How to Make the Perfect CV (Proper Format, Tips, and Samples)

A company you want to apply to has asked you to send in a CV and you're thinking, "Wait...what is that?" Don't worry! Curriculum Vitae (CV) means "course of life" in Latin, and that's a really accurate description. Basically, a CV is a handy and impressive document that summarizes your past education as well as your professional skills, proficiencies, and experiences. Here, we'll go through each and every part of a CV so yours is perfectly formatted. We'll even throw in an example of a full CV for you to review. So, if you're ready to win over recruiters and employers with all you've accomplished over the years, read on—you'll be able to really "sell" yourself and share your whole story with a stellar CV!

Things You Should Know

Tailor your CV to your ideal role—review the job posting for specific requirements and include the most relevant past jobs, skills, interests, or hobbies you have.
Start your CV with a short description of yourself—known as an Objective or Summary—so employers get a "snapshot" of what you offer as a candidate.
If you've just recently graduated from a program, then fill your "Work Experience" section with roles you took on while you were a student, like internships.
Use standard formatting for your CV so it's easy for recruiters and employers to skim over. Also include keywords that a company's hiring software might search for.

Template for a CV

Section 1 of 5:

Proper Order of Sections

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1
Include a header with your contact information. At the very top of your CV, share your full name, address, phone number, email address, and LinkedIn profile. While employers don’t need to know your street address, it’s important for them to know where you’re based—for example, you might need to work in the same time zone or be familiar with where their operations take place. The rest of your contact information allows them to follow up about the position you applied for.^{[1]
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- Harper Madison
  Los Angeles, California
  (424) 555-6000
  hmadison@alumni.ucla.edu
  linkedin.com/in/harper-madison
2
Create a CV Objective or CV Summary. Craft a short paragraph that’s 100 words or less. Tell recruiters and employers why you’re the best candidate for the role. If you have less work experience, use a CV Objective to discuss your knowledge and skills. On the other hand, if you have a strong background in your chosen field, stick to a CV Summary to expand on what you’ve accomplished.^{[2]
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- A recent college grad with an MFA (Master in Fine Arts):
  
  Independent and dynamic writer with a Master of Fine Arts in Film & Television offers a wealth of knowledge about cinematography and the craft of thought provoking documentaries. Seeking to join National Geographic to curate and create exceptional content that educates a global audience.
- A seasoned professional with 11 years of experience as a magazine editor:
  
  Accomplished Magazine Editor with over 10 years of experience overseeing and managing content for premier publications with an international readership. Knowledgeable about selecting feature stories that are timely and fresh. Brings a repertoire of refined writing skills and a keen passion for quality journalism. Adept at guiding writers to produce compelling and noteworthy pieces.
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3
Share your work experience. Read the job description and include information about your work experience that’s relevant to the position. For example, if you wish to work for an engineering firm, mention your responsibilities as a lab tech. Use action verbs (like “researched” and “implemented”) and be sure to include achievements (such as “streamlined laboratory procedures by 35%").^{[3]
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- Graduate Student
  UCLA — May 2019 - August 2022
  Cast, directed, and produced various film and television projects. Planned, organized, and budgeted documentary shorts and films with Celtx. Edited documentaries using Black Magic DaVinci Resolve. Performed sound editing with Sound Forge. Conducted interviews, curated archival footage, and wrote scripts.
  • Directed and produced documentary shorts and films
  • Budgeted, planned, and organized film shoots
  • Scouted and secured filming locations
  • Communicated with all participants cited in documentaries
  • Produced The Last Laugh: Female Comedians Bite Back, a project that was showcased at the DOC LA Film Festival
4
Give an overview of your education. List your graduation year—if you're still working on your program, use your expected graduation date—your degree, the name of your institution, and any honors you earned. If you have little to no work experience, place your "Education" section above your "Work Experience" section and go into more detail about your academics.^{[4]
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- If you just graduated, you might want to include:
  - The title of your dissertation
  - Your favorite fields of study
  - Coursework that's relevant to the job you want
  - Your key achievements
  - Your extracurricular activities
    
    Education
    Degrees:
    Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Film and Television (2022)
    University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California
    
    Bachelor of Arts in Film & Media (2018)
    University of California, Berkeley, California
    
    Dissertation:
    "Strange Encounters in the Eastside: Urban Unrest in Los Angeles"
    
    International Study:
    University of Belgrano, Buenos Aires, Argentina (Summer 2019)
    Latin American Cinema, Human Rights and Cultural Representation
    
    Honors and Scholarships:
    Charles F. Scott Fellowship ($15,000)
    Marilyn Yarbrough Dissertation Award ($36,000)
    
    Coursework of Interest:
    Documentary Research Methodologies
    Feature Film Writing
    
    Extracurriculars:
    Vice President of The Film & Photography Society at UCLA
    Mentor for the Youth Cinema Project
5
Mention any special skills of yours. If you already have work experience, showcase how you've honed your abilities in your industry—share industry awards, professional certifications, professional affiliations, conferences you've attended, or additional training you have under your belt. If you're a recent graduate or still studying, mention your hobbies and interests, projects you've involved in, and freelance work you do on the side.^{[5]
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- A seasoned professional with 11 years of experience as a magazine editor:
  
