Tour guide CV example

How to add contact details to your tour guide CV

Whether you’re applying for an architecture tour job in Edinburgh or a wine tour gig in Cardiff, you want to make sure potential employers can get in touch with you. This vital element is missed off so many CVs despite seeming so obvious.

The best advice is to put your contact details right at the top so they can’t be missed. Include your name and a few ways to contact you, ensuring that recruiters can use their preferred method. This includes:

• A phone number you can be reached on, ideally your mobile number.
• An email address that looks professional – make a new one if you’re unsure.
• Your home address in case they want to send anything by post – and to show them where you’re based.

Example of contact section for a tour guide CV

Write a professional personal statement for your tour guide CV

After you’ve listed your name, contact details and job title, your personal statement will introduce you as a candidate for recruiters. It’s typically 2-3 lines in length, outlining your current role, career goals, and any qualities, qualifications, or skills that set you apart.

As a tour guide, your personal statement should list any specialties, areas of expertise, or languages you speak. Make sure you use some descriptive words to highlight your personality, as recruiters will always be looking for someone friendly, energetic, and engaging.

It’s a good idea to mention any specialist experience with different kinds of tours. However, you don’t want to present yourself as a history buff if the tour is all about the best food and drink. Bear in mind that your personal statement can and should be tailored to each job you apply for.

Make sure to use these writing tips to give off the right impression:

• Write in the third person (avoiding “I” and “me”) to focus on your selling points rather than you alone.
• Use action verbs like “manages” and “maintains” to put yourself in the spotlight.
• Be upbeat and positive from the get-go with adjectives like “experienced”, “hard-working”, or “well organised”.

Example of personal statement for a tour guide CV

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How to present your work history on a tour guide CV

Work experience is very important as a tour guide. If you can show that you know your trade, it takes the risk out of choosing you for recruiters.

That said, everyone has to start somewhere and there are ways to show that you’re prepared for tour guide roles even if you don’t have direct experience. The key is to focus on transferable skills from previous jobs, whether that’s presenting in an office job, researching for a writing job, or any acting gigs you’ve taken on in the past.

Whether it’s direct or transferable, your work history section should start with your most recent role then work backwards. This is known as a reverse-chronological layout.

Each job listing should include:

• The job title
• Your employer
• The location
• Date when you started employment
• Date when you left the job. You can put “current” or “present” for any job you’re still in.
• 3-6 duties or achievements from your time in that role.

The responsibilities you list for jobs should be as varied as possible to show your wide-ranging capabilities. So, no repetitive duties across different jobs. They should also be tailored to the tour guide role you’re applying for. Whether it’s essential skills or familiarity with the subject of the tours, make sure it’s reflected in your work history wherever possible.

Language is important too. As the main body of your CV, you want to put some life into your work history. Include positive adjectives like “informative”, “entertaining”, and “engaging”. You can also show how you’ve taken charge as a tour guide with dynamic verbs like “guided”, “entertained”, and “collected”.

Example of work experience for a tour guide CV

What skills should you include in your tour guide CV

There are a number of qualities which can complement the basic skills of a tour guide to tick every box for recruiters. These include job-specific essentials like local historical knowledge, public speaking and cash handling. However, there are also plenty of transferable capabilities such as customer care, interpersonal skills, and a friendly demeanour.

In the recruitment world, these are known as hard and soft skills. Hard skills are technical, while soft skills are more like personal qualities. We recommend using a combination of hard and soft skills in your CV skills section to show that you have both sides to offer.

Recruiters will be looking for someone who can conduct informative, entertaining tours. But they’ll also want somebody who is great with customers and leaves everyone with a smile on their faces.

Take a look at the must-haves and nice-to-haves below.

Get education right on your tour guide CV

The final must-have element of a tour guide CV is the education section. Needless to say, this will focus on your educational career such as university, college, and school, along with any other qualifications you’ve attained. But how do you make it fit for tour guide jobs?

The key points are relevance and recency. Tour operators probably won’t be interested in a Psychology A level from 10+ years ago. They might, however, take interest in a history degree, no matter how long ago it was completed. Likewise, it’s always worth including qualifications from the past few years to show what you’ve been up to.

There are a wide range of subjects that are great to include on a tour guide CV. These include history, drama, and English. Not to mention anything that’s relevant to the subject of the tours. A BTEC in Food Production is a great fit for foodie tours, for example.

This is one section where you can keep things simple. For now, recruiters don’t need to know about the ins and outs of each course. Simply list
the course title, university or college, and year of qualification. You can add grades too if they’re particularly impressive.

Example of education for a tour guide CV