How to write a CV

Common Features of a CV

Start by first listing everything you can about your background information and then building out from there.

To help you get started, we’ve pulled together a few of the most often seen sections of CVs that you might expect to include when writing your own.

1) Who are you?

A CV should always include your basic information starting with your name, address, telephone number and email. For United States and Canadian job seekers, that’s generally all you need to include. If you search for example CVs online, you are likely to come across ones that include a small passport-sized photo of the applicant in the upper right-hand corner. While this practice is standard in France, Belgium and Germany, it is NOT considered appropriate for CVs in the United States and Canada. Just a heads up.

2) No, really…who are you?

In some instances, it’s also appropriate to include a brief bio of yourself. Depending on the industry you are going into, a short blurb about who you are might be all you need to catch an employer’s eye and get called in for an interview. If you do decide to include a brief bio, make sure it’s well written and original.

3) What have you done?

As a CV is a thorough detailing of your history, that includes your educational history as well as your work experience and any training you might have received.

When detailing your educational history, you want to do it in reverse chronological order. Be sure to include the full list of your degrees, including those you’ve already earned and any you might be currently pursuing as well as where you received your education.

Be sure to list the years of your graduation. If you are the author of a dissertation or thesis, you would include that information here as well as the name of your advisor.

For your work history, you want to include not only where you’ve worked, but also any applicable experiences related to that work.

If you’re an educator and you’re not only teaching, but also working in a research lab or facility, you would want to include that here. Field experience, leadership experience, related volunteer work and any and all other experience that relates to your employment goes in this section.

4) What do you like?

Unlike a resume, a CV often includes a section that covers your areas of interest. While this might seem unusual, it can actually provide a potential employer with a lot of insight into who you are, which is why it’s so important to make sure you handle this section carefully.

While it might be tempting to just list your hobbies here and hope for the best, it’s actually a good idea to expand on what you do in your free time as well as why you do it. Are you a history buff who loves to go to reenactments? Rather than just listing “Re-enactor” on your CV, flesh it out a bit.

“As a historically accurate civil war reenactor, I enjoy spending my weekends immersed in a world where I gain first hand insight into our country’s rich past.”

Do you have leadership skills outside of your work that you enjoy participating in? List those here as well.

“On the weekends I’m not participating in civil war reenactments, I am the coach of a local junior league soccer team for third graders. I find that as a leader, I’m not only helping to refine their soccer skills, but I’m providing them with a positive role model as I insist on good sportsmanship and fair play at all times.”

This section is also a great place to list any interests that you have that relate directly to the job you’re applying to. Are you working on obtaining employment as a culinary specialist? List your interest in food blogs and magazines.

No matter what you list here, try to include a range of interests that demonstrate who you are when you’re not working at your job. Of course, try not to include information that would make it appear that you’re just stuffing things into your CV in order to give it length. It’s perfectly fine to list your interests, but keep it within reason. List the things that are the most relevant to what you are looking for work wise.

It’s not necessary to list every extracurricular activity you’ve ever participated in.

5) Mad skills, bro!

How many languages do you speak? Are you fluent in multiple tongues? What about computer programs? Are you an accomplished graphic designer who has an extensive knowledge of specific software? List that too!

6) You’re the best!

Have others recognized you for the work you’ve done? Do you have any awards or honors that you’ve received for teaching? How about for service or work? Have you applied for and received any grants or scholarships? Those go here! This is also where you want to include things like fellowships or patents.

7) Texts and Talks

Are you an author of any papers, articles or books? Are you an expert in your field and thus find yourself speaking at conferences, panels or symposiums? Make sure you list those and give a brief description of each so your reader knows what you’ve done and where.

8) I’m in the club!

Are you a member of any professional organizations, guilds or clubs? Make sure to include if you’ve held any offices or positions within those organizations and how long you’ve been with them.

9) Who will vouch for you?

A reference section is also something you might consider including in your CV. While it’s not always required, it’s not a bad idea to put down references if you know the person recommending you is going to be enthusiastically in your corner. (Of course it should go without saying you should only have enthusiastic references…)

If you feel your CV is running long for your level of experience, or you’d like more time to prep your references, it’s also perfectly acceptable to say “References available upon request.”

10) And the Rest…

Other sections you might include in your CV (depending entirely on the job you’re applying for) include:

• Study Abroad
• Exhibitions
• Professional Licenses and/or memberships
• Consulting Work
• Professional Development
• Research Experience
• Teaching Experience

Remember, your CV should be specific to the industry or area of work you’re entering, so while much of the basic information should be fairly standard, always find examples that relate to the job you’re after to ensure that you’re including all the necessary things.

Well, now that we’ve gone over all that…

What About Formatting?

With any and all documents you turn into a potential employer, you want to make sure that your CV is clear of any and all grammatical and spelling errors.

You want to make sure that your CV is carefully and logically laid out and that it reads well. Yes, you’re including a lot of information in this document, but don’t try to cram everything in all at once.

Organize it using topical headings and be considerate in how you lay it out and how you order it. While the order of topics in a CV is flexible, it’s a good idea to keep in mind that what you list first will receive the most attention. Try to arrange your sections so that they highlight your strengths in relation to the position you are applying to.

Make sure your font is readable and that you are consistent with any formatting you decide to use.

Don’t include your salary history in your CV. You also shouldn’t include why you left your last position.

When you’re working on a resume, it’s common to use a type of formatting called “gapping.” Gapping is when you take a full sentence and cut it down to the most basic components in order to convey the most amount of information in the least amount of words.

However, when writing your CV, you will want to use full sentences. It’s also important to work in action words that help to not only draw in the reader, but keep them engaged in what they’re reading.

Here, let me show you the difference. Let’s pretend you were a floor manager in a service department at a company. If you were writing a resume and utilizing gapping, you might note your experience like this:

Floor manager (2000-2002)
Team leader.
Responsible for customer service.

Again, this example is perfectly acceptable for a resume. For a CV, however, you want to make sure you’re including more information and utilizing your action words.

Example:

I worked as a floor manager from 2000 to 2002. During that time I oversaw and lead a team of twenty employees committed to providing quality customer service.

Need another example?

Rather than saying you were just a marketing manager for five years (perfectly acceptable on a resume), make sure to include words that convey what you did.

Example:

I spent five years refining my abilities as a negotiator and motivator, using my skills as a problem solver to help persuade clients to try new and exciting products.

When printing your CV, always print your pages single sided. Yes, it’s longer than a resume, and it’s tempting to try to save paper by printing double sided, but resist that temptation!

As a CV is longer than a resume and can often run several pages, make sure you include page numbers on every page except for the first one.

And remember as well to always be honest in your CV.

What About Using A CV Template?

Here’s the deal with CV’s…

They are large documents that contain all kinds of different information and vary greatly depending on who the job seeker is (and more importantly, what field they are in).

So I hate to say it, but there isn’t really a “magic bullet” CV template that will allow you to just plug and play your information into.

But there are some good curriculum vitae examples that are available, and we chose one in particular that will provide you with a guideline to model your CV after.