Where you fit professionally
One clear professional identity is stronger than a list of everything you have ever tried. Your target role and short summary should match the position you are pursuing.
WHAT A CV SHOULD DO
Get you an interview. Nothing more, nothing less.
A CV is not a complete record of your working life. It is a concise argument for why someone should spend the next half-hour talking to you. A recruiter needs to understand quickly what you can do, how much responsibility you have carried and what changed because of your work.
The best CV is neither the most colourful nor the longest. It is relevant to one role, easy to scan and able to support every important claim with evidence.
FIRST IMPRESSION
What should be clear within seconds
The reader should not have to decode who you are. Give them the answer without an archaeological dig.
What you actually improved
Budget, revenue, speed, client numbers, team size or error reduction. Numbers give your experience scale and credibility.
What you can use in practice
Select technologies, tools and methods for the target role. “MS Office” impresses nobody; relevant, specific expertise does.
Where your career is heading
Your CV should read like a coherent story, not a random list of jobs. Briefly explain any major change of field or direction.
RESPONSIBILITIES VS RESULTS
A job description says what you were meant to do. A result shows whether you could do it.
“Responsible for client management, proposal preparation and communication with business partners.”
Anyone with a similar job title could write this.
“Managed a portfolio of 35 corporate clients and increased repeat orders by 18% within one year.”
The scope, contribution and outcome are all visible.
A simple prompt: For every important experience, ask: “What changed because of it?” The answer often belongs in your CV more than the original sentence.
RECOMMENDED STRUCTURE
An order that keeps the important things visible
Name and contact details
Phone number, professional email, city and, where relevant, a profile or portfolio link. Your full postal address, date of birth and marital status are unnecessary.
Professional summary
Two to four sentences: your role, relevant experience, strongest specialism and the kind of result you can deliver.
Work experience
Start with the most recent. For every role include dates, company, title and three to five points focused on scope and results.
Key skills
Include only those you can defend and that matter to the role. Replace ratings such as “Excel 90%” with a concrete level of practical use.
Education and qualifications
The more experience you have, the less space school needs. List relevant completed programmes and clearly state the status of anything unfinished.
Languages and other information
Use a recognised level and context, for example: “English B2, used daily with international clients.”
WHAT TO LEAVE OUT
Four ways to bury good experience
One CV for everything
You need not rewrite it from scratch each time, but adjust the summary, order of skills and emphasis for the specific role.
Corporate language without substance
“Dynamic, results-driven team player” proves nothing. Show the situation, scale and result.
Design that fights the content
Columns, charts and icons look clever until the document becomes hard to read or an applicant tracking system cannot parse it.
Errors and inconsistent formatting
Mixed date styles, changing bullet points and typos make the work look unfinished. One final check is rarely enough.
BEFORE YOU SEND IT
Your CV is ready when every box is ticked
- Within ten seconds, my target professional role is clear.
- The most relevant experience is on the first page.
- Key roles include concrete results or the scale of my work.
- The CV answers the vacancy without copying its wording.
- Contact details are current and every link works.
- The file has a sensible name and is sent as a PDF.
- Someone who did not write it has checked the text.
You have the experience. Now put it on the page.
Send us your CV and tell us what kind of work you want. If something important is getting in its way, we will tell you plainly.