Learn how to write a CV that will awe the recruiter. Our step-by-step guide will show you how to make a CV that stands out from the crowd & gets you the job you’ve always wanted.
“How do I write a CV?” “Is a CV the same thing as a resume?” “Is there any way to make sure my CV gets me to the interview stage?”
This guide has all the answers you need. Learn how to write a CV, when, and how to make it perfect—all in one place.
In this guide:
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A CV or curriculum vitae is a document that represents the candidate’s background and qualifications for a particular job. In the US, Americans apply for fellowships, grants, and postdoc positions with their academic CVs, while in Europe, CVs refer to regular job application documents.
That means there are certain differences between a CV and a resume. To sum them up:
Now, let’s have a look at a neat example of a CV for a job:
Lucy Waters
Marketing Manager
(123) 456-7890
lucy.waters@resumelabmail.com
linkedin.com/in/lucyjwaters
twitter.com/lucywaters44
Summary
Analytically-minded senior marketing manager with 7+ years of experience. Eager to join XYZ Corp to help manage strategy development and lead cross-functional teams. In previous roles, increased website traffic by 300% in 10 months and developed an SEO strategy that brought in 10K monthly users for the most strategic sales landing pages.
Work Experience
Marketing Manager
Solstice, Tucson, AZ
January 2015–Present
Key achievement:
Marketing Specialist
Canon Inc., Tucson, AZ
Sepember 2011–December 2014
Key achievement:
Education
Bachelor of Science in Marketing
University Arizona, Tucson, AZ
September 2007–June 2011
Key Skills
Certifications
Languages
Looks professional, right? It’s time to learn how to write an equally great CV.
The whole process is pretty straightforward, but, as always, the devil is in the details. You must know what to watch out for while completing each step. And that’s why you’ll find specific guidelines for the writing process below:
How to start a CV? By choosing the right CV format.
Your options include the reverse-chronological format, the functional CV format, and the chrono-functional format.
The reverse-chronological CV format is the most common one. It puts emphasis on work experience and career achievements. Its name stems from the order of jobs listed on the document—they follow the reverse-chronological order, meaning the most recent job is listed first.
The sections in this format go as follows:
As this format puts emphasis on career progression, it’s great for applicants with standard career paths.
The functional CV format focuses on the candidate’s skills instead of work history. It features an overview of the key competencies, called the skills summary, which lists achievements related to those skills. In this CV format, the work experience section is minimized—often just the position names, work periods, and company names are listed.
The functional CV format includes the following sections:
This CV format can be a good choice for freelancers, creatives, and individuals changing careers.
The chrono-functional CV format is also called a hybrid or combination CV. It merges the chronological and functional formats to highlight both skills and work experience. This format features a skills summary as well as a detailed work experience section.
It includes the following parts:
The chrono-functional CV is a good choice for senior-level applicants, who need to highlight certain skills that might not be expressed in the work experience section.
Career experts recommend using the reverse-chronological CV. It’s the most convenient for hiring managers and employers—and you want them on your side. This format is also the easiest to adapt for candidates of all experience levels.
Once you’ve selected the CV format, you can move on and make a neat outline for your curriculum vitae.
Follow these steps to format your CV for a job:
Now that you know what to put on a CV, let’s discuss each section in more detail.
Before you learn how to make a CV stand out, you must ensure it serves its purpose. Adding your personal information is essential. But the type of information may vary, depending on the job, company, and country where the business is located. Around 4.8 million U.S. citizens live abroad and work remotely, so it’s pretty impossible to guess where your CV might travel.
Here are the general guidelines on how to write contact information in your CV:
However, you might need more in some cases. The job advertisement may ask you to include your address on the CV, especially when the headquarters are overseas.
Check the CV writing rules in the country where you intend to apply for a job. For example, in most European countries, a photograph is included in a CV, even if the job ad doesn’t request it specifically. In the US, though, you should not have a photo in your job application.
Want to know how to write a CV that captivates the reader straight away? The CV profile is the answer—as long as it’s written well. It must be short, snappy, and powerful, like an elevator pitch or an award-winning TV commercial.
How to make a CV profile:
But hey, before you start writing, there’s one more thing to know. Depending on your career, you can write a CV summary or a career objective:
Check examples below:
Analytically-minded senior marketing manager with 7+ years of experience. Eager to join XYZ Corp to help manage strategy development and lead cross-functional teams. In previous roles, increased website traffic by 300% in 10 months and developed an SEO strategy that brought in 10K monthly users for the most strategic sales landing pages.
Passionate marketing manager hoping to find new professional challenges. During my 7+ years in the industry, I’ve managed creative teams and specialized in developing online marketing strategies.
When writing a CV summary, avoid focusing on what you want to get from the company. Instead, provide a specific goal that you can help it achieve. Then, back up your claims with a concrete achievement relevant to the job you’re pursuing.
Enthusiastic marketing student seeking Marketing Assistant position. Knowledgeable in digital marketing, content creation, and social media management. Eager to build Fig&Fugue’s online presence through the creation of targeted social media posts consistent with the brand voice. Boosted user engagement by 67% while managing Facebook and Instagram accounts for Lark University’s football team.
Friendly MBA graduate with a 3.98 GPA. Looking for an opportunity to make my way in a business environment. Served as the CEO of the university bookstore in 2021.
