CV

 

HOW TO WRITE A CV?

 

TABLE OF CONTENT

  1. Recruiter
  2. Central narrative
  3. CV content
  4. Applying in different countries

 

Having a CV is one of the basics for finding a job. It helps you communicate to the reader who you are, which helps them figure out if you may be the right fit for the position. The following article gives some context to the CV, as well as tips for writing the content.

RECRUITER

When sending in your CV, there are a few different stakeholders looking at the CV. This is important to take into account when making a CV, as it may affect the way you will make the document. Below, we give an overview of what this flow for a CV may look like.

For medium-sized to larger companies, the first check of your CV is not done by a human, but rather an ATS (Applicant Tracking System). This system helps the recruiter keep track of all CVs, and also assesses them based on key-terms in the document. Based on terms that the company has deemed important for the vacancy (soft-skills, technical topics, etc) it will score your CV. Therefore, it is recommended to include clear key-words in your CV, and make use of multiple synonyms in the documents. You usually can conclude these key-words from the vacancy itself. Be careful though to not adjust your CV too much to the vacancy. It is important to stay true to your skills and values. Besides the key-terms, take into account the layout of your CV when making the document, as some layouts can be hard to read for the system. You can confirm if your CV can be scanned by submitting (an anonymized) version to an online ATS checker.

After the first selection is made by the ATS, the recruiter will look at the CV. Usually, recruiters are not from within a company, but rather from a recruitment company that is hired for this vacancy. Therefore, it is likely that this person does not have any expertise about this field of study. Be sure to keep the CV understandable for them, to assure that they can check if you fit the requirements and desires from the company. Besides that, they usually work based on quantity, rather than quality, meaning a clear and easy to read CV will suit them better. For them, you just need to quickly convince them you would fit the requirements. Take into account that a recruiter on average takes only six seconds to decide if they discard your CV or want to keep reading.

Only after you have passed the recruiters selection, your CV will be shown to a person hiring at the department of the vacancy. They are the people you will likely also meet with. For this party, it is mainly important that the CV sparks some enthusiasm and personal connection. By showing personality and passion, you create curiosity from the reader, which can help you get to the interview stage. For this person, it is also important that the CV supports your interview; it is helpful if the document gives basic information and learning points for experiences, to make sure that you do not spend too much time of the interview explaining experiences, but rather have time to highlight specific cases, and learning points.

CENTRAL NARRATIVE

In general, it is important to create a CV based on some central points you would like to highlight. Since you only get one or two pages, and possibly 30 mins of interview, you need to make a selection of skills and expertise that you highlight. For this, the following steps can help:

  1. Read through the vacancy, define what is deemed important in the text. Look for soft-skills, but also descriptions of the position. If they for example mention that the position is in a close team, you may want to highlight your social skills and preference for teamwork.
  2. Think of your personal selling points, in terms of soft-skills, hard skills and skills within your field of work. You can also incorporate a bit of personality outside of the skills. It may help to google a list of terms and select the ones you relate with, or ask a friend how they would describe you.
  3. Combine these two steps into a coherent story of how you fit the vacancy, and what unique qualities you bring. Make a selection of only the most important ones, to make sure your CV is not too full.
  4. Now start making your CV, highlighting these points. You can do this by naming the skills within your experiences, or even by filtering and selecting only the experiences that match this part of yourself you want to bring out.

CV CONTENT

Writing a CV is about more than just listing where you studied or worked; it’s about clearly communicating your value to a potential employer. A strong CV should present a balance between hard skills (technical abilities, tools, and knowledge relevant to your field) and soft skills (collaboration, communication, leadership, problem-solving). Employers often look for both, since technical expertise only works well when paired with the ability to work effectively in a team and adapt to challenges.

Clarity is crucial. Recruiters and hiring managers need to quickly understand what you bring to the table. One effective way to structure your descriptions is by using the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result). This approach helps you briefly describe the context, your responsibility, what you did, and what the outcome was. For example, instead of simply writing “Worked on a project about data analysis”, you could write “Collaborated in a multidisciplinary project team (Situation), where I was responsible for organizing the data collection process (Task). I introduced a more structured way of documenting our findings (Action), which helped the team work more efficiently and improved communication with our supervisor (Result).”

Selecting What to Include

Since your CV is usually limited to one or two pages, it’s important to make a careful selection of what you show. Think of your CV as a curated portfolio rather than a full history. For all experiences with full detailing, refer to your LinkedIn or instead.

  • Relevance to the vacancy: Start by looking at the job description. Which skills, qualities, or experiences are emphasized? Highlight the ones that match your background.
  • Transferable skills: Even if an experience isn’t directly related to the role, it may demonstrate skills such as teamwork, organization, or leadership. For example, coordinating a student association committee can say a lot about your ability to manage responsibilities.
  • Recent over outdated: Generally, recent experiences carry more weight. Older or less relevant items can be summarized more briefly, or left out entirely.
  • Quality over quantity: It’s better to provide a few strong, well-described experiences than to overload your CV with everything you’ve done. Each entry should say something meaningful about your contribution or growth.
  • Balance of experiences: Aim for a mix that shows both your professional development (education, internships, jobs) and your personal qualities (extracurricular activities, voluntary work, interests). This helps employers see you as a complete person, not just a list of skills.

