The CV-Library Timeline
From a young carpet fitter's struggle to find a new job, to the fastest growing and largest independent job board in the UK - learn about the history behind CV-Library.
In 1999 Lee Biggins had the idea for CV-Library when he was looking for a job himself after leaving his father's carpet fitting business. He saw a gap in the market and taking full advantage of the dot com boom, Lee imagined a website where job hunters could upload their CVs and employers in turn could search for the staff they needed.
2000
2001
Building blocks
Lee and Brian concentrated on building the CV-Library platform before bringing it to the market.
Competition was fierce, and budgets were low. Lee and Brian's friends and families supported the pair by helping them distribute flyers to get the business off the ground.
2002
The BBC becomes CV-Library's first official client, leading to massive business growth.
2003
First office
Lee and Brian open their first "shoebox" office at Grove Farm in Crookham Village.
2005
First employee
Rob Forkan was hired in 2005 to help with Sales and Marketing. Rob has since moved on to start his own business, Gandys; a lifestyle brand which donates 10% of its profits to the Orphans for Orphans foundation.
2006
Sales team
By 2006, the sales team was established and today's Sales Director, Mike Powell, joined the business.
2007
Customer Service
The customer service team was established - this is now the largest team in the entire business and the reason that 96% of CV-Library's clients rate the service they receive as good or excellent.
2008
Growing network
Partner Network grows to over 150 different career sites.
Hitwise 2008
CV-Library is listed as one of the top 10 websites in the UK.
2009
ABC
CV-Library is listed as one of the top 10 websites in the UK.
2010
CV-Library launches the BritishJobs network.
2011
CV-Library mobile app
Free mobile app becomes available for download on iPhone & Android.
'Best Boss' award
Lee Biggins wins Kestrel FM 'Best Boss' 2011 award.
Fastest growing CV database
ABC officially lists CV-Library as the UK's fastest growing job board.
Deloitte Technology Fast500 EMEA 2011 Winner
Deloitte Technology Fast50 2011 Winner
In June 2011, CV-Library moved from the converted barns to the Waterfront Business Park in Fleet to accommodate its expanding team.
2012
First nationwide TV campaign
CV-Library television adverts aired across a multitude of channels.
First outdoor campaign
2013
Deloitte Technology Fast500 EMEA 2012 Winner
Deloitte Technology Fast50 2012 Winner
Internal buyout
Lee Biggins completes an internal buyout of CV-Library by buying co-founder Brian Wakem's 50% share of the business.
2014
Resume-Library
CV-Library's sister company, Resume-Library, is launched in the US.
2015
CV-Library job figures overtake TotalJobs.
CV-Library website update
Our website is given a makeover.
New office
As the teams continue to grow, CV-Library acquires a new office on the Waterfront Business Park in Fleet
2016
London office
CV-Library opens its first regional office in London.
Birmingham office
CV-Library opens its Birmingham office.
Manchester office
CV-Library opens its third regional office in Manchester's Media City.
Mobile site for clients launched
Providing our clients with the functionality of our desktop site but on their mobile devices and tablets, giving a consistent and more effective user experience.
CV-Library launches national radio campaign
The campaign saw some of the UK's top radio stations, such as Capital, Kiss, Heart, Absolute and Smooth, air the new 30 second advert, promoting the 'easy way to find your perfect job'.
New branding launched
Our logo and Barney the owl are given a makeover!
2017
New London office
New London office up and running, accommodating a growing team in the city.
CV-Library.ie
CV-Library expands into Ireland.
British Jobs is re-branded
Contributing to a significant increase in job applications across the network!
54 award wins to date!
More quality candidates!
November 2017 reported a 45% increase in candidates within the £30k+ bracket
Lee Biggins on The Apprentice
CV-Library's MD joins Sir Alan Sugar and an industry-leading judging panel in the final of The Apprentice 2017
2018
The UK's favourite job board!
Recruiters and candidates vote us as their favourite job board! Read more…
Acquired industry-leading sites
Education-Jobs.co.uk, EngineeringJobs.co.uk, JobsRetail.co.uk and JobsMedical.co.uk. We also relaunched IT-Jobs.co.uk, Scotland-Jobs.co.uk and Sales-Jobs.co.uk
Southern Tech 100 Awards
Lee Biggins wins Business Leader of the Year
Birmingham Chambers of Commerce Awards
CV-Library wins Excellence in Customer Service at the Birmingham Chambers of Commerce Awards
New advertising
Advertising on over 200 buses across London and new recyclable coffee cups launched
Global Recruiter Awards
Named 'Best Job Board' at the Global Recruiter Awards for the fourth year running!
Google Jobs
One of the official launch partners for Google's new job search in the UK
Glasgow
office opens
#1 Rated job board
on Trustpilot
Mobile app updates
Candidates can search and apply for jobs, even when they don't have an internet connection!
2019
OnRec Awards 2019
Winners of 'Best Candidate Experience' and 'Technical Innovation' at the 2019 awards!
Global Recruiter Awards
Winners of 'Best Job Board' for the fifth year running!
South Coast Business Awards
CV-Library is named 'Employer of the Year'!
Exciting new features
The launch of our CV Search Builder and Quick Apply Feature!
2020
Onrec awards 2020
Winners of 'Technical Innovation' for the second year in a row!
More innovations
Our Video Interview and Customised Screening Question tools go live
NORAs 2020
Named 'Recruitment Website of the Decade'
Contractorjobs.co.uk joins the CV-Library network
2021
CV Builder launched
This free tool allows candidates to create a new CV in minutes
2022
Winners of 'Technical Innovation' and 'Best Use of Mobile'
Named one of the UK's 50 best-performing privately-owned technology companies
Official platinum partner of Her Majesty the Queen at the Jubilee Pageant