How to write a CV
A CV (Curriculum Vitae) is the first impression that an employer gets of you. A good CV can lead to obtaining the desired interview or position, while a bad CV can lead to your job application being rejected. În the following article, we will offer steps and advice for creating your own professional CV.
What is a CV and what is it useful for?
A CV is a professional document which summarizes your educational and vocational experience, as well as your skills. Depending on the purpose of the CV and the requirements of the employer, it can also include extracurricular activities, projects or other relevant activities. A CV can be created from scratch, or can be generated by adding information to a standardized and generally accepted format.
The Europass CV
The Europass CV is one of the best known CV formats in Europe, created by the European Union and widely accepted by employers. The Europass CV has predefined information fields and can be completed online through the EU’s Europass platform. The steps that you need to follow are simple: create a Europass profile, fill in the information about your educational and vocational experience, and then select the details you want to include in the CV. At any time, by logging into your profile, information can be added, deleted or edited, and different CVs can be generated and downloaded depending on your needs and the employer’s requirements.
The basic structure of a CV
Any CV has to include certain basic information categories, whether you use an existing template (such as the Europass one) or you create a CV from scratch. The basic sections of a CV are:
Personal information
Your full name
Your professional e-mail address
Your phone number
Any link to an online portofolio or a LinkedIn account (optional)
Educational experience
You will need to list your educational experience in reverse chronological order (the most recent experience first). For each program, you should include:
The degree or qualification you obtained
The educational institution you attended
The period during which you attended the program
Other relevant details, such as your GPA or specific relevant projects/ courses (optional)
Professional experience
You will need to list your professional experience in reverse chronological order (the most recent experience first), alongside a short description. You will need to include:
The position or role you fulfilled
The full name of the employer
The period during which you took part in the job/ internship
Your responsibilities and accomplishments, briefly, as a list
Your skills
Provide a concise list of the skills you possess. For skills whose level of expertise can be measured (for example, a foreign language), include the level you have achieved as well.
Relevant or extracurricular acitivites
This section is optional. Within it, you can mention other types of activities you took part in outside your studies and your job (for example, volunteering, projects), as well as interests that you have and that are relevant for the job you’re applying for.
Other sections
Depending on the job you apply for, other relevant sections can be added.
Examples of already filled CVs
Tips for completing a CV
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Your CV needs to be as easy to read as possible. It is not necessary to write very long texts or provide a very detailed context. Instead, just clearly highlight the essential information you want to convey.
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A concise CV is viewed more favorably by employers. An employer may not read the entire CV, so it’s important for them to be able to quickly find the information they need. Check whether the employer has specific requirements regarding the length of the CV; if not, a good CV generally does not go over 2 pages.
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A CV should have a clean and uncluttered design. Although it may be tempting to include various images or colors to „decorate” the CV, these only distract from its true purpose and create an unprofessional impression for the employer. The CV should use:
classic fonts (Times New Roman, Arial, Calibri),
a simple language (without jargon, metaphors, acronyms),
bullet points instead of long continuous text,
spacious line and section spacing,
readable font sizes (size 11 or larger), and
clear section separation.
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Be honest when listing your skills or experience in the CV. Even if you reach the interview stage by exaggerating or inventing them, during the interview this will come to light and lead to losing credibility in front of the employer.
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If you don’t already have completed professional experience (jobs, internships) that you can include in your CV, you can instead highlight other types of experiences, such as volunteer or practice programs, or various projects that you were involved in. As in the case of professional experience, you will have to explain in a concise manner what your role was, who offered you the opportunity and what your responsibilities or accomplishments were.
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It’s alright to use predefined CV templates (such as Europass or other online platforms), but make sure that the final document is also readable for automated systems or AI tools, used by some companied in scanning the applications. Use a clean design, simple fonts, readable font sizes and make sure your text is well structured and can be selected (not a scan added to the document). Additionally, save your document as a PDF, not as an image (jpg or png).
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Be as specific as possible in the information you provide in your CV. Generic information does not distinguish you from other candidates. Provide clear evidence of the contributions, achievements and skills you describe.
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Your CV needs to be adapted depending on the job you apply for. Even if some basic information remains the same, your skills and even the experiences you describe in your CV need to be adjusted depending on what is relevant for the job you’re applying for and de requirements mentioned in the job posting, and not be a full list of all you have ever done. You cannot use the same CV to apply, for example, for an software developer job as you would for a journalist job. Check the job posting, research the position and employer, and adapt the content of your CV accordingly.
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Use a professional e-mail address, such as firstname.lastname @ email; do not use the e-mail address you made as a joke when you were a child, which includes random words or nicknames. The e-mail happybee @ email can be fun when used with friends or in an informal setting, but in a formal setting it will create an immature impression in front of the employer. More than that, some addresses of this type can lead to classifying the job application as SPAM or a scam.
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If you have certain gaps in you educational or professional experience (for example, a gap year or a frozen year due to medical difficulties), it’s important to briefly mention this as well in your CV, and explain it. You can focus on skills you gained during this period, or on ways in which the experience helped in your personal development. The explanation should be short and to the point: 1 sentence which can be included in the section relevant to the gap.
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Before you submit your CV, make sure you don’t have any spelling or grammar mistakes. Towards this, you can ask a second person, whether a friend, a parent, a professor or a councilor, to read your CV. They might notice details or mistakes that you missed.
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Update your CV as you gain new qualifications, skills or experiences. Even if not immediately needed, keeping your CV up to date will make the job application process easier when the need arises.
Do you want to access other resources as well?
Explore a list of online resources helpful for planning and developing your career.