Tailoring for the UK
Tailor your CV to any
UK job description.
Paste a UK job posting and Apply Leaf rewrites your CV to match what it asks for — the keywords the role wants, your real experience, and a clean, ATS-safe file. Applying from abroad? It converts the spelling — “colour,” “organise” — and flags UK conventions like CV length for you. Every change is shown — and yours to edit before you export.
Applying from abroad? What we localise
Color → Colour, organize → Organise
British English spelling in every line
Photo & date of birth removed
Details UK recruiters expect left off a CV
UK conventions, flagged
Date style, CV length and more — noted for you to apply, never silently rewritten
The problem
A generic CV never reaches a UK recruiter.
Most UK applications are filtered by an applicant tracking system before a human reads them. Send the same CV to every posting and it gets scored on keywords it never mentions — so a qualified candidate gets screened out for a wording mismatch, not a skills gap. The fix is to tailor your CV to each job description: lead with what the role asks for and match the keywords from the job posting, without inventing a word.
Apply Leaf reads your CV and the posting together, shows you which requirements you already meet and which you don't, and rewrites the weak lines, each one shown for you to edit. Applying to the UK from the US or elsewhere? In the same pass it converts the spelling to British English, removes the photo and personal details, and flags the UK conventions — date style, CV length — for you to apply, so the CV reads as British and fits the specific role.
How it works
Tailor your CV to a UK role in three steps
Upload your CV
Drop in your current CV as a PDF or Word file. Apply Leaf reads it the way a UK applicant tracking system does — as text — and structures it into clean, editable fields.
Paste the UK job description
Paste the posting you're applying to. Apply Leaf pulls out the requirements and the keywords the role is really asking for, and shows you what's missing.
Review each change, then export
See every change with the before and after side by side, edit any line yourself, then download a clean, ATS-safe PDF or Word CV — no watermark.
Applying from overseas
UK conventions: converted where we can, flagged where you decide
British English spelling
Converted line by line: -ise not -ize, -our not -or, -re not -er, and dozens more. Skills and proper nouns are left alone, so nothing technical gets mangled.
Photo & personal details
The photo and date of birth come off. UK recruiters don't expect them — many treat a photo as a discrimination risk and bin the CV.
UK conventions, flagged
Date style, CV length (two pages is normal here), and what the document is called — flagged in your review for you to apply. Advice, never a silent rewrite.
Tailoring your CV for the UK, answered
How do I tailor my CV to a UK job description?
Upload your CV, paste the UK job posting, and Apply Leaf shows you which of the role's requirements you already meet and which keywords from the job posting you're missing. It suggests a rewrite for each weak line — leading with what the job asks for — and you see every change, then edit any line before you export. Only your real experience, every edit shown, yours to refine.
Will a tailored CV get past UK applicant tracking systems?
Yes. UK employers and the multinationals hiring here run the same applicant tracking systems as the US (Workday, Greenhouse, Taleo), and they filter CVs by keyword before a recruiter sees them. Every Apply Leaf export is a clean, single-column, ATS-safe file with real selectable text and standard headings, and tailoring weaves in the keywords the posting actually uses — so you get past the bots and win over the humans.
What's different about a UK CV vs a US resume?
UK CVs use British English spelling (colour, organise, programme), leave the photo off, and a two-page CV is normal even early in your career. If you're applying to the UK from abroad, Apply Leaf converts the spelling and removes the photo and personal details as part of tailoring, and flags the other UK conventions — date style, CV length — for you to apply in the editor.
Should I include a photo on my UK CV?
No — photos are not expected on UK CVs. Many recruiters remove CVs with photos to guard against discrimination claims, so a photo can quietly hurt you. Keep the focus on your experience and how it matches the role.
Is it free to tailor my CV for a UK job?
Your first tailored CV is free, full quality, with no watermark — including the ATS-safe PDF and Word export. Beyond that, Pro (monthly or lifetime) unlocks unlimited tailoring. See the pricing page for current details — we never make a 'free forever' promise.
Ready to tailor your CV to your next UK job?
Upload your CV, paste the job description, and export a clean, ATS-safe PDF — the right keywords, your real experience, every change yours to edit before you export.