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CV is an abbreviation of the Latin words 'curriculum vitae', which mean 'life course'. A professional CV provides a summary and a good overview of someone's life.

Your CV includes your education(s) and qualifications, work experience, skills, and important qualities. By means of your CV, your potential employer will be able to get a good picture of your skills, work experience, and knowledge quickly, to assess whether or not you fit the job, and therefore whether to offer you a job interview.

• The length of the document; a cv is more elaborate, it usually covers two pages. A resume is usually no longer than one page.
• The amount of detail; a cv is more detailed and complete, whereas the resume focuses on only giving the most relevant information for this specific application. Resulting in the aforementioned difference.
• The tone of the document; a resume can be more commercial and focused on selling oneself, whereas a cv is more factual.

Personal details
Of course, your new employers should be able to contact you for a job interview. Therefore, you always start by mentioning your full name and email address and (mobile) phone number. Also mention your place of residence and address, as an employer might prefer an employee living nearby. In case a driver's license is required for the role, also mention it. In case you have a representative LinkedIn profile or personal website, you can include a link to it in the personal details section.

Work experience
In an a-chronological order, list your latest work experience. Start with your latest job and continue with the jobs you worked at before. Per job, give a short clear summary of your tasks, responsibilities and skills. Tip: try and list skills and responsibilities most relevant to the role you’re applying for!

Education
Just like the previous overview of work experience, start off with your last study or highest level of education. Also name the school or institution where you studied, the starting date and the date of graduation.

The aforementioned parts should be present on any CV, at any application. However, if you really want to stand out from other applicants, it is strongly advisable to put in a little more effort. You want potential employers to see that you are the best fit for the job. Therefore, consider adding the following sections to your cv;

Personal statement or cv profile
Most modern CVs include a short introductory paragraph called a personal statement or cv profile. In this paragraph, which is read by most recruiters, you will get the chance to sell yourself in a few sentences; the kind of role you are looking for, your qualities and ambitions. Also check out our blog on writing a personal profile for more help.

Competencies and skills
All jobs are different of course. However, during your career, you gain competencies and skills which are transferable. These strong personal traits are gained through experience and will help you execute any other job more efficiently. Read more about listing skills on your cv here.

Courses and work-related training
Some employers offer courses or training to improve certain skills of their employees. If you have followed any and they’ve improved skills or competencies that are relevant for your new job, make sure to include them. Make sure to mention whether you earned a diploma or certificate!

Activities
You can also gain certain skills and competencies in a non-professional setting. For instance by doing voluntary work as a coach, trainer or accountant for a club or organization. If you have done these activities during your study, they are referred to as extracurricular activities. Make sure to list them including the skills you gained.

The most widely used CV is known as the Chronological CV. This means that time-dependent components, such as education and work experience, are represented in a reverse-chronological structure. Your last (most recent) job should be first (top), and your first job should be last (bottom). This also applies to all other experiences that you mention on your CV that took place within a certain period, such as study programs, courses, internships, and ancillary activities.

The order of your CV is then as follows: personal and contact details, followed by a concise personal profile about yourself. Hereafter, state your training, followed by any work experience, languages, skills, characteristics, and interests.

You can create a CV with your own word processing program such as Microsoft Word, and then convert it to PDF format. Search the Internet for a free CV example or CV template and see if you can replicate it. Or, use our CV maker where you can simply enter your data and your perfect CV will be available for download in just 15 minutes. Of course, the same can be done to create an accompanying application letter, too!

When you have completed your CV and application letter, you will be able to send both - along with an accompanying email - to the vacancy you wish to apply for.

Within our CV maker page, you will find tips with each section to help make your CV the best it can be. Along with these, here are some general tips:

- Only mention relevant information that will add value to the application for the vacancy you are applying for, or that will be of interest to future employers.
- Do not mention hobbies or interests that will raise awkward questions.
- State the most important information on the first page. Include a concise personal profile about yourself.
- Use bullet points and numbered lists to your advantage by making your CV transparent to recruiters.
- Always choose the chronological CV structure, unless otherwise requested in the vacancy.
- Keep your CV short and powerful. Mention important information concisely.
- Keep an eye on our blog for more CV and job application tips!