An Irish CV for a mid-level professional is usually two pages, starts with a short profile, lists jobs in reverse order with month and year, and has no photo, date of birth or marital status. If you are applying from outside the EU, one factual line near the top says what work authorisation you have or need.
Below is a complete example, then a short note on each section. The full method is in our two guides, how to write a CV for Irish employers and how to write a CV for the Irish job market.
The example CV
The person, the employers, the contact details and the numbers below are invented for this article. Ana is a quality engineer in Brazil applying for medical device jobs in the west of Ireland.
ANA BEATRIZ ROCHA
Quality Engineer
Belo Horizonte, Brazil | [phone number with country code] | [email protected] | linkedin.com/in/ana-rocha-example
Work authorisation: requires an Irish employment permit. Available to start 10 weeks after an offer.PROFILE
Quality engineer with eight years in medical device manufacturing, the last four in a plant making single-use catheters under ISO 13485 and FDA 21 CFR 820. Runs the corrective and preventive action (CAPA) system for a 300-person site and cut average CAPA closure time from 74 to 41 days. Looking for a quality engineering role in the medical device sector in Galway, Limerick or Cork.
KEY SKILLS
- CAPA and root cause analysis (8D, 5 Whys, fishbone)
- ISO 13485, ISO 14971 risk management, FDA 21 CFR 820
- Process validation (IQ, OQ, PQ) and test method validation
- Statistical process control, Gage R&R, Minitab
- Supplier audits (ISO 13485 lead auditor)
- English (fluent, IELTS Academic 7.5, 2025), Portuguese (native), Spanish (intermediate)
WORK EXPERIENCE
Senior Quality Engineer, Serra Clara Dispositivos Médicos, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
March 2022 to present
- Own the CAPA system for a 300-person catheter plant; reduced average closure time from 74 to 41 days over 18 months.
- Led process validation for two new extrusion lines, released on schedule with no major findings at the 2024 notified body audit.
- Audit 14 suppliers a year; qualified two new resin suppliers and removed one after repeated nonconformances.
- Coach three quality technicians, two of whom have since been promoted to engineer.
Quality Engineer, Ortomina Implantes, Contagem, Brazil
January 2019 to February 2022
- Ran complaint investigations for orthopaedic implants, closing about 220 complaints a year within the 30-day target.
- Introduced statistical process control on three machining cells, reducing scrap from 4.1% to 2.6%.
- Prepared records and staff for a 2021 FDA inspection that ended with no observations.
Graduate Quality Analyst, Ortomina Implantes, Contagem, Brazil
February 2018 to December 2018
- Maintained device history records and the calibration schedule for 400 instruments.
EDUCATION AND CERTIFICATIONS
BSc Mechanical Engineering (five-year degree), Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, 2017
ISO 13485 Lead Auditor, 2023
Lean Six Sigma Green Belt, 2020ADDITIONAL
Volunteer maths tutor at a community school, 2019 to 2023.
Printed in an 11-point font with normal margins, this fills two pages.
Length
Two pages suits a mid-level professional like Ana. Ana's first job gets one line because it is eight years old and less relevant than the two after it. If you are a recent graduate, one page is enough. Cut older roles to one line before you shrink the font.
Personal details to leave out
Ana's CV has no photo, date of birth, age, marital status, children, religion, nationality line, full home address or PPS number, and we recommend you leave them out too. The Employment Equality Acts forbid discrimination in access to employment on nine grounds, including gender, civil status, family status, age, religious belief and race or nationality. Leave out details that point to those grounds, because they add nothing to your application.
City and country are enough for location. A phone number with the country code and a plain email address are what a recruiter needs to reach you.
The work authorisation line
One line in the header answers a question recruiters ask about any applicant who lives abroad. Ana's line states a fact, that she needs an employment permit, and gives a start date. It does not say she is eligible for a particular permit, because that depends on the job and the salary.
Pick the line that matches your situation, and keep it to what you hold or need:
| Your situation | Example line |
|---|---|
| You need a permit for the job | Work authorisation: requires an Irish employment permit. |
| You already hold an Irish permission | Work authorisation: Stamp 1G, valid until June 2027. |
| You hold an Irish employment permit now | Work authorisation: current General Employment Permit, valid until March 2027. |
If an application form asks the question directly, our guide to answering "do you need visa sponsorship?" has wording for each case.
Profile
Three or four sentences: what you do, at what level, one piece of evidence, and the job you want. Ana names the sector, the regulation she works under, one result with numbers and the counties she is targeting. Write it again for each type of role you apply for.
Key skills
Six to eight items, using the words from the job adverts where they truly describe your work. Ana puts her IELTS score here because an employer hiring from abroad will want to know about English, and a score with a year answers it.
Dates and order
Every role has a month and a year for both start and end, and the most recent job comes first. If you have a gap of more than a few months, be ready to explain it in one sentence at interview. You do not need to explain it on the CV.
Achievements
Each bullet follows the same pattern: what you did, how big it was, and what changed. "Reduced average closure time from 74 to 41 days" tells the reader more than "responsible for CAPA". Use only numbers you can explain in an interview, and where you have no number, give the scale instead, such as a team size, a number of suppliers or the size of the site.
Education
Ana gives the degree, its length, the university and the year. She does not claim an Irish equivalent level, because she has not had the degree formally compared. Stating the length lets a recruiter judge it, and the certifications that matter for the job sit on the same lines.
Spelling and format
Use Irish and British spelling (organise, programme, behaviour). Keep to one column with standard headings, so applicant tracking systems read the sections in the right order. Save the file as a PDF named with your name, such as Ana_Rocha_CV.pdf, unless the employer asks for Word.
Frequently asked questions
Should I put a photo on an Irish CV?
We recommend you do not. The Employment Equality Acts protect applicants against discrimination on grounds such as age, gender and race. A photo adds nothing to your case and takes space from your experience.
Should my CV say that I need visa sponsorship?
Say it once, as a fact, in the header: for example, "requires an Irish employment permit". Do not lead your profile with it and do not claim eligibility for a specific permit, because that depends on the job offered.
How long should an Irish CV be?
Two pages for most professionals with some years of experience, and one page for a recent graduate. Shorten older roles before you reduce the font size or margins.
Can I copy this example?
Use the structure and write the content in your own words. The person and employers are invented, so a copied profile would not describe your own work.
Where this information comes from
- Employment Equality, Workplace Relations Commission: the nine grounds and coverage of access to employment
- The example CV is fictional and was written for this article.
Checked on 1 October 2026.
When your own version is ready, run it through the free check before you send it. Check your CV for Irish employers to review its personal details, structure, length and wording, and get suggested edits for the sections that need them.