How to write a CV that actually gets interviews

Most CVs fail for boring reasons: the reader cannot tell in ten seconds what you do, how senior you are, or why you are applying to this role. Fix those three things and everything else is detail.

The structure that works

1. 1Name and contact block — name, one email, one phone number in international format, city and country, and one link (LinkedIn or portfolio).
2. 2Summary — two or three lines. Your job title, your years of relevant experience, your specialism, and what you are looking for.
3. 3Experience — reverse chronological, most recent first, three to five bullets each for recent roles and one or two for older ones.
4. 4Education — degree, institution, years. Move it above experience only if you graduated in the last year or two.
5. 5Skills — grouped, concrete, and honest. No progress bars.
6. 6Extras that earn their space — languages, certifications, publications, volunteering.

Write bullets that carry information

A bullet point should tell the reader what you did, how you did it, and what changed as a result. Anything else is filler.

Weak: “Responsible for social media.” Strong: “Ran organic social for three markets, growing combined following from 9k to 41k in 14 months and cutting agency spend by €2,400 a month.”

• Start with a verb in the past tense: built, led, migrated, negotiated, reduced, launched.
• Put a number in at least half your bullets — money, volume, time, headcount, percentage.
• If you cannot measure it, describe the scope instead: how many markets, how large the team, which systems.
• One idea per bullet. Two clauses maximum.

Lines to cut today

• “References available on request” — assumed.
• Full postal address — city and country is enough, and it is safer.
• Date of birth, marital status, nationality unless a specific application requires it.
• “Hard-working team player with excellent communication skills” — every CV says this, so it says nothing.
• Objective statements written from your point of view only (“seeking a challenging role”). Make it about the fit.

One page or two?

Under about eight years of experience, one page. Beyond that, two pages is normal and expected in most of Europe — but the second page must be earning its keep, not padding. Academic and research CVs are the exception and can run much longer.