How to update from an entry-level to a mid-level CV

As you move from one job to another, it can be tempting to update your CV by adding on your latest job. However, as your career evolves, so should your CV. An entry-level CV from the start of your career will sell you short 10 years later. Layout, keywords on your CV, and more should be changed as you progress, to have a mid-level CV that sells you at your best.

Updating your CV to a mid-level one

You’re selling yourself short if your CV is entry-level standard when you’re way beyond that. Consider the following changes to upgrade to a mid-level CV which reflects how you’ve grown:

1. Be selective about which roles to include

Now that you’re firmly established in your career, earlier roles will become irrelevant. If you’re now leading a large sales team as a Regional Manager, or winning contracts worth millions of pounds, the Saturday job you had stacking shelves really doesn’t add any value to your mid-level CV. You’re not obliged to include every detail of your career, so if an early career position isn’t supporting your cause, omit it.

2. Cut the clichés

A graduate CV is often peppered with words like “hard-working,” “enthusiastic,” and “punctual.” This is really the bare minimum that an employer would expect – it will already be assumed if you’ve held down a job for some time. Once you have some experience under your belt, it’s time to show, not tell. 

Let responsibilities and your accomplishments tell the story. Focus on achievements, rather than tasks, and remove empty words from your CV.

3. Incorporate facts and figures

As you’re given more responsibility, your CV should reflect this. Including facts and figures on your mid-level CV is one of the easiest ways to highlight seniority. Say you were a supervisor last year then promoted to Team Leader this year. There’s likely to be overlap in terms of leadership skills, so that’s where numbers can make a difference. 

Quantify the budget you controlled, your sales figures, the number of sites you worked across, the number of cases in your portfolio… the list is endless. 

4. Give space to what matters

With a job or two under your belt, roles will start competing for space to maintain the optimum CV length. When crafting your mid-level CV, don’t just add new job details on top. Instead, read through all your previous roles, cutting out any words and sentences which are superfluous, irrelevant, or self-explanatory.

Top tip: List your professional experience with the most recent at the top, with your current job containing more detail than earlier jobs.

5. Move the education section

As you update your mid-level CV format, it’s also important to consider the placement of key sections. Your education was likely your key selling point early in your career, so it was placed near the top of your CV, underneath your professional or CV summary. 

Unless you plan on starting a new career, your experience is now your greater selling point. Subsequently, reorganise your CV format for mid-level jobs using a chronological CV structure prioritising work contributions over education. 

Top tip: Keep prime information in the top half of your CV’s first page so recruiters can immediately see your strongest selling points.

6. Minimise education details

When fresh out of university, with little or no professional experience, you’ll have included a detailed education section, with everything from degree modules and dissertation titles to grades. As a mid-level professional, this level of detail is superfluous. Simply put your degree, which subject you studied, and the university.

Top tip: Only include your highest level of education; if you have a degree, remove A Level and GCSE details.

Top tip: Add in a Professional Development section so you can incorporate any skills courses you’ve undertaken. There’ll be more room on your mid-level CV once you’ve minimised the education section.

7. Add a link to your LinkedIn profile

Presuming you have an updated LinkedIn profile (and if not, why not?), include your LinkedIn URL in your contact details. Beyond helping recruiters in their background research, your LinkedIn profile also lets you showcase work samples, collect recommendations, and build your personal brand.

Top tip: If you have a website, blog, or any other professional web presence, provide links for those too. But remember that your mid-level CV is a formal document, so social media links, unless business-related, would be out of place.

8. Remove any hobbies

When writing a university or school leaver CV, it’s normal to list hobbies and interests on your document. As an established professional, however, these details add little value. Your key hard and soft skills, experience, and achievements are more important to an HR Manager, so that’s where your mid-level CV should focus. 

Upgrade to a mid-level CV for future success

In order to upgrade your job, you need to upgrade your CV. As the saying goes, “Dress for the job you want, not the job you have,” so the same principle applies to your CV. Tailor your mid-level CV to the role you’re aiming for, not the one you’re leaving behind.

Entry-level CV, mid-level CV, senior level CV – how does your CV present you? Find out by getting a free CV review today.

This article was originally written by Jen David and has been updated by Elizabeth Openshaw.

Recommended reading:

• Professional CV examples: from entry level to executive

• 6 CV writing tips that will turn your good CV into a great one

• What is the C-suite? Roles, responsibilities, and how to make it