Writing a CV for Warehouse and Industrial Roles: A Practical Guide
Your CV for a warehouse or industrial role does not need to be fancy. Recruitment consultants and hiring managers spend an average of 6 to 8 seconds on an initial scan. A clear, honest, well-structured CV gets results.
Keep It Short
Two pages maximum. One page is fine if you are early in your career. Nobody in recruitment reads a four-page CV for an operative role.
What to Include
Personal Details
- Full name, phone number, email address, town (not full address)
- Driving licence type if relevant (B, C1, C, C+E)
- Do not include date of birth, photo, or marital status
Key Skills
A short bullet list of your most relevant skills and certifications:
- Forklift licences (specify types: counterbalance, reach, etc.)
- Driver CPC expiry date
- Manual handling training
- Food hygiene certificates
- Any relevant machinery experience
- Systems experience (WMS, RF scanning, voice picking)
Work Experience
List your most recent roles first. For each one:
- Job title, company name, dates (month/year)
- 2-4 bullet points describing what you actually did
- Focus on measurable achievements where possible ("Achieved 120% of pick target consistently")
- Include types of products handled, shift patterns worked, and team sizes if relevant
Handling Employment Gaps
Gaps are common in industrial work and not automatically a problem. Options:
- Be honest — "Family commitments" or "Travel" is fine
- If you were doing cash-in-hand or informal work, list it as "Self-employed / various temporary roles"
- Do not fabricate employment — reference checks will catch it
What to Skip
- Personal statement / profile — optional, keep it to 2 lines if included
- References — "Available on request" is sufficient
- Hobbies — unless directly relevant (e.g., "Full clean driving licence, advanced motorist")
- Education details beyond qualifications — nobody needs your primary school
Formatting Tips
- Use a simple, readable font (Arial, Calibri) in 10-12pt
- Clear headings and consistent formatting
- Save as PDF to preserve formatting
- Name the file sensibly: "John-Smith-CV.pdf", not "CV_final_v3.pdf"