Irish CV Format: How It Differs From the UK and How to Adapt

If you already have a UK-style CV, you are most of the way to the Irish CV format. Irish employers expect a similar document: two pages of A4, reverse-chronological order, no photo, British spelling. The differences are small but noticeable to an Irish recruiter. They include how you show school results, how you describe qualifications, how you handle referees and, if you are coming from abroad, how clearly you state your permission to work.

This guide covers what to keep, what to change and a template you can adapt today.

Irish CV format vs UK: a quick comparison

Element	UK convention	Irish convention
Length	Usually 2 pages	Usually 2 pages
Photo	Usually no	Usually no
Spelling	British English	British/Irish English (organise, colour)
Location	Town or city, sometimes postcode	Town/county or Dublin district (e.g. Dublin 8). Eircode optional
Phone	+44	+353 if you have an Irish number
School results	GCSEs/A-levels, often summarised	Leaving Certificate, often listed for graduates and early-career roles
Qualification levels	RQF/SCQF levels rarely shown	NFQ level sometimes shown, especially for QQI awards
Degree classification	First, 2:1, 2:2	First Class Honours (1.1), Second Class Honours Grade 1 (2.1), Grade 2 (2.2)
Referees	Often "available on request"	Both listing two referees and "available on request" are common
Interests	Optional, often cut	Optional; brief, specific interests are still fairly common
Irish language	Not relevant	Worth listing if you have it, especially for public sector roles

If the job ad or the employer's application portal asks for something specific, follow that instead of any general convention, including this one.

What stays the same as a UK CV

You don't need to rebuild your CV from scratch. These conventions carry over directly:

• Two pages is the norm. One page is fine for school leavers and many graduates. Three pages can work for academic or very senior roles. Our guide on how long a CV should be in the UK applies almost word for word to Ireland.
• No photo. As in the UK, a photo takes up space and invites judgements unrelated to the job. See should I put a photo on my CV in the UK for the reasoning, which also applies in Ireland.
• Reverse-chronological order. Most recent role first, with month and year for each date range.
• A short personal profile. Three or four lines at the top saying who you are, what you do and what you're looking for.
• Achievement-focused bullets. Start with a verb and show results where you truthfully can.

Personal details to leave out

Ireland's Employment Equality Acts prohibit discrimination on nine grounds, including age, gender, civil status, family status, religion, race and disability. For that reason, Irish CVs normally leave out date of birth, marital status, number of children, nationality (unless relevant to work permission), religion and a photo. This is general information, not legal advice. The Workplace Relations Commission publishes official guidance on equality in employment.

What to change for an Irish employer

1. Contact details and location

Put your name, phone, email, LinkedIn URL (optional) and location at the top. For location, a town and county is enough: Cork or Naas, Co. Kildare. In Dublin, a postal district such as Dublin 7 is common. You don't need your full street address.

If you're still abroad, be honest about it and add your plans if they are real: Currently based in Manchester, relocating to Dublin in March. Only write a relocation date if you actually have one.

2. School results: the Leaving Certificate

The Leaving Certificate is Ireland's final school exam. Irish graduates and early-career applicants often list it, sometimes with points or grades for key subjects. Experienced candidates usually reduce it to one line or drop it.

If you studied outside Ireland, list your own school qualifications under their real names: A-levels, WAEC, CBSE, IB, high school diploma and so on. Don't relabel them as a Leaving Certificate. Add a short plain-English note if the name won't be familiar, for example: WAEC WASSCE (Nigerian senior secondary school certificate), 7 credits including English and Mathematics.

3. Qualifications and NFQ levels

Ireland uses the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ), which runs from Level 1 to Level 10. An honours bachelor's degree is Level 8, a master's is Level 9. Irish candidates with QQI further education awards often include the level, for example QQI Level 5 Certificate in Healthcare Support, because employers use it to check eligibility.

For qualifications from abroad, don't guess an NFQ level. QQI runs a foreign qualification recognition service and a comparison database. Check the QQI website and only state a level if you have confirmed it. Otherwise list the qualification, institution, country and year, and let the employer ask.

4. Degree classification wording

Irish universities use the same classes as the UK but often write them differently: BA (Hons), Second Class Honours, Grade 1 (2.1). Either the UK shorthand (2:1) or the Irish style (2.1 / H2.1) will be understood. Pick one and use it consistently.

