The Ultimate CV Writing Guide

Crafting a compelling CV is your first step toward landing your dream job. This comprehensive guide will walk you through every element of creating a CV that stands out to recruiters and hiring managers.

Key Takeaways

  • ✓ Ideal CV length is 1-2 pages maximum
  • ✓ Tailor your CV for each job application
  • ✓ Use strong action verbs and quantify achievements
  • ✓ Optimize for Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS)
  • ✓ Keep design clean and professional

1. CV Structure Essentials

Contact Information

Include your full name, professional email, phone number, and LinkedIn profile. Never include: marital status, age, or unnecessary personal details.

Professional Summary

A 3-4 sentence overview of your career highlights and what you bring to the table:

"Results-driven marketing professional with 5+ years experience in digital campaign management. Specialized in SEO and content strategy, having increased organic traffic by 150% for previous employers. Seeking to leverage analytical skills and creative approach at XYZ Company."

Work Experience

List in reverse chronological order with these elements:

  • Job title, company name, location, dates
  • 3-5 bullet points per position
  • Focus on achievements rather than duties
  • Use strong action verbs (led, implemented, increased)
  • Quantify results where possible

2. Writing Powerful Bullet Points

Weak Example

"Responsible for social media management"

Strong Example

"Grew company Instagram following from 1K to 25K in 6 months through strategic content calendar and influencer partnerships, driving 20% increase in website traffic"

Achievement Formulas

  • Action + Result: "Implemented new CRM system, reducing customer response time by 40%"
  • Skill + Impact: "Used Python to automate reporting, saving 15 hours per week"
  • Problem + Solution: "Identified inventory discrepancies and created new tracking system, reducing errors by 75%"

3. ATS Optimization

Applicant Tracking Systems scan your CV before it reaches human eyes. Follow these tips:

Do's and Don'ts

✅ Do

  • Use standard headings (Experience, Education)
  • Incorporate keywords from job description
  • Save as PDF (unless specified otherwise)
  • Use simple, clean formatting

❌ Don't

  • Use headers/footers
  • Include images/graphics
  • Use fancy fonts or tables
  • Submit as .pages or other uncommon formats

4. Design & Formatting

Font Choices

  • Georgia

    Classic and professional

  • Helvetica

    Clean and modern

  • Calibri

    Default but effective

Color Guidelines

Use color sparingly - only for headings or accents. Black text on white background is safest.

5. Final Checklist

Need More Help?

Try our professional CV templates or our AI-powered CV builder to create a job-winning CV in minutes.

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