boxes and graphics in the header often come out scrambled.
• Save it in the format the portal asks for. If it does not say, a text-based PDF or Word file is fine.
• Use the advert's wording for job titles and skills where it is accurate.
• Write dates the same way throughout, month and year, so the system counts your experience correctly.
• If the form has its own fields, complete them in full. Never type see CV.

What should you leave off an Irish CV?

Each of these either wastes space or gives a screener a reason to hesitate.

• A photo.
• Date of birth, age, marital or family status, religion and health details.
• Your PPS number or UK National Insurance number.
• Salary history, unless the application form asks for it.
• Reasons for leaving each job. Keep those for the interview.
• UK internal grade codes and scheme acronyms without a plain explanation.
• Full detail on roles from more than about 15 years ago. One line each is enough.