Writing a tax CV can feel surprisingly difficult, especially if you haven’t updated it in years.
Many tax professionals progress through internal promotions, trainee schemes or long-term employment and rarely need to actively maintain a CV. Others simply struggle to translate highly technical work into something that quickly demonstrates value to hiring managers.
At Distinct, we regularly support tax professionals across practice and industry throughout the UK and one of the most common things we see is strong candidates underselling themselves on paper.
Here are some of the biggest things to focus on when updating your tax CV.
1. Make your first page count
Most recruiters and hiring managers will decide within 6-7 seconds whether they want to continue reading your CV. That means your first page needs to quickly establish:
- Your qualification status
- Your tax specialism
- Your current level
- The type of businesses or clients you support.
As Tax Recruitment Specialist Andy Craven puts it, “the strongest tax CVs quickly establish technical level, specialism and complexity of experience within the first page.”
If a hiring manager has to search your CV to understand whether you’re CTA qualified or focused on corporate tax, VAT or private client work, the document immediately becomes harder to navigate. Clarity and structure make a significant difference.
2. Focus on achievements
One of the most common mistakes tax professionals make is copying responsibilities directly from a job description. Most hiring managers already know what somebody in your role is expected to do. What employers really want to understand is:
- The complexity of your work
- The scale of responsibility
- Where you’ve added value.
Strong tax CVs focus on outcomes, not just duties.
Weak example
Responsible for corporation tax compliance.
Stronger example
Managed corporation tax compliance process for a portfolio of 120 owner-managed businesses with turnovers ranging from £2m-£80m.
As Craven explains, “many tax professionals underestimate how commercially valuable their day-to-day work actually is. Process improvements, compliance ownership and stakeholder management are all things employers genuinely value.”
3. Don’t undersell compliance work
“We regularly see candidates underestimate the value of compliance experience. Strong technical fundamentals and process improvement are hugely valuable in today’s market.” – says Craven.
In reality, strong compliance experience remains hugely important across both practice and industry. Compliance work often demonstrates:
- Technical capability
- Attention to detail
- Stakeholder management
- Process ownership
- Commercial awareness.
If you’ve improved reporting timelines, managed HMRC enquiries or streamlined processes, those are valuable achievements and should absolutely be highlighted.
4. Keep formatting clean and professional
The strongest CVs are usually clear, concise and easy to navigate.
Use:
- Clear headings
- Bullet points
- Consistent formatting.
Avoid:
- Large blocks of text
- Excessive colours
- Overly designed templates.
You should also make qualifications easy to identify, particularly: CTA, ATT, ACA, ACCA and STEP.
If you’re part-qualified, state progress clearly: CTA Part-Qualified – 2 exams remaining.
5. Keep your CV updated
Even if you’re not actively job searching, updating your CV every 6-12 months is good practice. It’s much easier to document key achievements and responsibilities while they’re still fresh in your mind, including:
- Achievements
- Project work
- Promotions
- Technical exposure.
Taking the time to structure your experience properly can make a significant difference to the opportunities available to you.
Download our tax CV guide and template
If you’re currently updating your CV, exploring the market or simply want a better understanding of how your experience is positioned, we’ve created a range of resources specifically for tax professionals.
Looking for market insight or career advice?
Andy Craven specialises in tax recruitment across the UK, supporting professionals across practice and industry from newly qualified level through to senior tax leadership appointments.
Whether you’re actively considering a move or simply want a confidential conversation, contact him today.
