Health and safety officer CV example

Adding contact details to your health and safety officer CV

You’ve spent hours crafting a fantastic CV, double-checking for errors, and researching the best people to send it to – so why aren’t you getting any response? It might be as simple as you forgetting to add your contact information.

Although it sounds obvious, many people skip over this step in a rush to complete the meatier CV sections. However, employers can’t invite you to an interview without knowing your current details. Remember to include:

• Full name
• Location
• Email address
• Phone number

Example of contact section for a health and safety officer CV

Start your health and safety officer CV with a personal statement

The personal statement is your chance to shine and shout about what makes you the best person for the job. Many employers won’t read on if these three to four sentences aren’t up to scratch, so choose your words carefully. Thankfully, we have an easy format that guarantees success.

The first sentence is an introduction noting who you are, including years of experience. The second sentence is your showstopper – explain what you can achieve and back it up with a statistic. Finally, use the third and fourth sentences to reiterate your unique skills and specialisms. Voila!

What do we mean by statistic? You could talk about how you “revised a company’s health and safety policy, resulting in a 98% decrease in workplace accidents”. Or describe how you “trained over 500 employees in environmental legislation”. The more detailed you can be, the more you’ll impress the reader.

Other top tips to keep in mind include:

• Write in the third person for a polished edge
• Use positive adjectives like “motivated” and “passionate”
• Don’t waffle – keep the information relevant
• Tailor the personal statement to the job advertisement
• Sound confident – remove “might”, “could”, and “maybe”

Example of personal statement for a health and safety officer CV

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How to present your work history on a health and safety officer CV

Want to stand out from the crowd? Pay attention to the work experience section – it’s arguably the most essential part of your health and safety officer CV. Recruiters will gain a better understanding of your strengths and weaknesses (via what you don’t mention), how long you typically stay with a company, and whether you’ve received any promotions or awards.

How should you structure this section? Starting from your current or most recent position, outline:

• Job title
• Employment dates
• Company name and location
• Between three to six responsibilities
• Notable achievements
• References available on request

Note between three to six duties underneath each position – fewer for older jobs because they’re often less relevant. If possible, follow each responsibility with a quantifiable result – for example, “implemented health and safety regulations” or “led to a 91% increase in employee satisfaction scores”.

Of course, you want to sound confident and upbeat – there’s nothing more off-putting than a nervous health and safety officer! Include unique adjectives that speak to your personality and lead with rousing action verbs. Some of our favourites include “formulated”, “generated”, and “yielded”.

Finally, don’t repeat yourself. Cover as many different duties as possible to show the recruiter the breadth of your abilities. Alongside health and safety specific responsibilities, you could talk about people management, administration, and contract negotiations.

Example of work experience for a health and safety officer CV

Top skills for your health and safety officer CV

Did you know recruiters only spend roughly six seconds scanning every CV? As such, you must include a few standout keywords and phrases – essentially a collection of CV skills that jump from the page and quickly confirm your suitability for the role.

The CV skills section is a fabulous opportunity to reassure employers that you possess the technical and transferable knowledge to hit the ground running. We advise blending hard skills and soft skills to give a well-rounded presentation of your best bits.

You usually learn hard skills on the job or through formal qualifications – they might include “carrying out safety audits”, “interpreting health and safety law”, and “devising safety guidelines”. In contrast, soft skills are personality-based – you might be “diplomatic”, “patient”, and “creative”. We suggest listing 12 skills in total, split equally between the two.

Our top advice is to tailor everything to the job advertisement. While you shouldn’t copy skills word for word, the employer will mention some of the abilities they’re looking for, and you can use these as inspiration. Need more ideas? Try the following:

Stuck for ideas? Draw inspiration from these essential and nice-to-have skills:

How to add education to your health and safety officer CV

Education is a vital part of your health and safety officer CV, especially because employers prioritise candidates with formal qualifications. You can talk about school, college, and university courses, extracurricular training programmes, certificates, and anything else that’s relevant.

How do you become a health and safety officer? Most people attend university to study for a degree or postgraduate diploma recognised by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health, like Occupational Safety, Health, and Wellbeing or Occupational Safety, Health, and Environment. Related fields like engineering and chemistry may also be helpful – alongside business subjects if you’re interested in management positions.

Alternatively, you could search for an apprenticeship. However, you’ll likely need a degree – or at least be working towards one – to be accepted. An advanced apprenticeship as a safety, health, and environment officer takes around two years to complete on top of your studies but gives you valuable insight into the industry. The journey is long for a reason – you literally have lives in your hands!

Ready to tick off your qualifications and training? Include the following:

• Name of school, college, university, or other awarding body
• Study start and end dates
• Subject title
• Qualification level – e.g. undergraduate or postgraduate degree
• Qualification result

Example of education for a health and safety officer CV