Guideline
- What is a Curriculum Vitae?
- What to include on a CV
- Overview of the three CV format types
- How to write a CV
- CV Example Template
- Download CV Example
A curriculum vitae, often shortened to “CV”, is a Latin term meaning “course of life.” A CV is a detailed professional document highlighting a person’s experience and accomplishments. Employers often require a CV when considering applications. This document shares an overview of your career history, education, relevant awards and honors, scholarships, grants, research, projects and publications.
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What to include on a CV
Your CV should include the following:
- Contact information. Include your full name, address, phone number and email address.
- Academic history. List all schooling from high school through postdoctoral (if applicable). Include the title of the degree you earned, the year you graduated and the name of the school.
- Professional experience. Include the organization where you worked, the job title, the dates you were employed and summary of your experience and achievements.
- Qualifications and skills. List a combination of hard and soft skills you’ve developed throughout your career.
- Awards and honors. For each award, add the name, year received, the organization that gave you the award and any pertinent details (such as how often it’s presented).
- Publications and presentations. For publications, provide a full citation including your co-authors, date, summary, volume, page, DOI number. For presentations, provide the title, date and venue where you presented.
- Professional associations. List the organization’s name, location or chapter and the dates of active membership.
- Grants and scholarships. Provide the name of the grant or scholarship, date awarded and the institution that provided the award.
- Licenses and certifications. Include the name of the license or certificate, the date you earned it and the institution that awarded it.
All three types of CVs should include the above information. The primary difference between formats is the order of these elements.
1. Chronological
This is the most common type of CV. For a chronological CV, list your academic history and professional experience first after your contact information. This type of CV focuses largely on your academic and professional experience.
- Contact information
- Academic history
- Professional experience
- Qualifications and skills
- Awards and honors
- Publications and presentations
- Grants and scholarships
- Licenses and certifications
- Professional associations
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2. Functional
This CV format places more emphasis on your skills, awards and honors. If you are writing a functional CV, you should place your relevant skills near the top under your contact information. In a functional CV, you will allocate more space to your qualifications, skills, awards and honors and less space to your professional experience. Here are the sections you should include:
- Contact information
- Qualifications and skills
- Awards and honors
- Academic history
- Professional experience
- Publications and presentations
- Grants and scholarships
- Licenses and certifications
- Professional associations
3. Combination
This CV type is a hybrid of the chronological and functional formats and allows adequate space for details about both your professional and educational history, as well as your skills and accomplishments. The elements you place first depend on your experience, career goals and what you believe is most relevant to the types of positions you’re seeking.
For example, if you’re hoping to earn a teaching position at a university and you’ve spent the past ten years as an educator, you should list your professional background first.
How to write a CV
When it comes to formatting your CV, there are four more factors you’ll need to consider.
1. Choose the right font type and size
It’s critical your CV is legible and easy to follow. To improve readability, be sure to choose the proper font type and size.
The two primary font categories are serif and sans-serif. Serif fonts (Times New Roman, Courier, Georgia) have small, decorative flourishes while sans-serif (Helvetica, Arial, Geneva) fonts do not. It’s best to choose a sans-serif font because, in most cases, they’re easier to read.
Additionally, keep your text between 10–12 points. While it can be tempting to reduce your font size to reduce the number of pages, you should never sacrifice readability for length.
2. Check your margins
Be sure to check your CV margin size. Margins that are too large will leave too much white space on each page while margins that are too small can make the page seem over-filled. A good rule is to keep your margins between 1–1.5 inches.
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3. Utilize your space effectively
CVs can become lengthy, especially if you’ve been in your industry for several years and have amassed a great deal of experience. To ensure you’re using space effectively and your CV is easy to read, consider using the following techniques:
Bulleted lists: Make lists, (such as your collection of skills or awards) easier to consume by adding small bullets.
Section headers: Distinguish section headers from the rest of your CV content by making them bolder, larger or underlined.
Bolded words: In addition to section headers, consider bolding other important words, such as your name and job titles, to set them apart.
4. Proofread
Before you send your CV to employers, always take time to check your spelling, grammar and syntax. A clean, error-free CV increases readability and demonstrates professionalism.
A well-composed CV shares all the most essential information employers need when considering you for job opportunities. By making sure your CV is comprehensive, correctly formatted and easy to read, you’re one step closer to landing the job you want.
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CV Example Template
1. Contact information
Full name
Address (including city, state and zip code)
Phone number
Email address
For example:
Nophsky Smith
1234 Main Street, Atlanta, GA 30308
770-555-1234
joe.t.smith@email.com
2. Academic history (in reverse-chronological order)
Post-doctoral program
Graduate school
Undergraduate school
High school
For example:
Ph.D. in Sociology, 2018
University of Texas College of Liberal Arts, Austin, TX
3. Professional experience
Organization or institution
Job title/position
Dates employed
Details about duties, experience and achievements
For example:
University of Southern California
Professor, Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry | 2012–2018
Taught multiple undergraduate and graduate courses in orthodontics.
