Professional CV

The difference between a professional-looking CV and an amateur one usually isn't the template — it's a handful of specific habits in how the content is written and presented.

Five habits of a professional CV

1. Consistency — the same date format, the same bullet style, and the same level of detail throughout, not more detail for recent jobs and a rushed one-liner for older ones.
2. Quantified achievements — "managed a team" versus "managed a team of 6 across two product lines." The second is specific enough to be checked and remembered.
3. No unexplained gaps — a short one-line note ("Career break — relocation") is better than a silent gap that invites the reader to assume the worst.
4. Tailoring — a professional CV is adjusted per application, emphasizing the experience most relevant to that specific role, not a single static document sent everywhere.
5. Clean proofreading — no typos, no inconsistent capitalization, no leftover placeholder text from a template. This is the fastest way to undercut an otherwise strong CV.

What doesn't make a CV "more professional"

Adding a photo, a long list of adjectives ("hardworking, dynamic, results-driven"), or excessive design flourishes doesn't read as professional — it often reads as compensating for thin content. Recruiters consistently respond better to fewer words and more specifics.

Build a professional CV

Our generator enforces consistent formatting automatically; the five habits above are on you to apply as you fill in the content. See a fully worked example on the CV example page.

Build your professional CV