How to write a CV

CV or résumé?

In the UK, Ireland and most of Europe the document you send with a job application is called a CV. In the United States and Canada it is usually called a résumé, and «CV» means a longer academic document. The advice in this guide works for both.

The sections of a CV, in the right order

There is no compulsory template, but almost every effective CV follows this outline:

1. Contact details: name, job title, phone, email, city and, if it is up to date, your LinkedIn profile. You don’t need your full address: the city is enough.
2. Profile: two or three sentences about who you are and what you offer.
3. Work experience, from the most recent to the oldest.
4. Education: degrees, courses and certifications. If you have just finished studying, put it before your experience.
5. Skills: technical, digital and soft skills, grouped by area.
6. Languages, with your level, ideally on the European A1 to C2 scale.
7. Other sections if they add something: projects, volunteering, publications, a driving licence if the job needs one.

The profile: three lines that make the difference

The profile is the first thing people read, and it should answer one question: why should they call you? Give your role, your years of experience or your field of study, the two or three strengths that matter most for the job and, if you like, what you are looking for.

Everybody writes «dynamic» and «motivated», and those words prove nothing: let the facts speak for you.

How to describe your experience

For each role give the job title, the employer, the dates (month and year) and two to five bullet points about what you did. The most common mistake is listing duties, which are the same for anyone who has held that job. Show results instead: what changed thanks to your work.

• Start each bullet with an action verb: managed, led, cut, launched, trained.
• Use numbers where you have them: people managed, budgets, clients, percentages, time saved.
• Name the tools and technologies you use: they are the words recruiters search for.
• Give more space to recent, relevant roles; older or unrelated ones can take a single line.

How long should it be?

One page if you are starting out, two if you have several years of experience. Few people read past the second page. To make it shorter, cut older roles and details that have nothing to do with the job, not your results.

Photo and personal details

It depends on the country. In the UK, Ireland, the United States and Canada you should leave the photo out: it is not expected, partly to prevent discrimination. In much of continental Europe, including Italy, Germany and Spain, a photo is common but optional. If you include one, choose a recent, professional picture with a plain background.

Date of birth, marital status and children are not needed, and you can leave them out.

Readable by people and by software

Many employers receive applications through an applicant tracking system (ATS) that reads your CV and compares it with the job advert. To make sure a person actually sees yours:

• use standard section headings such as «Experience» and «Education»;
• keep information as text, not inside images or charts;
• reuse the keywords of the job advert where they genuinely match your experience;
• send a PDF unless the advert asks for a Word file.

In CV Espresso every template produces a PDF with selectable text; the one-column Essential template is the best fit for applicant tracking systems.

One CV for each application

You don’t need to rewrite everything each time, but it pays to adapt the profile, the order of your skills and the bullet points closest to the advert. CV Espresso has «Tailor to a job advert»: an AI prepares the version for that advert using only your details, and CV Espresso saves it as a copy in «My CVs», while the original stays as it is.

If you use AI

ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini can help polish your sentences, but they tend to overstate things and sometimes add details you never gave them. Use them to refine, not to invent: every line of your CV must be true and something you can talk about in an interview. In the editor’s «Import» tab there is a ready-made prompt that asks the AI to use only your information and to return text that CV Espresso lays out by itself.

Before you send it

• Proofread it, ideally out loud, or ask someone else to read it: typos stand out immediately.
• Check your email and phone number, and use a professional address: first name and surname is perfect.
• Make sure your dates are consistent.
• Save the PDF with a clear name, such as CV_Firstname_Surname.pdf.
• When you can, send it with a cover letter.

Applying in Italy? Many Italian CVs end with a line authorising the processing of personal data. It is not legally required, but many employers still expect it: in CV Espresso you can switch it on or off in the «Design» tab.