5. Referees

In the UK, "references available on request" is standard. In Ireland, you'll see both that and two named referees with job title, organisation, email and phone. Some Irish public sector and graduate applications ask for referees up front.

A practical rule: if you are short on space, write Referees available on request. If you have room and your referees have agreed, list two. Always ask permission before naming someone.

6. Irish language and other languages

If you speak Irish (Gaeilge), list it with an honest level, such as Irish: conversational or Irish: fluent (spoken and written). It can matter for some public sector, education and Gaeltacht roles. List other languages the same way. Ireland's multinational employers often hire for language skills, so a truthful German: professional working proficiency is worth the line.

7. Permission to work

If you are not an Irish, EU/EEA, Swiss or UK citizen, Irish employers will want to know whether you need an employment permit. A short, accurate line near your contact details saves them guessing:

• Stamp 4 holder: no employment permit required
• Stamp 1G (graduate scheme), valid until [month year]
• Will require a Critical Skills Employment Permit

Only write what is true for you. Permission types and rules change, so check the official sources: the Irish Immigration Service for stamps and residence, and the Department of Enterprise employment permits pages for permit types and eligible occupations. This post is general information only, not legal or immigration advice. If you're applying from abroad, our step-by-step guide to applying for jobs with visa sponsorship covers the wider process.

An Irish CV template you can copy

Use this structure and fill it in with your own, accurate details:

AOIFE MURPHY Galway | +353 87 000 0000 | aoife.murphy@email.com | linkedin.com/in/aoifemurphy Stamp 4: no employment permit required (only if it applies to you)

Personal profile Customer operations specialist with four years' experience in high-volume contact centres. I've led a team of eight and improved first-contact resolution through better call scripts. Looking for a team lead role in a Galway-based or hybrid company.

Experience Team Lead, Customer Support | Company name, Galway | Jan 2023 – Present

• Led a team of 8 agents handling phone and email queries for 3 product lines
• Rewrote 12 call scripts, cutting repeat contacts on billing queries
• Trained 15 new hires using a two-week onboarding plan I designed

Customer Support Agent | Company name, Dublin 2 | Sep 2020 – Dec 2022

• Resolved an average of 40+ queries per shift across phone, chat and email

Education BA (Hons) Business, Second Class Honours Grade 1 (2.1) | University of Galway | 2020 Leaving Certificate | School name, Co. Mayo | 2016 (optional for experienced candidates)

Skills Zendesk, Salesforce Service Cloud, Excel (pivot tables), coaching, rota planning

Languages English (native), Irish (conversational), Spanish (intermediate)

Interests Coach an under-12s GAA team; volunteer with a local literacy charity

Referees Available on request

The figures in the bullets are placeholders. Replace them with numbers you can stand behind in an interview, or remove them. A specific, honest bullet beats an impressive-sounding one you can't explain.

If you'd like help turning your existing CV into this structure, the QuickApplyPilot AI CV builder can draft and format sections from the experience you give it. Review everything it produces and edit anything that doesn't accurately describe what you've done.

Adapting your CV: a 20-minute checklist

Work through this list with your current UK or international CV open:

1. Remove date of birth, marital status, photo and full street address.
2. Update your location line to town/county or Dublin district, plus a real relocation date if you have one.
3. Add a work permission line if you're not an Irish, EU/EEA, Swiss or UK citizen, and check it against official sources.
4. Check spelling is British/Irish English: organise, programme, centre, licence (noun).
5. Rename school qualifications accurately, adding a brief explanation for non-Irish ones.
6. Add NFQ levels only for Irish awards or levels you've confirmed through QQI.
7. Decide on referees: list two (with their permission) or write "available on request".
8. Add languages, including Irish if you have it, with honest levels.
9. Trim to two pages. Cut older roles to one line each if needed.
10. Save as PDF or Word, whichever the employer asks for. Some application systems handle Word files more reliably, so read the instructions on each portal.

Where Irish jobs are advertised

For official listings, use JobsIreland, the public employment service, and publicjobs.ie for civil and public service roles. Public sector applications often use their own forms with competency questions, so a standard CV may not be enough on its own. Read each campaign's candidate information booklet before applying.

Many private employers also advertise on their own careers pages and on large job boards. Whichever route you use, tailor your CV to each ad by reflecting the skills it asks for, but only those you genuinely have.