How to Write a CV Examples & Tips. It is crucial to have a convincing CV in order to impress potential employers and secure interviews. But first, educate yourself on the specifics of what a CV is and how to create one with the help of our tutorial and some writing advice.
What is a CV?
A curriculum vitae, often known as a CV, is a document that is used to apply for jobs and provides an overview of your education, work experience, and talents.
Employers can see that you are qualified by looking at your curriculum vitae (CV), which is typically accompanied by a well-written cover letter.
What is the difference between a CV and a resume?
Both “CV” and “resume” are undoubtedly terms that you’ve heard used to refer to the document that you submit when applying for jobs. Then, what distinguishes a curriculum vitae from a resume?
Although “resume” is used less frequently in the UK and Europe, the terms “CV” and “resume” are used interchangeably in most parts of the world to refer to the document that is sent to potential employers as part of the job application process.
Nevertheless, in the United States of America and Canada, a curriculum vitae is primarily the lengthy document that is used to apply for positions within the academic sector, such as research posts or graduate school. In the academic world, this is more commonly known as a CV.
CVs for academic positions are often quite lengthy and include a summary of your academic history, experience in research, publications, and other relevant information.
TIPS: Medical practitioners in the US and Canada also sometimes need CVs. If you are a nurse, for instance, you could require a Nurse Practitioners CV.
Simply put, if you are looking for work in the United States of America or Canada, you will require a resume to apply for the majority of positions, but a curriculum vitae (CV) is a specialised type of academic document. However, if you are from Europe or the United Kingdom, a curriculum vitae (CV) and a resume are the same thing.
What is the correct CV format?
You are definitely curious about how to structure your curriculum vitae now that you are aware of what a CV is.
Your curriculum vitae should have all of the following five sections at a minimum.
- Header with your name and contact information
- Introduction
- Work Experience
- Education
- Skills
Any other information, such as volunteer work or hobbies, are optional additions to your CV.
You Can Also Check Nurse Practitioner CV Template HERE
How to make a CV with sample
If you want to be considered for an interview for a job that is located outside of North America, you will need to have an impressive curriculum vitae.
To get you started, here are some tips for creating a resume that will set you apart from the other applicants:
1. Clearly list your contact information at the top
First things first: if a potential employer is interested in interviewing you, they need to be aware of who you are and how to get in touch with you.
You may make it simple for others to access such information by providing your contact information in the header of your CV, which is located at the top of each page:
- First and last name (in a large font)
- Telephone Number
- Email Address
- LinkedIn Profile (optional)
Before you add your email address and LinkedIn profile to your curriculum vitae, check to be that they are both current and presented in a professional manner.
CV contact information example
Here’s an example of what a good CV contact information section looks like:
2. Open with a convincing CV objective or summary
A brief and focused introduction to your curriculum vitae, which should be positioned directly below the header at the top of the page, is the most effective technique to quickly attract the attention of potential employers and persuade them that you are the ideal candidate for the position.
There are two types of CV introductions commonly used by job seekers:
- CV objective (also known as a career objective)
- CV summary (or professional summary)
In either case, the purpose of the beginning is to rapidly emphasise your relevant experience and skills in order to persuade potential employers to continue reading the rest of your CV. However, the manner in which they achieve this objective changes depending on the introduction that is utilised.
CV objective example
An objective statement on a curriculum vitae (CV) is an introduction of two to four sentences that states how many years of work experience you have, what your most valuable qualifications or skills are, and how you can use these qualifications to help an employer.
The following is an illustration of a powerful objective for a CV:
CV summary example
A summary of qualifications, or CV summary, is an introduction of three to four sentences that, like an objective, explains how many years of experience you have in related job, and also touches upon your professional skills. On the other hand, in contrast to a career objective, a CV summary focuses on one or two of the most significant professional successes you have achieved (backed up with hard numbers).
Because of this, it is most suited for job applicants who have a greater amount of professional experience, whereas an objective is best suited for persons who are just beginning their professions.
The following is an illustration of an excellent summary that can be included on a CV:
3. List your relevant work experience in chronological order
If you have already started your job, this is the most crucial area that should be included on your CV. In the portion of your resume devoted to your job experience, prospective employers will evaluate your qualifications by looking for information about your most significant professional accomplishments and the roles you have held in the past.
To begin composing an effective section on your work experience, list all of the relevant jobs you’ve held in reverse chronological order, beginning with the most recent and working your way backwards. In most circumstances, you should specify a maximum of four unique roles on your CV.
TIPS: If, on the other hand, you are drafting a CV for a position outside of North America, you can include all of your experience to demonstrate that you have been successful throughout the entirety of your professional life.
For each position you list, include the following information:
- Company name
- Job title
- Your start date and end date (month and year)
The next step is to include three to five bullet points for each position, detailing the most important things you accomplished and responsibilities you had while working at that particular employer.
If you want each of the bullet points on your CV to be as persuasive as possible, be sure to include the following information while you are writing them:
- An action verb that grabs attention and shows employers what you achieved
- Hard numbers (like dollar amounts or percentages) that provide context to those achievements
- An example of a specific and relevant responsibility
Here’s an example CV bullet point in action:
DO |
DON’T |
| Enhanced conversion rates by 30% through A/B tested landing pages for a better performing conversion funnel. | Responsible for improving conversion rates. Performed A/B testing. |
Work experience on a CV example
A section on job experience that is included on a CV and is worded effectively should look something like this:
4. Highlight your education
Your curriculum vitae should always include an informative education section, but this is especially true if you have recently graduated from college or have only a limited amount of previous work experience.
