Writing a Football Scout CV & Cover Letter: 10 tips

1. Keep it concise and tailored

A Football Scout CV should be at most two pages. Recruiters appreciate brevity, so focus on relevant details that align with the job you’re applying for. Tailor each CV to the specific role by highlighting critical skills and experience that match the job description.

2. Essential sections of a CV

• Contact Details: Include your phone number, email, and location. Adding a LinkedIn profile or portfolio is a great addition.
• Personal Profile: Provide a brief (3-5 lines) summary of your background, experience, and career goals. Focus on the skills that make you a good fit for the role, such as talent identification, tactical analysis, or football scouting certifications.
• Core Skills: Dedicate a section to football-specific skills, like scouting certifications, player development, or experience with performance tracking tools (e.g., Wyscout or similar software).
• Work experience: First, list your most recent role, focusing on relevant experience such as scouting for youth academies or professional clubs. Highlight measurable achievements like identifying future pro players or improving team performance.
• Education & certifications: Include qualifications such as UEFA Coaching Badges, Talent ID certifications, or any degrees/diplomas related to sports or football analysis.

3. Highlight your specializations and achievements

Your cover letter is a sales pitch to secure an interview. Stand out by mentioning specific specializations like position-based scouting (e.g., goalkeepers or wing-backs), geographical expertise in regions like South America or Japan, or age group focus (youth or senior players). You can also emphasize tactical or analytical skills like video and data scouting. Always back up your claims with measurable achievements, like the number of players you’ve scouted or how your analysis influenced recruitment decisions.

4. Tailor your cover letter

Your cover letter should be a brief introduction to your CV. Personalize it to the specific club or organization you’re applying to. Explain why your football experience, skills, and passion make you the ideal candidate. Mention your understanding of the club’s playing style or recruitment needs and align your achievements with their goals.

5. Send as PDF

Always save and send your CV and cover letter as PDFs to ensure the layout remains consistent and professional.

6. Have someone proofread

Ask a colleague or friend to proofread your CV and cover letter for clarity and professionalism.

7. Avoid spelling mistakes

Minor errors can undermine your application. You can easily avoid this by using (free) tools like Grammarly or ChatGPT to check for spelling and grammar mistakes.

8. First impressions matter

Your CV and cover letter should be clean, attractive, and professional. Presentation is as important as content.

9. Use free tools

You can use free tools like Grammarly for spelling checks and Canva to design a visually appealing CV. And Jobs in Football offers a free cover letter generator. 

10. Free templates

If you’re looking for templates, try using a CV example from Liam Henshaw (who also shared great tips in a recent newsletter) and a cover letter example from Chris Gill.

Bonus tip: Should you include a picture on your football scout CV?

Including a picture depends on where you’re applying. In some European countries, like Germany and Spain, adding a professional headshot is common (you can use a free tool like remove.bg to remove the background on your headshot to make it more professional and clean). However, it’s discouraged to avoid bias in regions like the UK or the US. If unsure, it’s generally safer to skip the picture unless specifically requested. Instead, focus on making your CV concise and impactful.