How to Write an Effective CV for Any Type of Job

✅ Length

Since a resume highlights your experience and education for a particular position, it should not exceed two pages. Unlike a resume, it’s okay for a CV to exceed three pages, especially if an applicant has plenty of career or teaching experience. Coursework, research, and scholarly or professional presentations are also the activities typically highlighted in a curriculum vitae. Volunteering, if related to the role, publications, and references should also be included and can make your CV much longer than a regular resume. 

✅ Experience or Career Type 

Resumes are used to apply for "industry positions," which are jobs in the private sector, as opposed to academic positions. In contrast, academic CV writing is done when seeking faculty positions, research grants, and fellowships. You might have a CV if you're applying to or have already completed a master's or doctoral program, PhD, or if you work as a professor or researcher.

✅ Geographic Location

A CV is the same thing as a resume in some countries, such as South Africa, India, or Australia. However, in the United States and many European countries, a CV is a comprehensive summary of your educational background and professional achievements, while a resume is a shorter version of it. It is okay and even requires adding references, publications, and all of your professional experience to a CV, while a resume should go back a maximum of 10-15 years. Exceptions to this rule would be military-to-civilian transition resumes and federal job applications that require special formatting and detailed documentation of duties and qualifications. 

1️⃣ Header with your contact information – In the header, indicate your full name, address (city and state should be enough), phone number, email address, and LinkedIn profile URL. This will let employers know who you are and how to reach you immediately. Make sure your email address sounds professional and uses a trusted email client. A good email example is john.smith1@email.com. A bad email example is coolbae12453@randomemailclient.com. ​Including your LinkedIn profile URL in your CV header is important, if not crucial, for modern applications. Some 64% of hiring managers review candidates' professional social network profiles before making hiring decisions. Also, 87% of recruiters actively use LinkedIn to source potential candidates. By a simple action of adding your direct "vanity" LinkedIn URL to your CV header, you make it easier for employers to access your account and analyze culture fit, verify your professional background, and review your endorsements, references, and network while leads to enhanced credibility and visibility in the job market.

2️⃣ Professional summary or objective – Your professional summary is a concise 2-3 sentence bio that gives the reader an overview of who you are and what you have achieved. As it comes first right under your contact details, this is the first bit of CV or resume content the recruiter sees and most likely the first one (or even the only one) they will read before making a decision to shortlist you or skip your candidacy. Make it count. This paragraph highlights your most substantial accomplishments and outlines your ideal career path. It should include your proudest, most valuable achievements with measurable data to substantiate them. Alternatively, if you don't have much professional experience to talk about, or if you are applying for a grad school position or PhD, consider replacing this block with an objective, in which you can outline your aims, professional goals, and how you can be valuable to the organization. 

3️⃣ Education and academic achievements – List the names of the high school (if required, but keep in mind that in most cases, this can be skipped unless you are applying right out of high school) and college/university you have attended or are still attending. Write this in reverse chronological order. Make sure to list the courses if they are relevant to the position, your GPA, honors, etc. This section can be utilized to list your certifications and licenses unless you have too many of those. In that case, consider creating a separate block so as not to murk up the education section. Also, please note that in some cases, like when applying for academic or research positions, the education section should come first, even before your summary/objective. 

4️⃣ Work/Teaching experience – Aside from your job titles and the names of the companies/organizations, make sure to include the dates of your employment - months and years for anything under 10 years, and only years for anything from 10+ years. Accompany each job title with a bulleted summary of your experience and achievements with the company. Make sure to include truthful numbers and do not list more than 5-6 bullet points.

Here are some other types of experiences to include when writing your CV:

• Full- and part-time employment
• Internships
• Research projects
• Laboratory work
• Volunteering
• Fieldwork
• Teaching

5️⃣ Relevant skills – Include skills relevant to the position you're applying for. Some skills to add on a CV are language proficiency and experience with specific software. To make yourself a more desirable candidate, prioritize only skills related to the job description. Now, there is a big difference between hard and soft skills, and this matters both on your resume and your CV. Both are important and should be included, but in different ways. While your hard skills, like software, tools, and apps, can be simply listed off in a separate block, it's better to pepper your soft skills across your summary, professional experience section, or even a cover letter showcasing how you used them in your previous roles.

6️⃣ Publications and presentations – As CVs are more academically inclined than resumes, any published work of yours that has appeared in academic journals, newspapers, and various other forms of media can be useful and play into your hands. When listing publications, provide a full citation, including your date, volume, page, Digital Object Identifier (DOI), and co-authors, if any. In some cases, you may also include blogs and web articles you have written, especially if peers have referenced them. Presentations to include in your CV can range from something as minor as a speech given out during a company conference to one as substantial as delivering a research paper to a scientific body. Provide the title of your presentation, the date, the event's name, and the venue where you presented. This is the block that showcases your public academic persona and reaffirms your commitment to your field of study, ability to network, and recognition among peers. 

7️⃣ Awards and Honors - One of the most effective CV tips is to list your honors and awards. Medals, accolades, and certificates are more important aspects of CVs than resumes because they demonstrate your ability to excel in your qualifications. You may include any noteworthy award you've received in this section, such as "Salesperson of the Year 2015" or "Best Performer of 4Q 2019." Listing any honors you’ve received during your time in school is also beneficial because these prove your ability to perform well academically, but these should be mentioned in your education history section for better relevance and fit. For each recognition or award, add the name of the award, the name of the body issuing it, the month and year received, and any other potentially relevant details.

❌ Overloading with unnecessary personal details - Unlike on resumes, you are allowed to include more personal information on CVs, but many candidates tend to go overboard. Including details like marital status, religion, or a full home address is unnecessary (city and state should be enough) and can even introduce bias. What to do instead? Bring the reader's focus to the relevant professional skills, work or teaching experience, and academic details that add value and do not dilute your CV's impact.

❌ Writing an unstructured document - It is okay for a CV to run longer than a resume. While a resume should not normally be longer than two pages, a CV is allowed to run 3+. That doesn't mean, though, that it should be unstructured or overwhelming for your reader (aka hiring manager or university committee making a decision on your grad school application. A poorly formatted CV with excessive text, no clear headings, and lengthy paragraphs makes it difficult for recruiters to find key information. Your CV should be structured logically, with clear section headings, bullet points, and descriptions. 

❌ Including irrelevant professional experience - CVs are static documents and should cover your entire career, but at the same time, make sure you do not list every single job detail, especially if it is irrelevant to your desired career path. Focus on achievements and not the daily grind. If you have decades of experience, concentrate on the most recent and relevant roles and summarize earlier positions without going into too much detail. Recruiters prioritize recent achievements over outdated ones.

❌ Failing to tailor the CV for different applications - Many candidates create a generic master CV and send it to every employer, thinking that static means you should be customizing it. However, failure to tailor your CV can reduce your chances of success because other candidates will probably do it. Taking a few minutes to customize your CV to match job descriptions makes it more compelling to recruiters.

❌ Weak or missing publications, research, and academic contributions - For academic and research-focused roles, it is crucial to include detailed sections on publications, conferences, and research projects in your CV. Failure to do so is a major oversight. Ensure that you list your work accurately and adhere to the appropriate citation style. If you do not have much research experience, you can still highlight relevant coursework, theses, or any academic contributions that showcase your expertise.