If you do not have a lot of work experience, the education section of your resume needs to be quite extensive so that you can highlight all of your academic achievements. If, on the other hand, you are already several years into your career, you should keep the education portion of your resume brief and to the point so that the reader may focus on your work experience instead.
Include the following information in the schooling section of your CV if you have any previous professional experience:
- The names of your university, community college, or technical school
- Location of the schools (city and state)
- Date of graduation (month and year)
- Degree(s)
You can also add the following information to your education area if you are currently enrolled in college or have graduated within the past few years:
- GPA (if it’s above 3.5)
- Relevant coursework
- Honors or awards (such as summa cum laude or Dean’s list)
Education on a CV examples
The following is an illustration of the education section of a CV produced by a job applicant who already possesses a few years of experience that is relevant to the position:
Here is an illustration of a comprehensive education part that was contributed by a college student:
5. Showcase your skills
Employers are usually on the lookout for applicants that have an impressive collection of professional talents that are pertinent to the positions they are seeking for.
In the skills part of your CV, mentioning a large number of abilities does not demonstrate that you are qualified for the job. However, highlighting targeted and specific skills demonstrates to potential employers that you at least understand the needs of the position.
You should highlight both your hard and soft abilities on your curriculum vitae. These are the two primary categories of expertise.
Hard skills
Hard skills are abilities that are necessary for a given work and can be acquired by experience, education, or training. Hard skills are typically defined as either the specialised technical talents necessary to accomplish a particular profession or a more general collection of abilities, such as project management.
To increase your chances of getting an interview for a job that interests you but requires specialised knowledge, such as software development, you should highlight your hard skills on your resume.
The following are some examples of broad hard talents that you should include on your CV:
HARD SKILLS TO INCLUDE ON A CV |
|
| Graphic design | Social media management |
| Hardware troubleshooting | Front-end development |
| HTML/CSS/Javascript | Carpentry |
| UI/UX design | Perl/Python/Ruby |
| Mechanical engineering | Photo editing |
| Data analysis | Salesforce |
| Marketing | Language skills |
Soft skills
Character traits that are natural to a person and have a positive influence on how they work and connect with others are referred to as soft skills (like interpersonal skills or creativity). Unlike hard skills, which can be easily taught in a classroom setting, soft skills are something that you pick up unintentionally as you go through life.
The following are some examples of soft skills that could be included on your CV:
SOFT SKILLS TO INCLUDE ON A CV |
|
| Critical thinking | Interpersonal skills |
| Discipline | Leadership |
| Confidence | Decision making |
| Conflict management | Organizational skills |
| Collaboration | TIme management |
| Communication skills | Creativity |
| Teamwork | Empathy |
Skills on a CV example
The following is an illustration of how the skills part of your CV should be formatted correctly:
6. Add additional information that emphasizes your qualifications
If you’ve made it this far in the article, you probably have have the foundation of your CV in place. At this point, you should put the finishing touches on it.
It is not required that you include an additional section on your CV; nevertheless, including the appropriate information might help highlight your qualifications and sway hiring managers (provided that it is pertinent).
The following is a list of additional sections that you might consider adding to your CV:
Languages
Candidates who are fluent in more than one language have an advantage when applying for jobs in many different fields. If you are fluent in many languages, you might want to consider highlighting that fact in a separate section of your resume or curriculum vitae.
Interests
Incorporating passions or hobbies into your curriculum vitae is a terrific approach to set yourself apart from the competition and demonstrate to potential employers that you are a strong cultural match for their business.
However, before you add an interests section to your CV, you should first examine whether or not your pastimes are appropriate for the workplace and whether or not they are related to the firm to which you are applying. You should also take into account the formality of the firm.
When applying to a casual startup or an outdoorsy company like Patagonia, for instance, it is perfectly OK to mention that one of your favourite hobbies is going on hikes.
When applying to a legal firm, though, bringing up the number of hours you’ve spent playing Call of Duty could be seen as unprofessional.
Volunteer work
If you want to emphasise some of the abilities that are transferable from one job to another and show that you are interested in your community, you should include a section on your CV for your volunteer work.
The inclusion of volunteer work in your curriculum vitae is beneficial for a number of reasons, but it is particularly advantageous to include it if you are seeking employment in the political arena or in the nonprofit sector.
In addition, if you do not have any paid work experience, incorporating volunteer work on your CV is an effective way to fill it out.
Additional section on a CV example
The following is an illustration of a hobbies section on a CV that is formatted correctly:
3 good CV Template
Here are three examples of curriculum vitae that were created with some of our CV templates, in order to give you a better sense of what the final product of your curriculum vitae should look like:
1 page CV example (with no work experience)
To begin, here is an example of a CV for someone who has never held a job before:
DOWNLOAD THIS FREE SAMPLE HERE
1 page CV example (with work experience)
Here’s an example of a CV that includes a number of years’ with working experience:
DOWNLOAD THIS FREE SAMPLE HERE
Academic CV example
Last but not least, here is an example of an academic CV (the kind that is used in American colleges) from a candidate who is just beginning their career in academia:
DOWNLOAD THIS FREE SAMPLE HERE
