SOC stands for Standard Occupational Classification. It is the framework used by the UK Home Office and sponsor employers to classify occupations within the points-based immigration system. When a UK employer sponsors you for a Skilled Worker visa, they assign your role a SOC code and confirm that your experience, qualifications and salary meet the requirements for that classification. Your CV must describe your experience in language that clearly maps to the SOC code of the role being offered — if the connection is not obvious, the sponsorship decision becomes more difficult for the employer.

The key difference is who evaluates it. An Australia migration CV is primarily assessed by a dedicated skills assessment body — Engineers Australia, ACS, VETASSESS and others — against the ANZSCO occupation framework. A UK visa CV is primarily evaluated by your sponsor employer, who confirms to the Home Office that your experience matches their sponsored role. The UK CV is more employer-facing and less assessor-facing than an Australian migration CV — which changes the structure, language, evidence depth and length conventions significantly.

Yes. Two pages is the strong professional convention for most senior roles in the UK. Three or more pages is generally seen as unfamiliarity with British CV standards and can work against you at the shortlisting stage. For Global Talent visa applications where exceptional expertise must be evidenced, a supporting statement is typically required separately — the CV itself still follows the two-page convention.

This CV is built to support the Skilled Worker visa, Global Talent visa and High Potential Individual visa routes. The specific positioning, language and narrative emphasis of your CV is adjusted based on your target visa route — a Skilled Worker CV and a Global Talent CV require meaningfully different approaches.