  Certificates
  Certified Journalism Educator (CJE)
  Certified Advertising Specialist (CAS)
  
  Industry Awards
  Editorial Director of the Year, Editor-in-Chief for Artful Living
  
  Conferences
  The American Copy Editors Society (ACES) – 2022, 2018, 2017
  
  Memberships
  American Copy Editors Society (ACES)
  American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME)
- A recent college grad with an MFA (Master in Fine Arts):
  
  Activities and Interests
  Fluent in Spanish and Portuguese
  Volunteers weekly at Home Again L.A.
  Member of the LA Film Society
  Freelances for Filmless
  Runs a personal blog, The Doc is in the House
6
End with additional sections, like “Awards” or “Publications.” End your CV with a final flourish that shows employers your stellar mind and level of discipline. Include any awards that you received outside of academia or your professional roles as well as any articles, journals, or works you've published.^{[6]
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- Awards
  Best First Film, Audience Favorite (DOC LA)
  Best of Show, Humanitarian Award (IndieFEST Film Awards)
  
  Publications
  "Breaking the Bystander Effect: How a Viral Documentary Inspired Action." Los Angeles Magazine, 8 August 2022.

Section 2 of 5:

Best Practices for Writing a CV

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1
Select 1 of 3 CV formats—chronological, functional, or hybrid. A chronological CV lists your jobs starting with the most current one at the top. A functional CV focuses on your skills and experience and does not follow your chronological work history. A hybrid CV combines both the chronological CV and the functional CV—it lists your most recent jobs but also emphasizes your skills.^{[7]
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- A chronological CV is the most common format and is usually preferred by recruiters because they get a sense of your recent work history.
- A functional CV is ideal if you've had gaps in your employment or if you want to switch careers, so you only want to share some of your work history.^{[8]
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- A hybrid CV allows you to expand on your skills. For example, you can start with a "Skills Summary" section, then share your "Work Experience" section.
2
Customize your CV for every company you send it to. When applying for a job, make sure to impress interviewers and recruiters with a CV that looks like it's specially made for them. Avoid sending out the same CV with every application—it will look more generic and impersonal. However, if you tweak your CV every time you reach out to an employer, it can really pay off.^{[9]
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- For example, you might be applying to both teaching positions as well as research positions. Use keywords like "presented lessons" and "facilitated workshops" for teaching roles. Try phrases like "performed data analysis" and "maintained detailed records of experiments" for research roles.
Many companies use a "Applicant Tracking System" (ATS) to scan CVs for keywords and filter out CVs that don't include these important phrases. To make an ATS-friendly resume, use standard formatting, avoid complicated graphics that might confuse machines, and bring up skills that were mentioned in the job posting you're applying for.^{[10]
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Section 3 of 5:

Formatting Standards

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Go for clear, legible fonts in the standard CV typefaces (Arial, Bookman Old Style, Helvetica, Tahoma, or Times New Roman). Use an 11 to 12 point font size and single spacing. Use a 16 point font size for your name and a 14 point font size for section headers.^{[11]
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2
Make sure your margins are between 0.5–1 in (1.3–2.5 cm). Set 0.5–1 in (1.3–2.5 cm) margins on all 4 sides of your CV. While margins might seem minor to you, they instantly create a formal polish and make your CV easier for recruiters and employers to read.
- Proper margins help people skim over your CV. Plus, with 0.5–1 in (1.3–2.5 cm) margins, you can fit more on the page. Most CVs should be 1 page unless you've had 5-10 years of relevant work experience.^{[12]
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Break up all the information and group details by a common theme. For example, make a header that says "Education" and expand on your academic career underneath it. Headers show you put effort into organizing your CV and make it more digestible.^{[13]
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4
Bold keywords, like job titles, so they stand out. Since employers are most interested in candidates who are a good fit for a role, put your job positions in bold font. If you're a recent college graduate or still studying, then put your roles as a student in bold font.^{[14]
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- Example 1:
  Editor-in-Chief
  Artful Living - Minneapolis, MN
  
  Arts and Entertainment Editor
  Lavender - Minneapolis, MN
  
  Example 2:
  Graduate Student
  Texas Tech University, May 2019 - August 2022
  
  Assistant Lecturer
  Texas Tech University, 2020-2021
5
Organize information with bulleted lists. If there's a part of your CV that isn't self-explanatory and requires extra details, then use a bullet point list to get your message across. Stick to short statements with action verbs so recruiters and employers visualize how dynamic and hard working you are.^{[15]
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- Special Projects
  "Activism in Film" Class — Guest Lecturer
  July 2022
  Los Angeles, CA
  FilmLA
  • Served as a guest lecturer for a workshop designed for aspiring filmmakers
  • Facilitated a discussion on culturally responsive practices
  • Outlined how documentaries are a form of activism
If there's a range of job positions you can pull from, select ones that relate to the role you want. For example, if you're applying to become an Assistant Psychologist, then it's more important to point out that you were a Psychology Research Assistant in grad school than it is to say you were an Assistant Manager for a stationary company.^{[16]
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Section 4 of 5:

Example

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Tala Temple
Grand Forks, North Dakota
(555) 206-4400
t.temple@ndus.edu
linkedin.com/in/tala-temple

Career Objective

Ambitious and analytical technology specialist with a Master's Degree in Computer Science and a graduate certificate in Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning provides a cutting-edge suite of skills from data processing to chatbot design. Highly knowledgeable about user experience and merging ethics with UI. Seeking to join Woebot Health to revolutionize and scale mental health care.