Remember to not oversell your experience when writing a CV objective. It’s better to give honest and realistic examples of your achievements than to call yourself an entry-level CEO. Focus on what skills and knowledge you have and how can they fit into the role you’re pursuing.
It’s no secret that most employers want candidates with relevant experience. Serve it on a silver plate by creating a strong work experience section.
This is how you can do it: Instead of saying what you’ve been doing over the years, say what you’ve accomplished. Hiring managers can guess responsibilities for different roles pretty well, so they don’t care much for a list of duties from your previous jobs. They’d rather see how well you performed. And for that, you need accomplishment statements on your CV.
See the difference yourself:
Now, let’s have a look at the examples below. This applicant wants a marketing manager position. Here are the job requirements listed in the job ad:
Requirements:
See how this sample work experience section responds to these requirements:
Work Experience
Marketing Manager
Solstice, Tucson, AZ
January 2015–Present
Key achievement:
Marketing Specialist
Canon Inc., Tucson, AZ
Sepember 2011–December 2014
Key achievement:
The example above uses keywords from the job advertisement. It includes demonstrable achievements that prove the candidate can really do the job well.
Marketing Manager
Splash Marketing Agency, Tucson, AZ
2020–present
This sample shows that keywords aren’t enough. You need to paint a bigger picture of what you accomplished if you want the work experience section to be impressive. Show the results of your work with numbers—that’s the best way to turn dull responsibility into an achievement.
How to make a CV work experience section:
What if you’d had 10 different jobs and employers? Easy—list only the most relevant positions. If you’re applying for a marketing manager job, forget about describing your experience as a customer service agent from 8 years ago.
Education is an essential qualification for many jobs out there. But adding just the school's name or your degree type may not make a strong CV. Some employers may expect more, especially if you don’t have much work experience.
Here’s how to do the CV education section well:
Check the sample below:
Education
Bachelor of Science in Marketing
University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
September 2007–June 2011
GPA: 3.87
The general rule is: the more work experience you have, the less you can write about your education. However, if you’re writing a CV for an entry-level position, feel free to add more information. Remember to add information about your high school if you haven’t received higher education.
One more thing—if you’re an entry-level applicant with very little or no work experience, you can put the education section on your CV right after the personal profile. This can help demonstrate relevant experience you gained while at university or at school.
Each job ad comes with a list of requirements. Your CV must show that your skills match these requirements perfectly. Making a targeted CV increases your chances of landing the job.
Before you start adding professional skills to your CV, consider the following:
Done? Great! Now it’s time to add the skills to your application.
How to make a CV skill section:
For example, if the job ad names the following desired skills: “the ability to handle a busy schedule, respond to customer queries efficiently, and negotiate with difficult customers,” remember to add time-management skills, effective communication, and conflict-resolution skills to your CV.
Check this sample CV skill section:
Key Skills
Remember that the skill section of your curriculum vitae is one of many places for highlighting your abilities. You should also evidence your skill set in the work experience section. You can add them to the education part, too!
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If you’ve reached this point, your curriculum vitae should already include the most important information about your qualifications. But it might feel a bit basic and impersonal. How do you make your CV more memorable? No—sparkling glitter is not the way to go. What you want are the additional CV sections.
Choose from the following:
Have a look at the CV sample below:
Certifications
Conferences
Publications
Languages
Personal Projects
One thing to note: don’t overdo your curriculum vitae with extra information. 1–2 additional sections should be enough. You might add more if you have little work experience, but seasoned professionals should do the minimum, as their career achievements are more important.
Now that you know how to make a CV, you should learn another thing. Here it goes: even the most impressive curriculum vitae must be paired with a strong cover letter.
Double your impact with a matching CV and cover letter combo. Use our cover letter generator and make your application documents pop out.
Want to try a different look? There’s 18 more. A single click will give your document a total makeover. Pick a cover letter template here.
Here’s a recap of the steps you should take to write your CV:
Have you ever written a curriculum vitae from scratch? Is there anything else you would like to know about writing a CV? Let me know in the comments below!
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Writing a CV for a job application involves the following steps:
Writing a simple and effective CV involves providing key information about your education, work experience, skills, and other relevant details. Here is a basic guide on how to write a simple CV:
To write an impressive CV with no experience, you should focus on expanding your education section instead of your work history. You should also add a couple of bonus sections, such as your volunteer work, known languages, certifications, or relevant hobbies & interests.
An effective CV must include these five parts:
In Australia, Canada, and the US, a CV provides a comprehensive overview of your academic background, research experience, publications, and other relevant information. It is typically used in academic, research, or international contexts. Conversely, a resume concisely summarizes your skills, work experience, and qualifications tailored to a specific job or industry.
However, in the rest of the world, a CV is synonymous with the American resume.
A CV for a job application should be up to two pages in length. Entry-level applicants should generally try to make their CV a one-page document. An academic CV, however, doesn’t follow the same rules and can be as long as you make it. Just remember only to include relevant information when writing it.
Handwritten CVs are not common in most professional settings and may not present information in a clear and organized manner. Typing your CV allows for easy editing, formatting, and sharing with potential employers.
If you’re looking to hand out physical copies of your CV, it’s still much better to type your application in a resume creation software and then print it out on specialized resume paper.
Roma Konczak is a career expert and a Certified Professional Resume Writer with a background in education and humanities. She’s passionate about personal development and helping others advance in their careers. She writes guides that simplify complex HR terminology based on thorough research and factual information.
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