Across Commonwealth job markets, the word “CV” means the standard application document for nearly every role, not just academic ones. Candidates who apply a US-style one-page resume, or an overloaded American academic CV, often misjudge the norms. The conventions are broadly shared and worth knowing before you send.

The shared conventions

For general professional roles in the UK, Kenya, Nigeria, India, Australia, and similar markets, the expected document is concise and factual, closer to a resume in length than a full academic CV.

  • Length: two pages is the standard for most professional roles; one page reads as thin for experienced candidates.
  • Structure: personal profile, work experience in reverse chronological order, education, skills, then references or “references available on request.”
  • Spelling: use British English conventions, such as “organisation” and “programme.”
  • Dates and format: day-month-year dates and clean, single-column layouts that scan easily.

What to leave off

Many Commonwealth markets have moved toward equal-opportunity norms that discourage personal data. Omit your photo, date of birth, marital status, nationality, and religion unless a specific local employer or country explicitly requests them. Including them can work against you where anti-discrimination hiring practice is standard, particularly in the UK and Australia. When in doubt, follow the most conservative convention and leave protected characteristics off the page.

Adjust for local nuance

The shared frame still has regional edges. Academic and public-sector roles in some markets ask for a longer, more detailed CV; certain countries still expect references listed in full rather than on request. Read the posting and, where you can, a local example before finalising. The safest baseline is a clean, two-page, achievement-focused document in British English.

Get the conventions right and your application reads as locally fluent. The ATS-friendly templates hold the clean two-page structure these markets expect, and the CV maker keeps the layout single-column and scannable. For the underlying structure, the full CV guide walks each section in order.