Work Experience

Graduate Student
University of North Dakota — May 2019 - August 2022

Designed advanced sequence analysis to provide relevant results for queries. Specialized in Big Data Analytics using Spark. Applied machine learning algorithms to visualize results of a Multilingual Search System.

• Engineered a search system by incorporating data from a prototype of a social media platform
• Built a custom plugin to translate a query and boost appropriate results in a user's native language

Student Assistant
UNB IT Department, Grand Forks, ND — November 2021 - May 2022
• Supported 2,000+ students and faculty members per week with various technical difficulties
• Converted and implemented new systems or upgraded existing systems to improve user experience of educational software

Software Engineering Intern
GAMESinFLAMES, Munich, ND — June 2021 - November 2021
• Designed, implemented, and tuned features to enhance gameplay experience
• Communicated and collaborated with artists, modelers, engineers, and producers to optimize sandbox games

Education

Degrees:
Master's of Science (MS) in Computer Science (2022)
Graduate Certificate in Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning
University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, North Dakota

Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering, Minor in Psychology (2018)
North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota

Dissertation:
"Do Chatbots Dream of Electric Dialogue?: Self-Learning AI and Computational Linguistics"

Honors and Scholarships:
AT&T Labs Fellowship ($23,800)
Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship ($24,000)

Coursework of Interest:
Theoretical Foundations of Computer Science
Machine Learning
High Performance Computing and Paradigms
Advanced Software Engineering

Extracurriculars:
President of UND's Association for Computing Machinery
Vice President of UND's American Indian Science and Engineering Society
STEM Mentor at Army Educational Research Program (AEOP)

Activities and Interests

Fluent in Python, Java, and C++
Volunteers weekly at Re-Member to serve the Oglala Lakota Nation
Member of Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
Creates adventure simulations for itch.io

Awards

Recipient of the Indie Cookie Award for my adventure simulation, Reality Hackers
Worked on the GAMESinFLAMES title, Word Warriors: From Babel to Babylon, which won the German Computer Games Award for "Best Mobile Game"

Publications
"Elixirs and Escapes: Can We Use RPGs to Cope with COVID-19?" PC Gamer. 10 Feb. 2020.

Section 5 of 5:

What’s the difference between a CV and a resume?

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A CV shares your academic career, while a resume reviews your jobs. CVs are great if you've spent most of your time in academia. For example, you might've recently graduated, are still studying, or wish to pursue a position in higher education. You might've also invested a lot of effort in research or published many papers, so you'd like to share that.^{[17]
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- If everything you've done during your academic path is extremely relevant to a role you're interested in, then a CV is also an excellent choice.
- If you've spent most of your life working and have plenty of job experience, it's probably better for you to make a resume—especially if you weren't in higher education for a very long time.

What Are The Differences Between An Academic And Professional CV?

Expert Q&A

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Question

How do I write a CV for my first job?

Brandy DeOrnellas, PCC, ESQ.
Career & Life Transition Coach
Brandy DeOrnellas is a Professional Certified Coach specializing in life and career aspirations and transitions. She also serves company founders and small business owners. She is a former attorney with more than three years of experience as a coach. Brandy holds a JD from Harvard Law School. She also holds a BA in Social Welfare and a BA in Political Science from The University of California, Berkeley. In addition to her formal education, she has multiple coaching certifications, including a Professional Coaching Certification from The University of California, Davis, and a Relationship Coach Certification from Prepare/Enrich. She is a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) with the International Coaching Federation.

Brandy DeOrnellas, PCC, ESQ.

Career & Life Transition Coach

Expert Answer

Most companies now use software that ranks and sorts resumes based on how well matched the applicant is for the job. Ensure that your resume includes all relevant keywords and requirements from the job description. Then, try to also make your resume user-friendly for a human audience.

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How do you write a student CV?

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This answer was written by one of our trained team of researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

wikiHow Staff Editor

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If you’re a student, you may not have a lot of job experience to put on your CV yet. However, make sure to include any work experience you’ve had, even part-time work-study gigs, and focus on the skills that you developed doing those jobs. You can also emphasize your educational background and any applicable skills you’ve picked up from your coursework. Extracurricular activities can also make you look more attractive to employers, so include things like your time spent in debate club or working on the student newspaper.

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What’s the best format for a CV?

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This answer was written by one of our trained team of researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

wikiHow Staff Editor

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There’s no set format for a CV, but you should choose something that looks professional and well-organized. If you’re not sure where to start, look for CV templates online or use a built-in template that comes with your word processing program. The job or program you’re applying for may also have specific requirements for the CV format.

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