CV Format Tips

Curriculum vitae, meaning “course of life” in Latin, is the standard job application document in most countries outside the U.S. A CV conveys the history of your career and other professional and personal achievements. CVs are used in the U.S. primarily for jobs in academia, sciences, research, medicine and entertainment.

Despite having the same purpose, a CV differs from a resume mainly because it’s longer and more comprehensive than a resume. Before choosing a resume or CV, check the document the employer requests from you.

If the employer leaves the choice for you, check out these key differences between resumes and CVs to determine which one is right for you:

• Resumes should be up to two pages long. CVs can be three or more pages long.
• Resumes are the primary document for applying for jobs in the U.S. CVs are more common in international job markets.
• Resumes focus on the qualities that make you a good fit for a job. CVs comprise your entire career history.

1. Format your header and contact information, including your full name, phone number, email, and city and state of residence.
2. Write a compelling summary statement that shares the top skills, experiences and qualifications that make you the ideal candidate.
3. Include a section titled Core Qualifications where you give context on how your skills will help you succeed in the role.
4. List your work experience in reverse chronological order and include the job title, employer name, location and dates of employment. You should also add three or four bullet points describing your top accomplishments in each job.
5. Share even more soft and hard skills in a separate skills section.
6. Add an education section that lists all your degrees and academic achievements.
7. Customize your CV with additional sections relevant to your role, such as Teaching Experience, Research Experience, Languages, Publications, and Certifications and Licenses.

Learn all the details about CVs in our how to write a CV article.

Include key sections like the CV Summary, Core Qualifications, Work Experience, Skills and Education when writing your CV. Other sections you can include to customize your CV are Publications, Affiliations and Memberships, Hobbies, Research Experience and Teaching Experience, among others you can learn about in our CV writing guide.

Tailoring your CV for each job application ensures you’re highlighting the qualities the employer needs from you in that role. Including keywords is one of the easiest ways to update an existing CV for multiple jobs.

You must also include unique achievements and not generic job duties when writing your CV. There’s a difference between responsibilities and accomplishments. Any applicant can mention the same job responsibilities as you, but not everyone can boast about your accomplishments.

A standard CV can be anywhere from 2 to 10 pages depending on your industry, supplementary information, and what the employer or job posting has cited for you to provide. The most important thing for your CV is to showcase your complete career profile and background through relevant experiences in and out of the workplace. Generally, you should have one CV page for each decade of experience. However, there is such a thing as a CV that is too long. Be careful of stuffing your CV with irrelevant information just to meet a page count requirement.

You’ll find the best templates for your CV in LiveCareer’s CV templates library. You’ll find all the standard CV sections on our CV templates, which you can edit in our CV Builder. There, you can find hundreds of skills and pre-written suggestions to incorporate throughout your CV.

Need help formatting the sections in your CV with the standard and custom sections? Learn everything about that on our CV formats page. And if you’re unsure about what information to include in your CV, check out our CV examples for some inspiration.

We have a selection of CV templates that are ATS-friendly, but not all of them are.

If you want to ensure your CV template is ATS-compliant, see if it checks these requirements:

• Must have a one-column layout for the text, not multiple text columns.
• Should have minimal design elements, not graphics, icons or skill-level meters.
• Should not include text boxes or tables. These design features separate the text that the ATS has difficulty reading.
• Must not include profile pictures or images. The ATS won’t scan these and might even jumble up the text on your CV.

You can use CVs for a variety of jobs in most countries. These are the top countries where CVs are the primary derivation of a job application: The UK, New Zealand, Germany, France, India, Italy, the United Arab Emirates, Portugal, Chile and Netherlands.

CVs don’t have specific formats like resumes do. Because each CV is as unique as its applicant, you can format it with as many sections as you deem relevant. In the U.S., employers usually request CVs for jobs in academia, medicine or the sciences. In that case, you’ll want to include sections like Publications, Research Experience and Teaching Experience.

Another reason a U.S. employer might request you apply with a CV is that they value company culture and want to ensure you’re a good fit. In that case, your CV should show you care more about getting the next available job. Instead, showcase your commitment with sections like Hobbies, Certifications, Personal Projects and Volunteer Work.

Our CV Formats page will show you how to pick the right CV sections and what to include in them. However, if you’re thinking about chronological, functional and combination formats, you’ll find all the information on our resume formats page.

American CVs are generally used for positions in academics or scientific research, so they tend to be up to 10 pages long. European CVs are used to apply for all types of jobs, so they include all the main resume sections plus some additions like a profile picture and more personal information such as nationality.

The most popular format across the world is the chronological resume format. Although technically a format for resumes, the structure of this format can also be applied to CVs. The main characteristic of the chronological format is that it focuses on the work experience and organizes your jobs in reverse-chronological order. When writing your CV’s work experience, list your most recent or current job first and work your way backward.

If you’re applying for a foreign job, format your CV with sections relevant to the position and appropriate for that foreign job market. Before submitting your CV, research CV examples used in that specific country. For instance, although profile pictures are typical in some French CVs, UK employers prefer CVs without photos.

Yes. Our CV templates are appropriate for jobs in academia. Your academic CV will include sections like Publications, Research Experience and Grants and Fellowships to show your academic progress. If you want to learn what achievements and sections to include in an academic CV, find your desired job title on our CV examples page.

In almost every case, employers will prefer you submit your CV as a PDF document. A PDF isn’t alterable and is easily shared across various platforms. A Word document can be edited by anyone who has access to it and might change your CV template’s formatting if you open the document on a computer that doesn’t have Microsoft installed.

However, the employer should inform you if they prefer one. If they don’t share a preference, your safest option is the PDF CV template.

When you use our CV Builder, you can download your template as a PDF, DOC, JPG or TXT file.

Depending on your industry, graphics and photos must be on your CV, especially if you are in the arts, an actor, or a model. However, in some European countries, the UK or the U.S., a ‘no-frills’ CV is preferred, so you should not include photos. Other countries like Germany, South Africa and Asia may require not only pictures but personal information such as your date of birth and personal ID, so it’s imperative to make sure you meet the requirements set in the job posting.