Parts of a CV

How to structure your CV, what to think about when writing it, and how to get noticed by recruiters.

Below is a breakdown of what to include in your CV.

Contact details

• Put your name in big letters, making your name the most prominent element on your CV. After all, you want employers to remember you.
  
• Your name and contact details should be the same on both your résumé and cover letter. This helps employers to identify you (and your brand).
  
• Make sure to use a professional email address that includes, for example, your first name and last name.
  
• If you choose to include a picture, it should be on your CV, not your cover letter. Make sure that it is professional. Some people chose to only have a picture on their LinkedIn profile. In some countries, you are not allowed to include a photo due to discrimination laws, so find out if it is allowed in the country where you are applying.
  
• If you have a LinkedIn profile, include the link in your contact details. It’s possible to customize your LinkedIn address for sharing, but you can also choose to use the LinkedIn icon as a link in the pdf version of your CV.

Branding statement

• A branding statement can be one of: Objective, Career Goal, Summary of Qualifications, Profile, etc.
  
• For most students, a Profile is easiest to formulate.
  
• It is not mandatory to include a branding statement, but it helps the employer learn a little bit about you at first glance.
  
• Try to be as specific as possible, highlighting your unique selling points for the specific role you're applying to.
  
• Do not use the words “I” or “me” in your personal statement or anywhere else in your CV. This will ensure that the information is short and concise without any extra, unnecessary information. (The recruiter knows it's about you!)
  
• Remember that most employers only spend 6 seconds skimming your CV, so it is best to make it easy to read.
  
• Bullet points can be used if you are listing several of your skills.

Education

• Include the date, programme of study, name of school, city (country) where the campus is located. These should be separated by commas.
  
• Use the same layout/format for Education, Work Experience (and Volunteer Experience). This will help the recruiter to recognise your pattern and know where to look to find the information they seek.
  
• Education should listed in reverse chronological order (most recent first).
  
• It’s a good idea that your programme of study (as opposed to the school you studied at) stands out in some way, either by changing the colour of the font or by putting it in bold text. This makes it easier for employers to see what you studied at a quick glance.
  
• Notice in the example how the programme is in bold, black text and stands out most in this section.
  
• Write a short description of what your programme focuses on. This is especially important if your programme is new or unfamiliar as it will help employers better understand what you studied.
  
• Some people include the title of their thesis if it is relevant to the job they are applying for or to show the employer the area they have specialized in.
  
• You may want to include a list of courses that are relevant to the job or courses that are unique to your programme that are not offered at other universities.
  
• It is not mandatory to include the description of your programme and it becomes even less important after you have a few years of work experience in your field.
  
• It is typically not necessary to include high school education in your CV, although you may wish to include it if it shows academic achievement, such as the International Baccalaureate Programme. If you don’t include high school but wish to include awards/honours from high school, put them under a separate heading titled “Awards”.
  

Work Experience

• Include the date, job title, name of company, city where the company is located.
  
• Include the country, too, if it's different from the country where you are applying.
• Work experience should be listed in reverse chronological order (the most recent first).
• It’s a good idea that your job title (not the company name) stands out in some way, either by changing the colour of the font or by putting it in bold text. This makes it easier for employers to see what you worked with at a quick glance. Remember: where you worked is less relevant than what you did.
  
• Write a brief description of the tasks you did in each role. They should be written in point form and/or in short phrases. Full sentences take too long to read and recruiters tend to skim CVs in less than 6 seconds before deciding to keep or toss it, so be sure to be a concise as possible.

NOTE: The descriptions are the most important part of your CV since these descriptions will help the employer to recognise if you are qualified for the job.

• For each description, be sure to answer the question: "What did you do?"
  Answering this question helps the recruiter to understand the tasks you accomplished and they will be able to decide if you are capable of doing the job you are now applying for.
  
• Begin each point with a verb, written in active voice. Write, for example, “Planned and organized events”. This will make you seem like a more active participant in the tasks you completed. Don’t write, for example, “Was responsible for planning and organizing events”. This will make you seem passive to the employer.
  
• Verbs should be written in past tense (ending with the suffix -ed) unless you are still working at that position. In that case, you should write in the present continuous tense (ending with the suffix -ing).
  
• Within the descriptions, place the most relevant and important tasks or accomplishments first.
  
• To take the descriptions one step further, use the XYZ formula: "Accomplished [X] as measured by [Y], by doing [Z]." So for example, instead of writing "worked with team members on a project" write "Collaborated with 5 analysts on a market strategy by researching 15 cities in Sweden, resulting in 5% increase in engagement."

Verb list to describe your work experience

Volunteer Experience

• Your volunteer experience should be structured the same way as your education and work experience. Often volunteer experience is considered as valuable as paid experience, and it shows employers that you are engaged in society and care about others’ wellbeing.
  
• Include the date, job title or area of responsibility (in bold), name of organisation, city (country) where the organisation is located.
  
• Should be listed in reverse chronological order.
  
• It is not always necessary to include a description of tasks if it is obvious from your job tile/area of responsibility. If you do write a brief description of the tasks you did, they should be short and concise and written in point form and/or in short phrases.
  
• Begin each point with an action verb and should be written in past tense.
  
• Within the experience descriptions, place the most relevant and important tasks or accomplishments first.
  

Computer or IT Skills

• List the computer programs you know. You may need to include subheadings if you know several types of software, hardware, computing languages, etc.
  
• It is a good idea to list them in order of your competence with the most competence first.
  You may want to indicate your competence in each computer program, however it is not necessary. Examples: very good knowledge, good knowledge, basic knowledge or expert, working proficiency, novice, etc.
  
• It is preferable to indicate competence level you feel you have rather than the courses you studied since a person can take courses and yet not have user competence.
  
• It is not always necessary to include computer skills, especially if it is not relevant for the job you are applying to. Most companies today will expect that you have at least some computer knowledge.
  

Languages

• List the languages you know.
  
• It’s a good idea to list them in order of your competence in each, i.e. put your native language first.
  
• Beside each, indicate how well you know the language. For example: native language, fluent, professional fluency, basic knowledge, etc.
  
• It is better to list how competent you are in a language rather than the courses you have taken in a language since it is possible to have studied a language for many years, without developing proficiency.
  

References

• Unless requested in the job ad, don't include the names of your references on your CV. This is because you want to have the opportunity to contact your referees individually after you have been invited to an interview to tell them about the job requirements so that they may present your skills and qualifications that are relevant to the job.
  
• You should write “References available upon request”.
  
• You do not need a separate heading for references. It is enough to include the text about references as a footer in 8 point font. This will help to save space and keep your CV to one page.
  
• It is becoming less necessary to include “References available upon request” on your CV since employers will expect you to give them the name of your references when they request them (usually at or after the interview), but since this text is still expected in some circles, it is probable best that you include the statement.
  
• You may want to indicate that a portfolio or transcripts are available upon request as well, depending on the position.