Question 1

What is a resume?

Accepted Answer

A CV is a brief summary of personal and professional experiences, skills, and education history. Its main purpose is to show off your best self to potential employers. When applying for a job, you're (in most cases) going to be asked for a CV accompanied by a cover letter.

If you manage to create a "good" CV, you're going to 2x your chances of getting hired. Want to learn how? Check out our complete guide on how to make a CV.

Question 2

How to write a CV with no experience?

Accepted Answer

The process of writing a CV might seem super scary to you. After all, most CV examples you see on the web are 80% about work experience. So, what the heck can you include in your CV if you have none?

Well, here's some good news. If you're applying for an entry-level job or an internship, no one expects you to have ANY work experience.

Instead, you should focus on what you DO have: education, projects, volunteering experience, hobbies & interests. For a complete guide on how to make a CV with no work experience stand out, check out our article.

Question 3

What to put on a CV?

Accepted Answer

The most common sections on a CV are:

Contact information
CV summary or objective
Work experience
Education

If you want to personalise your CV a bit more, you can also include the following sections:

Projects
Volunteering experience
Hobbies & interests
Portfolio

For more information on how to place these sections on your CV, check out our article on what to put on a CV.

Question 4

How to format a CV?

Accepted Answer

Here are the three most popular CV formats:

Reverse-Chronological CV
Functional CV
Combination CV

In 99% of the cases, you'll want to go with the reverse chronological CV format. That's the format most CVs you've seen follow - its main focus is your work experience, written down in reverse-chronological order.

So, unless you're a student with no professional experience or a career changer, we'd recommend sticking with this format. If you want to learn more about three CV formats, check out our comparison guide.

Question 5

How to write a CV for a student?

Accepted Answer

A good student CV takes advantage of the education section to highlight the candidate's skills and qualifications. So, the first thing you should do is talk about all your academic achievements, including any classes you've taken that are relevant to the position.

As a student, hiring managers don't expect you to have extensive professional experience, so you don't have to worry about the work experience section missing from your CV. Instead, you can focus on highlighting your extracurricular activities, any volunteering you've done, and your awards or certifications.

This student CV guide has all the information you need to perfect your CV and land your first real job.

Question 6

How to write a CV for my first job?

Accepted Answer

If you're applying for your first job, chances are you don't have substantial work experience. That's fine - hiring managers expect that from entry-level positions.

First things first, go for the reverse-chronological format. Instead of writing a CV summary, use a CV objective to highlight your skills and career aspirations. If you have any work experience, do include it on your CV.

If not, you should put more focus on the following sections:

Internships, where you should focus on what you learned and achieved
Extracurricular activities, where you should highlight your role, responsibilities, and achievements.
Volunteering experiences, where you should mention the organisation name, and relevant tasks and achievements.
Projects, where you talk about any personal projects you've worked on (that are also somehow relevant to the job you're applying for).

Check out this guide on writing a CV

Question 7

How long should a CV be?

Accepted Answer

Short answer: one page. If you're a seasoned professional with a lot of work experience that's relevant to the position, you can create a 2-page long CV MAX. Long answer: check out our guide on how long should a CV be.  P.S. all of our templates are one page long, so you shouldn't have a lot of trouble sticking to the one-page limit!

Question 8

How to write a CV summary?

Accepted Answer

Your CV summary is a "hook" that goes on top of your CV. Think of it as an introduction to the rest of your CV. It should, in 2-4 sentences, explain what your background is, and why it's relevant for the position you're applying for.

To learn more about how to create a CV summary that stands out, check out our guide.

Question 9

How to list work experience on a CV?

Accepted Answer

Work experience on a CV is one of those things that's easy to learn but hard to master.

Each work experience entry should contain the following information:

Job title
Company name/description/location
Achievements or responsibilities
Dates employed

Now, if you want to create a work experience section that stands out, you want to make your achievements quantifiable.

What this means is, instead of creating a responsibility-focused entry, like: "Carried out sales operations."

You list your achievements: "Hit and exceeded monthly sales KPIs for 5 months in a row."

This shows the employer that you're not just a random candidate, you're an A-player! To learn more about how to list achievements in your work experience (and land the job), check out our article.

Question 10

How to list skills on a CV?

Accepted Answer

Simply create a "skills" section on your Novorésumé CV template, and list your top skills. We usually recommend going for a mix of hard and soft skills.

Not sure what skills to include in your CV? Check out these 101 essential skills for any CV.

Question 11

How to make a cover letter for a CV?

