How to write a CV for an electrician role

What gets scanned first

A hiring manager or agency recruiter looking at electrician CVs is not reading top to bottom like an essay. They are looking for two things in the first few seconds: your ECS card category, and whether you hold 18th Edition (BS 7671:2018+A2:2022). If those aren't visible near the top, some readers will stop there, because a huge volume of applicants either don't hold a valid card or let it lapse, and checking each one individually takes time nobody has.

So the top third of the page should state, in plain text, not buried in a paragraph:

• ECS card type (Gold, Installation Electrician, Approved Electrician, Technician, or whichever you hold) and its expiry
• 18th Edition qualification and the date you completed it
• NVQ Level 3 (or equivalent, e.g. Level 3 Diploma in Electrotechnical Technology) and the awarding body
• Whether you hold AM2 or AM2S, and when

If you're JIB graded, say the grade. Recruiters in this trade think in JIB categories - Improver, Electrician, Approved Electrician, Technician - because pay rates and site access are often tied to them. "Experienced electrician" on its own tells a reader nothing they can act on.

The qualifications and registrations that actually matter

Generic CV advice tells you to list "relevant qualifications." For this trade, the list is specific and hiring managers know exactly what they're checking for:

Core wiring regs and testing. 18th Edition is table stakes; without it, most sites won't let you near a distribution board. If you hold 2391-52 (Inspection, Testing and Certification) or the older 2394/2395 combination, name it explicitly - this is what separates someone who installs from someone who can sign off an EICR or issue an Electrical Installation Certificate.

Part P and competent person schemes. If you've worked domestic installation and are registered with NICEIC, NAPIT, or another Part P scheme (either as an individual or through an employer's registration), say which one and in what capacity. This matters more on a CV aimed at domestic or small commercial work than on one aimed at industrial maintenance, where it's largely irrelevant - tailor it to the job, don't list it as a default.

CSCS. Most contractors won't let you on a construction site without it. State the card colour/category (e.g. Gold JIB-ECS card doubles as CSCS in this trade), because "I have CSCS" without specifying which scheme is meaningless to someone checking access requirements.

Specialist tickets, only if relevant to the role. 17th/18th Edition amendments, PASMA or IPAF if you've worked at height regularly, confined space training if you've done switchroom or plant work, and any manufacturer-specific training (fire alarm systems to BS 5839, emergency lighting to BS 5266, EV charge point installation) should be named individually rather than folded into "health and safety training." A job advert asking for EV charger installation experience wants to see "OZEV-approved charge point installation" or the specific manufacturer course, not a generic safety line.

What you should not do is list every course you've ever attended as a wall of acronyms. If an advert doesn't mention fire alarms and you did a one-day course eight years ago, it doesn't need to be on page one.

How experience gets evidenced in this trade

This is where electrician CVs differ most sharply from office-based ones. A hiring manager isn't looking for job titles and dates alone - they're looking for what you actually installed, tested, or fault-found, because the trade is granular about scope of work.

For each role or contract, state:

• The setting - domestic rewire, commercial fit-out, industrial maintenance, new-build, data centre, panel building. "Electrician at XYZ Ltd" tells a reader nothing about whether you can wire a three-phase distribution board or you've only ever done first and second fix domestic.
• What you were responsible for - installation only, or installation plus testing and certification. There's a real difference between someone who wires to spec and someone who signs the EIC.
• Voltage and system type where relevant - single-phase domestic, three-phase commercial, or work on systems above 1kV if you've done it. If you've worked on standby generation, UPS systems, or specific control gear, name it.
• Evidence you can point to - a portfolio of test certificates, EICRs, or completion certificates carries more weight in this trade than a reference letter, because it's a paper trail a checker can actually verify. If you have a logbook or job sheets, mention that you can produce them.

Agency work is common in this trade and worth handling properly rather than apologetically. A run of six-month contracts through an agency isn't a red flag here the way it might read on a generic CV template; it's normal. List the agency and the site/client if you're able to, and be specific about what each placement involved rather than writing one vague paragraph covering three years of contracts.

What gets left out, routinely

A few things come up again and again as gaps on electrician CVs, and they're worth checking deliberately rather than assuming they're covered:

Card expiry dates. People list the ECS card but not when it expires. A card that lapses in two months is a different proposition to an employer than one valid for three years, and leaving the date off looks like it's being hidden rather than just forgotten.

Testing versus installation. Many CVs say "fully qualified electrician" and leave the reader to guess whether that includes inspection and testing. If you hold 2391 or equivalent, say so explicitly - don't assume "fully qualified" implies it, because it doesn't always.

Own tools and transport. For site and maintenance roles this is often a practical requirement, not a nice-to-have, and a one-line confirmation ("full tool kit and own transport") saves a question at the first-stage call.

Right to work on specific site types. Some sites require enhanced DBS checks (schools, hospitals, secure sites) or SC clearance eligibility. If you've held either, it's worth a line - it's a genuine differentiator for public sector and MOD-adjacent work.

Continuing professional development. Regs update - 18th Edition itself has had amendments (A2:2022 covering things like EV charging and prosumer installations). If you've done an update course rather than sitting the full qualification fresh, say which amendment you're current to. "18th Edition" alone, with no date, reads as potentially out of date to someone who checks.

Membership bodies. If you're a member of the IET or hold Engineering Technician (EngTech) registration, this is relevant mainly for technician-level or design-adjacent roles, not for site installation work - include it where it fits the job, not as a default addition.

What to do with this

Go through your CV and check: is the card visible in the first third of the page, with its expiry date? Is your JIB grade or ECS category named, not implied? For your last two jobs, have you written what system and voltage you worked on, and whether you tested as well as installed? If you hold 2391 or Part P registration and the job is asking for it, is it in the first paragraph, not paragraph four?

Then match the CV to the specific advert rather than sending the same version everywhere - a domestic rewire CV and an industrial maintenance CV should look different, because the qualifications and evidence that matter differ between them. jobmarket.pro reads the full advert against your profile and builds the application from what you've actually done, which is the same check described above, done for each job rather than once.