The perfect CV - structure, tips and templates
When applying for an internship, job or a specific project, your CV is the most important document you have. Your CV should showcase your training, experience as well as how well you fit the requirements for your next job or project.
Overview - What makes a good CV
A resume provides a clearly structured summary of the concrete activities you have performed during your professional career. This document also includes information about your education and the qualifications you have acquired. Finally, your CV can highlight your main interests. It is important to make sure it contains all this information so that hiring managers can get a complete view of your profile.
Structure
A CV is simple in terms of structure. The content must be complete, meaningful, error-free, structured, and clear. Below you will find some key insights on how a CV for a permanent employee or freelancer, could look like.
At the beginning you will introduce your core competencies in 2-3 sentences and explain why you are best suited for the position you are applying for. Then, you will list your personal contact details, where the following information is important:
- First and last name
- Postal address (street, house number, postal code, city)
- Phone number/mobile number
- E-mail address
- Birthday
The next part of your CV is the most important one: your experience and qualifications. The presentation of your professional experience is one of the most important categories of your resume and should therefore be highlighted at the beginning of the document.
As a freelancer, you should provide your current project list with the following information:
- Role
- Company
- Place
- Number of employees
As a permanent employee, you can indicate your current work experience by including the following:
- Job title
- Department
- Company
- Location
- Period
Young applicants who have not yet had a full-time job may include relevant internships, student projects with practical relevance or suitable part-time jobs. Regardless of the type of employment you wish to apply for, you should always start with your current position.
Next, list your education. Start with your highest qualification. For school and university degrees, indicate the grade you received and mention your main areas of specialization. Career starters with a university degree may also mention the title of their thesis.
Your other qualifications are mentioned in the last part of the CV. These include:
- Language skills (state precisely how well you speak the language)
- Specialized knowledge
- Certificates
- The golden rule for "Interests" is: Only write the hobbies in the CV if they match the job advertised.
Common CV mistakes
To ensure your CV stands out for the right reasons make sure that you avoid these common mistakes:
- Contact information is wrong or missing
- No dates/period mentioned for your professional experience
- Different format/style/font used on the CV
- Listing of your tasks as continuous text
- Individual categories are not sorted by relevance
- Spelling mistakes
- Specify irrelevant information
Our exclusive resume template
Below you will find a detailed template for permanent employees as well as for freelancers that can help you write a professional CV. These already contain examples for the structure and content of the CV. You can download these for free by clicking below:
For freelancers/experts in temporary or long-term mission:
For permanent employees:
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Are you looking for a new job or project, or do you want to take the next step in your career? Our highly qualified recruitment consultants take the time to understand your needs. We can help you find your dream job or project, so get in touch with the Progressive Team today!
