How to Create a Resume: Guide & Examples (Download)

How to create a CV that will make recruiters want to meet you and convince them that you are the ideal candidate?

Creating a CV is a very codified exercise. To help you master CV writing, here is our step-by-step guide that will allow you to make a 100% professional CV .

• Clarify your professional goals
• An eye-catching header
• Be concrete, factual and tangible
• Promoting good skills
• Detail your training, without overdoing it
• Stand out from the crowd with your interests
• CV examples to download

Clarify your professional goals

When writing your CV, it is very important to take all the time necessary to write and perfect it.

The purpose of the CV? Highlight your career path, both professional and academic, your skills but also your interests and commitments. Overall, it's about selling yourself to recruiters!

Start by taking the time to make a complete assessment of your skills, your professional experiences, your training (academic but also extra-curricular) and to compare them to the targeted position.

Think about your career plan: this will help you choose your arguments, but also the experiences and training that you choose to highlight. Your skills may be professional, linguistic, or even IT.

🚀 To find out more, check out our tips onhow to create a good CV .

Grab Attention with an Eye-Catching Resume Header

How to write a proper resume if you forget the resume header? The header of your resume should contain information that summarizes your identity: who you are and how to contact you:

• First and Last Name,
• Age or date of birth,
• Mailing address,
• Phone number,
• E-mail address,
• possession of a license, if this is relevant to the position sought.

The photo

You can also include a photo at the top right. Although this is not mandatory, it is nevertheless advisable to include one, especially if you are applying for a sales position for example.

If you choose to include one, choose it wisely. Make sure it is not too small, of good quality and above all that it fits.

Your photo should reflect a professional image that is flattering: choose a well-groomed outfit. Too many candidates attach photos that do not present them to their best advantage, which penalizes them later in their job search. You must determine the aspects of your personality that you want to highlight.

🚀 Discover all the advice on how to create, dress or take photos to create your CV photo .

📥 Download the CV profile template

Professional email address

Try to put one that is classic and professional (like firstname.lastname@mail.com). No need to precede it with the word "email" (same for the phone number). Creating a professional CV involves all these little details.

Don't say too much either!

If some people include their family situation in the header of a CV , avoid repeating it: it could work against you if you indicate, for example, that you have children (the recruiter may fear possible absences due to childcare problems or illness of the children). This information, which is a private matter, should not be indicated.

The title of your CV, an essential often forgotten

📥 Download the interesting CV template

Like the front page of a newspaper, it is best to add a title, or even a subtitle, at the top of your CV. We insist on this point because it is a very engaging and eye-catching element for the recruiter who will enhance your application and understand its relevance at a glance.

There are several options available to you:

1. Summarize your professional project in a few words.
2. Introduce yourself in a few sentences.
3. Write the title of the position you are applying for.
4. Present your key skills: those that are fully aligned with the position you are applying for.
5. The diploma being prepared or obtained, if you are a student or recent graduate.
6. Your qualities compared to other candidates, and always with a view to the position sought.

🚀 We have written for you examples of effective CV hooks for your unsolicited applications.

However, avoid indicating “ CV ” or “ Resume ”: this information is not necessary since the recipient knows perfectly well what type of document it is.

Highlight your experiences by being concrete, factual, tangible

Your experience is the most important part of your resume because it provides information about your professional abilities. To know how to write an effective resume, you absolutely must master this section.

Create a CV with a coherent structure

📥 Download the internet CV template

First, sort them in reverse chronological order, with the most recent at the top and the oldest below. This reinforces the narrative and the sense of coherence of your career path.

For each of your experiences, please specify:

• Dates : do not only specify the years but also their number and the number of months. For example, indicate 2010 – 2011 (6 months). This will avoid any confusion or date calculations for those who might have thought of putting the precise dates.
• Position held, company name and location (city name and country if necessary).
• The type of contract (work-study, fixed-term contract, permanent contract, temporary work).
• Responsibilities, tasks performed and results obtained.