Fostered student commitment to lifelong learning and excellence in dentistry.
Acted as student advisor to first-year dentistry school students.
4. Qualifications and skills
Hard skills
Soft skills
Accreditations and certifications
For example:
Team leadership
Seminar instruction
Fluent in English, Spanish and French
Certification in Occupational Therapy
5. Awards and honors
Award name
Year awarded
Organization that gave award
Award details (how often the award is given, how many people receive the award, etc.)
For example:
Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, 2018
Columbia University
Awarded for excellence in fiction literature to one individual in the U.S. each year.
6. Publications and presentations
Publication citation (including authors, date, summary, volume, page, DOI number)
Presentation details (including title, date and place of presentation)
For example:
Yang, J., Sanchez, C., Patel, A., Johnson, L., (2017) “Study of cocoa product component theobromine and danger to canines.” Journal of Modern Veterinary Medicine. 272: 1234-56789.
7. Professional associations and affiliations
Name of organization
Geographic location or chapter
Dates of active membership
For example:
American Cancer Society (2011–Present)
Society for Cancer Research (2013–Present)
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DOWNLOAD CV EXAMPLES
Most of the CV examples are in PDF format, to view them simply click on the relevant industry sector below to find the one that fits the job your after.
CV TEMPLATE EXAMPLES BY INDUSTRY (click on the links below for specific job roles):
CVs can become lengthy, especially if you’ve been in your industry for several years and have amassed a great deal of experience. To ensure you’re using space effectively and your CV is easy to read, consider using the following techniques:
Bulleted lists: Make lists, (such as your collection of skills or awards) easier to consume by adding small bullets.
Section headers: Distinguish section headers from the rest of your CV content by making them bolder, larger or underlined.
Bolded words: In addition to section headers, consider bolding other important words, such as your name and job titles, to set them apart.
4. Proofread
Before you send your CV to employers, always take time to check your spelling, grammar and syntax. A clean, error-free CV increases readability and demonstrates professionalism.
A well-composed CV shares all the most essential information employers need when considering you for job opportunities. By making sure your CV is comprehensive, correctly formatted and easy to read, you’re one step closer to landing the job you want.
Recommended
CV Example Template
1. Contact information
Full name
Address (including city, state and zip code)
Phone number
Email address
For example:
Nophsky Smith
1234 Main Street, Atlanta, GA 30308
770-555-1234
joe.t.smith@email.com
2. Academic history (in reverse-chronological order)
Post-doctoral program
Graduate school
Undergraduate school
High school
For example:
Ph.D. in Sociology, 2018
University of Texas College of Liberal Arts, Austin, TX
3. Professional experience
Organization or institution
Job title/position
Dates employed
Details about duties, experience and achievements
For example:
University of Southern California
Professor, Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry | 2012–2018
Taught multiple undergraduate and graduate courses in orthodontics.
Fostered student commitment to lifelong learning and excellence in dentistry.
Acted as student advisor to first-year dentistry school students.
4. Qualifications and skills
Hard skills
Soft skills
Accreditations and certifications
For example:
Team leadership
Seminar instruction
Fluent in English, Spanish and French
Certification in Occupational Therapy
5. Awards and honors
Award name
Year awarded
Organization that gave award
Award details (how often the award is given, how many people receive the award, etc.)
For example:
Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, 2018
Columbia University
Awarded for excellence in fiction literature to one individual in the U.S. each year.
6. Publications and presentations
Publication citation (including authors, date, summary, volume, page, DOI number)
Presentation details (including title, date and place of presentation)
For example:
Yang, J., Sanchez, C., Patel, A., Johnson, L., (2017) “Study of cocoa product component theobromine and danger to canines.” Journal of Modern Veterinary Medicine. 272: 1234-56789.
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Name of organization
Geographic location or chapter
Dates of active membership
For example:
American Cancer Society (2011–Present)
Society for Cancer Research (2013–Present)
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DOWNLOAD CV EXAMPLES
Most of the CV examples are in PDF format, to view them simply click on the relevant industry sector below to find the one that fits the job your after.
CV TEMPLATE EXAMPLES BY INDUSTRY (click on the links below for specific job roles):
- Academic CV examples
- Functional CV examples
- Project manager CV examples
- Administration CV examples
- Graduate CV examples
- Retail CV examples
- Catering CV examples
- Hospitality CV examples
- Sales CV examples
- Chronological CV examples
- Legal CV examples
- Social work CV examples
- Construction CV examples
- IT CV examples
- Sports CV examples
- Engineering CV examples
- Management CV examples
- Student CV examples
- Executive CV examples
- Medical CV examples
- Teacher CV examples
- Financial CV examples
- Nursing CV examples