It is a known fact that the first 7 seconds of human interaction are enough to generate the first impression. The same applies when seeing a CV for the first time. Studies show that most employers are focusing their full attention on the first half of the first page of a new CV they see. This is where you want to get noticed.
(scroll to the bottom of this page to download our suggested CV template.)
Please be careful how you make use of what you will read here. We will never encourage you to lie or cheat in your CV. The only thing we want to do is help you point out your best achievements, so the employer can focus from the beginning on your key strengths that make you special.
With this in mind, please take your time to read the entire page and don't rush into making any changes until you'll have enough time, on a quiet afternoon, to really put some effort into this.
1. First name, last name
Write your name and personal information. Keep it simple! Phone #, Email address, City, Country. Don't waste precious space with unnecessary words like "Curriculum Vitae".
2. Special Skills (optional)
If there are any special skills that would make you stand out in the industry you are applying for, write them here. Note that this section is optional.
3. Professional Summary
This should be the main focus of your CV. If you get this part right, you've already done 80% of the job. This is where you get to come out and say "This is what I did." You will have to take some time and think of 5 key points about yourself. It could be about your experience, about your education, knowledge or other amazing things that you've done throughout your life. No matter what you write here, be sure to use numbers, clients, brand names, number of people, universal KPIs and any other data that is verifiable and that speaks for itself. Careful! Anything you write here must be ascertainable. Any false information will lead to immediate disqualifying. Don't try to impress. Just stick to the facts.
4. Professional Experience
Write down your professional experience in descending chronological order. Don't just blurt out job responsibilities because any employer knows the job description for most common roles. Focus only on what you actually did. Start with the achievements for each job - even if you have to repeat some ideas from the Professional Summary - and only then move on to responsibilities, focusing on the ones that are not usually found in a job description for that role.
5. Education
Start with the latest courses/certifications and continue with your education in descending chronological order. If you want to include details, focus on practical things, like projects or workshops that you worked on as a student.
6. Other information
At this point you can write down other useful information, like spoken languages and driving license.
7. References
Here you can write something about your references - if you attached them or to whom they can be requested.
Keep in mind that less is more. Don't write unnecessary things in your CV, because the employers will always appreciate a clean and neat CV that makes the essence stand out and that is easy to read.
Use your imagination. If you respect the structure described above, you can use any design you want. Please avoid, though, standard formats like the EuroPass or formats derived from job advertising sites (bestjobs, ejobs etc.).
Don't limit yourself in any way. There are no rules. Just be careful to include only information that is really relevant.
If you need help with the design, here's a template that you can download, so you will only have to care about the contents: DOCX format (MS Word 2007-365), ODT format (OpenOffice, LibreOffice).
We also recommend: cutt.ly/LgjZyCU