If you are a recent graduate, you can include here your internships completed during your studies, or your student jobs.

🚀 Also discover our advice on how to write a CV without experience .

Regarding the information provided on the main tasks performed, you can focus on those which will be to your advantage in the context of your application and which are relevant to the position sought.

Download the elegant CV template

📥 Download the elegant CV template

Learn to tell your professional stories

To create a quality CV , highlight the results you have achieved during your various experiences, or mention what you have been able to contribute in the context of your previous missions: this will allow the recruiter to better understand your added value and your leadership!

If you have worked for little-known or unknown companies, you can add certain information about them such as their workforce, turnover or even their sector of activity.

If you have worked in the same job as Project Manager in different companies, be careful not to repeat information, which would be of little interest to the recruiter. To write a good CV, instead highlight your successes and detail your missions, for example.

🚀 Read our article to learn how to write your professional experiences .

Create a CV with skills directly related to your future career

Language skills, computer skills, human or relational qualities... Whether acquired through your experiences or during your training, skills are decisive in knowing how to write a professional CV .

📥 Download the orange CV template

Your language skills

Indicate your level for each language you know. This is especially important if you are applying for an international position where proficiency in one or more languages ​​is required.

Value your level at its true value. Try not to limit yourself to a simple assessment of the type: notions, spoken, written, fluent.

Are you able to lead a meeting in English? Put it on! Have you passed an exam in one of the foreign languages ​​you speak? Specify it with your score!

Your computer skills

Don't forget to mention your technical skills. Are you familiar with the Office suite (Excel, Powerpoint, Word)? Write it down!

However, it is not necessary to add skills such as Internet proficiency. Indeed, who, these days, does not master this technical skill?

Talk about your human and relational qualities

These "soft skills" allow the recruiter to get an idea of ​​your ability to integrate and flourish in a company or a team. With equal training and skills, it is the human qualities that will allow the recruiter to decide.

Some are more popular than others, such as creativity or team management, but this must be put into perspective of the type of job sought: a financier will not have the same needs as a salesperson.

Avoid standard qualities like perfectionism as much as possible. You don't have to create a resume with a specific section. If they are one of your strengths, they will fit into the title of your resume or examples of your professional experiences.

If possible, do not just list your qualities but justify them, very briefly, with concrete examples.

🚀 Read our article to learn how to enhance your skills .

Training: the CV section to detail, without overdoing it

This section is particularly important for knowing how to write an effective CV , especially if you have little or no professional experience.

📥 Download the action CV template

Structure of the Training section

Except for researchers and teachers, this section should be relatively succinct and include, for the most part, only information on your level of education, your diplomas and additional training directly related to the position.

For each training, specify:

• Dates: (example: September 2010 – July 2012),
• The diploma and any distinction obtained,
• The topic of your dissertation or thesis you worked on,
• The establishment,
• The place.

You can also provide information on any additional training you have received (first aid, BAFA, etc.). As with professional experience, when you create a CV, present your training in reverse chronological order, starting with the most recent.

Making information accessible to the reader

There is no need to detail your education year by year, it would be too tedious for the recruiter. Furthermore, depending on your level of training, do not be too exhaustive!

It may indeed not be necessary to mention your baccalaureate if you have obtained a BAC+5 level diploma, or even higher. In the same way, it is useless to specify that you have obtained your secondary school certificate.

For a more pleasant reading, you can add for each of your training courses the acronym of your school, if there is one. Finally, if the title of your diploma does not immediately speak to everyone, you can specify, in a synthetic way, the skills developed thanks to this training (such as customer relationship management, prospecting, etc.) using terms that will be more meaningful.

🚀 Read our article to learn how to optimize your Training section .

Hobbies to make a CV that stands out

Don't neglect the "Interests" section; on the contrary, make the most of it, it will allow you to sell yourself differently. Knowing how to write a CV involves all the details . Traditionally placed at the end, the brief section on your hobbies brings an additional dimension to making a CV . However, be careful about the hobbies you mention here!

