A CV is not a full autobiography. Start from the vacancy requirements and select experience, projects, education and skills that help an employer assess your fit. Keep the facts consistent with your application form and professional profiles.

Use a simple reverse-chronological structure unless your field requires a different format. Put your name and reliable contact details first, then a short profile where useful, followed by relevant experience, education, projects and skills.

For each role, explain what you did, the context and the result. Quantify outcomes only when the number is accurate and meaningful. If a result cannot be measured, describe the improvement, decision or deliverable without inventing a percentage.

Begin bullets with precise verbs and keep each one focused on a single contribution. “Prepared weekly customer reports used by the support lead to identify recurring issues” is more informative than “responsible for reports.”

Use familiar headings, consistent dates, adequate spacing and a readable type size. Avoid text boxes, decorative skill bars and dense multi-column layouts when the application may be processed by recruitment software. Export to the format requested and check the resulting file on both desktop and mobile.

Remove spelling errors, unexplained abbreviations and links that do not work. Give the file a professional name that identifies you and the document without exposing unnecessary personal information.

Reflect the employer’s language where it accurately describes your experience, but do not copy whole paragraphs or claim tools you have never used. Reorder evidence so the most relevant material appears first, and update the profile to explain your genuine fit for that role.