By being selective, you make it easier for the reader to quickly grasp what you stand for and why you might be a strong fit for their team.

General Tips

  • The layout of your CV is up to you. It can be a means to communicate your personality, so picking a layout that suits you can help communicating your narrative. Be careful to not make the CV to cluttered, as it should be easy to quickly read.
  • The experiences on your CV should be order in reverse chronological order based on the end date of experiences. (So the most recent/current positions go on top).
  • Though most CV templates show the work experience at the top, students are usually recommended to add their education as the top section since this is usually their most valuable experience.
  • Including a picture is not a must for a CV. Though it may help the reader create a personal bond with you and remember you better, it may also create biases. It is advised to do whatever feels best to you.

The Design

As the reader will only have a short time to get an idea of who you are, the design of your CV should also reflect who you are as a professional. Subtle use of color, choice of fonts, and the overall layout can communicate personality traits such as being structured, detail-oriented, creative, or innovative. Be careful in your choice of design, to make sure you combine communicating your personality effectively while still keeping the CV readable and clear.

  • Keep it readable for ATS. Avoid overly complex or “funky” designs, as Applicant Tracking Systems may struggle to read them. Stick to clear sections, standard fonts, and a straightforward layout so your CV passes the first automated scan.
  • There are plenty of platforms that make designing a CV easier. Canva offers modern and customizable templates, Microsoft Word has built-in CV formats, and LaTeX is popular among engineers for creating professional, highly structured layouts.
  • Have the layout be consistent. Use the same font style and size for similar elements (e.g. all section headers in bold, same line spacing across the document). This improves both readability and professionalism.
  • Finally, print test, and do a digital check. Always test how your CV looks when printed (some colors look different on paper) and double-check the PDF version to ensure formatting doesn’t shift.

Personal details

Display your personal contact information such as phone number, e-mail address, place of residence and LinkedIn URL. It is really important that the reader can get in touch with you. For students with more programming experience, it is possible to link to your GitHub account as well.

  • Be sure to not include your student email in the CV. If they keep your CV and try to contact you later, your address may no longer be reacheable.
  • Due to the ATS systems keeping track of CVs over a longer time, it is allowed but not advised to include your full address due to your own privacy.

Personal profile

Briefly describe who you are (current function, characteristics), what you have to offer (soft-skills, technical skills) and what your objective/ambition is (preferred challenges, team structure). This part should be no more than 4-5 lines, but is definitely recommended to include as it introduces you before the reader gets into the details of your experiences. Thus, this gives a foundation and makes you more memorable.

  • You can choose to also include a tagline above your personal profile to catch attention. Usually here you can include your focus area and main soft-skill.

Education

Start with your most recent study, stating the full name of the program and institute. To give a more clear understanding of what your studies entail, add a short description and possibly notable project such as your Bachelor End Project and/or a few relevant courses or minor to the description.

  • Since courses may not mean as much to someone from outside your educational institution, it is helpful to describe their topic and call these your focus area’s or fields of expertise.
  • If you find it hard creating a short description of your studies, check out the TU/e website for this.
  • You can also consider naming larger projects you did during your studies that are relevant for the application in a separate section.

Work experience

Describe your position(s) and briefly elaborate on your responsibilities and obtained results. Quantify information as much as possible, and do not be afraid to clearly state what you learned at these experiences. 

  • Be careful to include unpaid positions as work experience. Projects and extracurriculars get their own section.
  • If you struggle creating strong descriptions of what you learned, consider looking into the STAR method for describing these. More on this can be found in our job interview article.

Extracurricular activities

Mention the roles you fulfilled in e.g. committees of a (local sports, study, etc.) association, voluntary projects, board year. Be clear on what your main tasks, responsibilities and results were and briefly mention those. Again, do not hesitate to clearly state the skills learned. If the scope of these experiences vary greatly, it is possible to refer to the amount of hour per week you spent on this.

Skills

Soft, technical skills (e.g. software programs, libraries) and languages you speak. If possible, also state your current level (e.g. full working proficiency, 1-5).

Personal interests

Use a few keywords to mention what you like to do to in your spare time (e.g. drawing, soccer, 3D printing). This helps to create a more personal connection with the reader.

APPLYING IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES

Applying in different countries may result in very different CV etiquette. The focus of the article above is on Dutch companies, so be sure to search online or ask people in the country you are applying for their standards. Differences lay mostly in the area of how to communicate your (soft-)skills, the importance of personality in your CV (e.g. show hobbies or not), and layout. For example, Dutch companies value soft-skills and personality a lot more than other countries.

 

If you wish to get more specific information or get practice and feedback, feel free to subscribe for the CV & Cover letter workshop by Career Academy or if you wish to get personal feedback stop by the Career Desk.