Decide what the CV is for
A CV should be tailored to the opportunity. A research fellowship may prioritize education, technical skills, research interests and projects. A software internship may prioritize programming, repositories and implementation work. A scholarship may value leadership, awards or community activity alongside academics.
Tailoring does not mean inventing new experience. It means changing emphasis so the most relevant evidence appears first.
Use a simple readable structure
A strong early-career CV can often fit on one page, though research applicants with publications or substantial experience may need more. Use consistent headings, dates and spacing. Avoid decorative elements that make the content harder to scan.
- Name and contact details
- Short profile when useful
- Education
- Relevant skills
- Projects or research
- Experience, awards or activities when relevant
- Links to GitHub, portfolio or publications where useful
Write project bullets with evidence
Project descriptions should explain what you did, how you did it and what the result was. “Built a machine learning model” is less informative than a sentence that identifies the data, tools and evaluation work.
Use accurate verbs such as developed, analysed, implemented, evaluated, designed or documented when they reflect your actual contribution.
List skills honestly
Group related skills and prioritize those you can discuss in an interview. Do not add a technology only because it appears in a vacancy if you have never used it. If your level is basic, the evidence in your projects should make that clear.
Make links useful
If you include GitHub, LinkedIn, a portfolio or a live project, test every link. Public repositories should have a short README explaining the project. A broken or empty link weakens the application more than omitting the link.
Formatting principles
Use a standard font, strong contrast and enough white space. Keep date formats consistent. Avoid progress bars for skills because they do not communicate a meaningful standard. Export the final version as PDF unless the application explicitly requests another format.
Final CV check
Review the CV for relevance, accuracy, spelling and layout. Ask whether a reviewer can identify your degree, main technical strengths and most relevant evidence within the first part of the page.
- Correct email and phone
- Clickable links tested
- Education dates consistent
- No unsupported claims
- Most relevant skills visible
- Projects explain your contribution
- PDF opens correctly
- File name includes your name
Ordering sections for different opportunities
There is no single section order that fits every applicant. A student applying to a research fellowship may place education, research interests, programming skills and projects near the top. Someone with relevant professional experience may place experience before projects. The order should help the reviewer find the strongest relevant evidence quickly.
Using a profile or summary
A short profile can be useful when it explains your direction in two or three lines, particularly for interdisciplinary applications. It should not be a collection of adjectives. Mention your academic background, strongest relevant skills and the field or type of work you are pursuing.
ATS and readability
For jobs and some internships, application systems may parse CV text automatically. Simple layouts, standard headings and selectable text are safer than image-heavy designs. Even when no automated screening is used, a clean structure helps human reviewers scan the document faster.
Version control for your CV
Keep a master CV containing all accurate experience, then create targeted versions for specific applications. Save each submitted version with a clear file name. If you receive an interview, review the exact CV that employer or committee saw rather than a newer version you edited afterward.
What not to include automatically
Personal details that are not requested, long objective statements, irrelevant school-level achievements and decorative ratings for every skill can consume space without helping the reviewer. Requirements vary by country, so follow the application instructions when a specific CV format is requested.
Proofread like a reviewer
Read the CV once for content and once only for formatting. Check that dates align, bullets use a consistent style and section headings are easy to scan. Then export to PDF and reopen the file. A layout that looks correct in an editor can shift during export.
If possible, ask someone to look at the document for thirty seconds and tell you what they think your strongest qualification is. If they cannot find the important evidence quickly, improve the hierarchy rather than adding more text.
Academic details and grades
If grades are relevant and strong, present them in the format used by your institution and avoid converting them to another scale unless the application asks for a conversion. For coursework, list only subjects that genuinely support the opportunity rather than filling space with an entire transcript.
References on a CV
Do not add referee contact details unless they are requested or useful for the application. Many portals collect references separately. If you write “References available on request,” ask whether that line adds anything; the space may be better used for relevant evidence.