How To Write Curriculum Vitae (CV) For Job Application

A curriculum vitae (CV) is a document used to apply for a job that overviews your skills, work experience, and education.

1. Decide on a CV format and style

Now that you know what a CV is, you’re probably wondering how to format your CV.Otherwise, open a new document in Microsoft Word or Google Docs and use the following settings:

Set ½ – 1” margins on each side

Use a font size between 10 and 12 points

Select a professional font such as Times New Roman or Arial

These are the sections you’ll include in your CV:

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.

1. Clearly list your contact information at the top

First thing’s first: employers need to know who you are and how to contact you if they want to offer you an interview.

Make it easy to find that information by including the following contact details in the header of your CV, at the top of the page:

First and last name (in a large font)

Telephone Number

Email Address

LinkedIn Profile (optional)

Make sure that your email address and LinkedIn profile are up-to-date and professional before adding them to your CV.

1. Open with a convincing CV objective or summary

Placed right below your CV’s header towards the top of the page, a concise and targeted CV introduction is the best way to immediately grab the attention of employers and convince them that you’re the right person for the job.

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)

The goal of both introduction styles is to quickly highlight your relevant experience and skills to convince employers to keep reading your CV. However, how they accomplish this goal differs depending on the introduction used.

1. List your relevant work experience in chronological order

This is the most important section on your CV if you’ve already begun your career. Your work experience section is where employers evaluate your qualifications, looking for information about your key professional achievements and previous responsibilities.

To write a strong work experience section, start by listing each relevant job you’ve held from the most recent at the top, to the least recent at the bottom. In most cases, you should list a maximum of four unique positions on your CV.

For each position you list, include the following information:

Company name

Job title

Your start date and end date (month and year)

Then, include 3 to 5 bullet points for every position, outlining your key achievements and responsibilities while at that job.

1. Highlight your education

A clear education section is an essential part of your CV, especially if you’re a recent graduate or have minimal work experience.

If you have less work experience, your education section should be highly detailed to help showcase all of your academic accomplishments. However, if you’re already years into your career, keep your education section short and to-the-point to keep the focus on your work experience.

If you have work experience, include the following information in your CV’s education section:

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)

1. Showcase your skills

Employers are always looking for candidates who have a strong set of professional skills relevant to the jobs they’re hiring for.

While listing a bunch of skills in the skills section of your CV doesn’t prove that you’re qualified for the job, highlighting targeted, specific skills does show employers that you at least understand the job requirements.

There are two primary types of skills that you should include on your CV: hard skills and soft skills.

Hard skills

Hard skills are job-specific abilities learned through experience, education, or training. Typically, hard skills are either the technical skills needed to perform a specific job, or a general set of abilities, like project management.

If you’re applying for a job that requires specific knowledge like software development, adding hard skills to your CV is essential to landing an interview.

Soft skills

Soft skills are innate character traits that positively impact how you work or interact with other people (like interpersonal skills or creativity). They’re naturally learned throughout your life and, unlike hard skills, can’t easily be taught in a classroom.

1. Add additional information that emphasizes your qualifications

If you’ve read this far, then you’ve already assembled the basics of your CV. Now, it’s time to add the finishing details.

Here are additional sections that you can include on your CV:

Languages

Candidates who speak multiple languages are valuable in a variety of industries. If you’re a polyglot, consider listing languages in a separate section on your CV to show off your skills.

Interests

Including interests or hobbies on your CV is a great way to stand apart from other applicants and show employers that you’re a good culture fit for their company.

However, before adding an interests section to your CV, consider whether your hobbies are relevant to the company you’re applying at and are work-appropriate. Also, consider the company’s level of formality.

Volunteer work

Adding a section for volunteer work on your CV is a great way to highlight some of your transferable skills and demonstrate that you’re involved in your community.

These two reasons alone make volunteer work a great addition to your CV, but it’s especially effective to include if you’re applying for work in the nonprofit sector or in politics.

Additionally, including volunteer work helps fill out your CV if you lack paid work experience.