Accepted Answer

You should always submit a cover letter along with your CV for any job you apply to. Here are some of our top cover letter tips on how to do this right:   Tailor your cover letter to the employer. The more personalised it is, the more likely it is for the recruiter to like you. Outline your general background (work experience, profession, etc.) and mention your top 2-3 achievements to show off your skills. If you really want to stand out, create a cover letter that matches your CV template. To do this, you can use one of our cover letter templates here. If you want to learn more about how to write a convincing cover letter, check out our comprehensive guide.

Question 12

What Is the best CV template?

Accepted Answer

There's no such thing as "the best CV template" - every recruiter/employer has their own personal preference. Our general recommendation is to do your research on the company and its values.

For example, if you're applying for a position at a bank, you'd want a more traditional CV template. Or, if you want a job in a startup where they value innovation more, you could opt for a creative CV template.

Alternatively, if you want your experience and skills to do all the talking, you can pick one of these minimalist CV templates.

Finally, if you're still not sure which type of template is right for the job you're applying for, you can just use a simple CV template just to be safe.

Question 13

Do I need to include a photo on my CV?

Accepted Answer

No, you don’t need to include your photo together with your other contact details. Companies hire based on merit, which means your physical appearance shouldn’t matter to the hiring manager. Instead, in your contact information section, make sure to include the following:  Professional title Valid phone number Email address Location/where you’re based Link to website/LinkedIn/online portfolio, etc.

Question 14

What's the difference between a CV and a resume?

Accepted Answer

In the UK and most countries around the world, we use the term CV for job applications. In the US, they call this document a resume.

It's worth noting that in the US, a CV refers to a much longer document used mainly in academia that describes your career journey step-by-step, including all sorts of personal information. Depending on your amount of experience, this type of CV can range between 2 to 8 pages.

Check out our guide for a more comprehensive explanation of these differences.

Question 15

6 tips for creating a US-style CV (that'll land you the job)

Accepted Answer

Looking to get hired in the US? Check out our tips for creating a US-style CV below!

Keep your CV between 1-3 pages. A one-page CV is preferable unless you're a seasoned professional. In such a case, you can go for two or even three, if your experience is really relevant.
Use Standard American English. So, for example, write "color" instead of the UK version, which is "colour."
Leave out personal information, such as marital status, birthday, gender, photo, number of children, age, religion, personal identification numbers, and ethnicity/country of origin. They can be grounds for discrimination.
Don't include references, unless the employer specifically asks you to.
Don't list English as a foreign language.
Don't list your GPA, SAT, TOEFL, or ACT scores on your US-style CV unless otherwise stated. Hiring managers usually don't care.

Check out this guide for the full list of CV tips and tricks!

Question 16

How to make a CV with Novorésumé

Accepted Answer

Follow these simple steps:  Choose one of our top CV templates above Follow the tips & tricks built-in our CV builder Fill in your work history and other experiences Hit download and start applying to jobs!

Question 17

Are these CV templates free?

Accepted Answer

Yes, all of the templates listed above are free CV templates. However, our CV builder comes with a ton of premium features. So if you want to personalise your CV and make it truly yours, you can upgrade!

Question 18

Are these CV templates ATS-friendly?

Accepted Answer

Yes! All Novorésumé templates are ATS-friendly. Keep in mind, though, that using the right template is step #1. You should also optimise your CV content for applicant tracking systems. For more on that, check out our guide to creating an ATS-friendly CV.

Question 19

What if I am a student?

Accepted Answer

All of our CV samples are student-friendly! If you're looking for something a bit more tailored, we'd recommend picking the "college CV template." Or, if you want to learn how to create a convincing student CV, check out our guide.

Question 20

Who created these CV samples?

Accepted Answer

At Novorésumé, we put extensive care in creating each CV template.

We interviewed recruiters and analysed applicant tracking systems to create CV samples that will maximise your chances of getting hired.

Then, our professional graphic designer worked his magic to make the CV samples compelling, well-designed, and easy to read!

Question 21

Do you offer one-page CV templates?

Accepted Answer

Yes. All the templates you see above are one-page CV templates. They are, however, pretty flexible, so if you decide to go for 2 pages, our templates will get the job done!

Question 22

Do I really need a CV?

Accepted Answer

Yes, you definitely need a CV!

Practically every job out there requires that candidates submit a CV and a cover letter, so if you want your application to be considered by the hiring manager, you definitely need a CV.

Question 23

Which template do most employers prefer for CVs?

Accepted Answer

Typically, employers prefer simple, professional-looking CV templates that follow the reverse-chronological format and don't surpass two pages MAX in length.

All the Novoresume templates above meet these requirements, so rest assured hiring managers will appreciate whichever one you choose.

Question 24

Should I download my new CV in PDF or Word?

Accepted Answer

You should always download and save your CV as a PDF.

Here's why:

PDF formatting never gets messed up.
It's compatible with practically any system or device.
PDF documents look cleaner and are overall more professional.

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