What a great master CV looks like – and why you need one

And one of the hardest parts? Remembering everything you’ve done. The useful skill you picked up during that volunteering project, the training project you took last year, or the leadership position you held in high school. 

This is where the Master CV comes in. 

What is a Master CV?

A Master CV is a comprehensive, detailed document that lists everything you’ve ever done professionally, academically, and personally that could be relevant for a job. It’s not the CV you send out to employers. Instead, it’s the source material you draw from when tailoring each job-specific application. 

Think of it as your personal career archive – a living, breathing record of your skills, experiences, and accomplishments. 

What is the point of a Master CV?

You might be thinking, “If I have to tailor every CV anyway, what’s the point of creating a giant one?”

Here’s why it’s worth the effort – especially if you’re in the early stages of your career, struggling with rejections, and still figuring out your path. 

• It saves you time: It helps you remember all the dates, job titles, and projects, with it all in one place. You can simply cut and paste the relevant sections into a new application.
• It improves the quality of your applications: By having rich, specific content to draw from, you can choose examples that best fir the job – not just the ones that you remember in the moment.
• It boosts your confidence: Seeing all your achievements in one place reminds you that you do have the experience, transferable skills, and value to offer – even if you’ve just been turned down for a role. Plus, the process of creating one helps you get clearer on your own experiences and strengths – which makes writing applications, doing interviews, and even networking much easier.
• It supports your long-term growth: It’s not just for CVs – your Master CV can also be used when filling out applications, preparing for interviews, updating your LinkedIn profile or reflecting on your career direction. 

What should a Master CV include?

The short answer? Everything. Don’t worry about space, style or length – this document is just for you. Be thorough and detailed. Here are some sections to include:

1. Job Experience

Include every job, internship, volunteering role, placement or freelance gig you’ve ever done. And for each role: 

• Write multiple bullet points around your responsibilities, achievements, and challenges.
• Be specific – include numbers, tools used, results, and feedback where possible.
• Don’t wait – write these as soon as a job ends while it is all still fresh in your mind. 
   

2. Education and Training

Include your degrees, short courses, online certifications, workshops, and any extra training. Add details about modules you took, topics of your dissertations, and research projects. 

3. Key Skills and Competencies

Create a master list of your skills – both hard and soft. For each one, include an example of where or how you demonstrated it (e.g. communication, data analysis, teamwork, leadership). This is especially useful when you are preparing for interviews and the interviewer asks you for an example of where you exhibited a specific skill. 

4. Achievements and Awards

Include academic awards, competitions, scholarships, links to your published works, or anything else that reflects your capability or commitment. These can be used to help you stand out against other candidates, especially in industries that value drive and self-starters. 

5. Extracurriculars and Interests

Employers are increasingly interested in who you are outside of work. Add a list of societies, sports, volunteering, creative pursuits, side projects that you are involved in – anything that shows initiative, creativity, or commitment. It may even give you something in common with someone on the hiring team!

6. Keywords and Phrases

Keep a running list of industry specific terms or phrases that regularly appear in job ads you’re interested in. For example, ‘stakeholder engagement’ or ‘human-centred design’. That way, you’ll be ready to incorporate them naturally in tailored CVs later. 

And one of the hardest parts? Remembering everything you’ve done. The useful skill you picked up during that volunteering project, the training project you took last year, or the leadership position you held in high school. 

This is where the Master CV comes in. 

What is a Master CV?

A Master CV is a comprehensive, detailed document that lists everything you’ve ever done professionally, academically, and personally that could be relevant for a job. It’s not the CV you send out to employers. Instead, it’s the source material you draw from when tailoring each job-specific application. 

Think of it as your personal career archive – a living, breathing record of your skills, experiences, and accomplishments. 

What is the point of a Master CV?

You might be thinking, “If I have to tailor every CV anyway, what’s the point of creating a giant one?”

Here’s why it’s worth the effort – especially if you’re in the early stages of your career, struggling with rejections, and still figuring out your path. 

• It saves you time: It helps you remember all the dates, job titles, and projects, with it all in one place. You can simply cut and paste the relevant sections into a new application.
• It improves the quality of your applications: By having rich, specific content to draw from, you can choose examples that best fir the job – not just the ones that you remember in the moment.
• It boosts your confidence: Seeing all your achievements in one place reminds you that you do have the experience, transferable skills, and value to offer – even if you’ve just been turned down for a role. Plus, the process of creating one helps you get clearer on your own experiences and strengths – which makes writing applications, doing interviews, and even networking much easier.
• It supports your long-term growth: It’s not just for CVs – your Master CV can also be used when filling out applications, preparing for interviews, updating your LinkedIn profile or reflecting on your career direction. 

What should a Master CV include?

The short answer? Everything. Don’t worry about space, style or length – this document is just for you. Be thorough and detailed. Here are some sections to include:

1. Job Experience

Include every job, internship, volunteering role, placement or freelance gig you’ve ever done. And for each role: 

• Write multiple bullet points around your responsibilities, achievements, and challenges.
• Be specific – include numbers, tools used, results, and feedback where possible.
• Don’t wait – write these as soon as a job ends while it is all still fresh in your mind. 

2. Education and Training

Include your degrees, short courses, online certifications, workshops, and any extra training. Add details about modules you took, topics of your dissertations, and research projects. 

3. Key Skills and Competencies

Create a master list of your skills – both hard and soft. For each one, include an example of where or how you demonstrated it (e.g. communication, data analysis, teamwork, leadership). This is especially useful when you are preparing for interviews and the interviewer asks you for an example of where you exhibited a specific skill. 

4. Achievements and Awards

Include academic awards, competitions, scholarships, links to your published works, or anything else that reflects your capability or commitment. These can be used to help you stand out against other candidates, especially in industries that value drive and self-starters. 

5. Extracurriculars and Interests

Employers are increasingly interested in who you are outside of work. Add a list of societies, sports, volunteering, creative pursuits, side projects that you are involved in – anything that shows initiative, creativity, or commitment. It may even give you something in common with someone on the hiring team!

6. Keywords and Phrases

Keep a running list of industry specific terms or phrases that regularly appear in job ads you’re interested in. For example, ‘stakeholder engagement’ or ‘human-centred design’. That way, you’ll be ready to incorporate them naturally in tailored CVs later. 

How to use your Master CV effectively?

• Update regularly: After finishing a job, taking a course, or completing a project, add it to your Master CV while it’s still fresh in your brain.
• Tailor smartly: When you find a job to apply for, copy the Master CV into a new doc and trim it down, highlighting the most relevant experiences and rewriting them to match the job’s requirements.
• Use it to boost your confidence: It’s easy to feel underqualified or unsure about your suitability for jobs. Scanning your Master CV reminds you of just how much you’ve done – even when it doesn’t feel like it.

Final Thoughts

Getting rejected from a job – especially one you really wanted – hurts. But every application teaches you something, and every interview helps you gain skills for the next one. A Master CV is a tool that helps you take control of your job search. 

Instead of scrambling to remember what you’ve done, you’ll have everything in one place, and evidence, for when you may be in doubt, of exactly what makes you a strong candidate. 

• Update regularly: After finishing a job, taking a course, or completing a project, add it to your Master CV while it’s still fresh in your brain.
• Tailor smartly: When you find a job to apply for, copy the Master CV into a new doc and trim it down, highlighting the most relevant experiences and rewriting them to match the job’s requirements.
• Use it to boost your confidence: It’s easy to feel underqualified or unsure about your suitability for jobs. Scanning your Master CV reminds you of just how much you’ve done – even when it doesn’t feel like it.