For example, there is no need to mention that you like going out with your friends, because on the one hand this is common to everyone, and on the other hand it risks giving a negative image of you. If you have a passion, mention it.

In any case, keep it brief.

There is no point in showing off all your interests. Only mention the most significant ones, those that you will be able to talk about with interest during a possible interview. Creating a CV is an exercise in synthesis: always select what is most relevant.

Forget about "Restaurant, Cinema, Music, Cooking, Reading, Art, Sports" or any other standard phrases like that! The goal of this section is to introduce yourself in life as you are: someone who is interesting, interested in many things or who may be passionate about one thing in particular.

This is where the recruiter will:

1. Give you key human qualities (eg: 10 years of piano at the conservatory = rigorous and disciplined candidate).
2. To remember you or at least give you a “color.”

Make your interests unique again

📥 Download the classic CV template

Even if this forces you to be too reductive (because you really like sport in general for example) don't worry: on the contrary, it could be a fun pretext to develop this subject during the interview.

Here are some examples of hobbies:

1. Restaurant: Bistronomy or Gastronomy?
2. Cinema: Asian or independent?
3. Music: French variety or Bossa Nova?
4. Cuisine: Indian or vegetarian?
5. Reading: Detective novel or philosophy?
6. Art: contemporary or modern?
7. Sport: Muy-Thaï Boxing or Football?

Finally, don't try to impress at all costs. Stay yourself. This is something that should be pleasant for you to present to the recruiter.

🚀 Read our article to learnhow to highlight your hobbies on your CV .

How to make a CV: examples and models to download

Creating a CV is much simpler and safer with a professional template. This is not an online CV but a CV template to download. These CV examples (pdf, word, powerpoint) are among our best sellers. Check out our dedicated section if you want to download a free CV template (pdf or other format).

The template with the CV design header

Very trendy with its centered layout and its very stylized cartridge, this designer CV model will offer you great applications and stand out from the crowd for sure!

📥 Download this designer CV template

The template with the CV design header

This CV template is both classic and very modern. It offers easy and quick reading to scan for the recruiter. It also gives a feeling of sobriety to enhance a serious and contemporary profile. We like it a lot!

📥 Download this formal resume template

The template with the CV design header

This CV design is remarkable for its use of graphs and infographics which highlight key skills, personality and language skills.

📥 Download this eye-catching resume template

The template with the CV design header

In this model, the experiences are arranged in a very linear way, like a frieze. The photo is enhanced by the stylistic effects and the hobbies are illustrated by pretty pictograms.

📥 Download this pretty CV template

The template with the CV design header

This CV is one of our new products. Its trio of blue, pink and yellow design colours gives style and dynamism to the very classic layout. The cartridge is modern and very readable. You can't miss it.

📥 Download this extra CV template

The template with the CV design header

The student CV is one of our most successful CVs. Designed from A to Z to adapt to profiles with little experience, it offers a clear and modern visual, with a minimalist rendering that leaves no gaps.

📥 Download this student CV template

The template with the CV design header

The flowery CV is a good example of a CV with a background. Very classic in appearance, the whole thing is twisted with a very modern background image. You can personalize it with the image or patterns of your choice.

📥 Download this flowery CV template

Conclusion: How to write a CV like a pro?

📥 Download the flexible resume template (above)

To know how to write a resume like a pro, follow these 3 main principles: tell a coherent story, well structured, and visually pleasing to read. For the rest, keep in mind that when you create a resume you must remove everything that is not essential to put yourself forward.

1. Set a clear header with key information , your email address, a summary of your profile, your family situation and a professional and welcoming photograph.
2. Describe your professional experiences in reverse chronological order, like a story. It must be coherent, justified and illustrated with your results and accomplishments.
3. Limit your skills to those required for the job and don't be evasive about your level.
4. Be direct about your education. Keep only the highest degree. Also include professional certifications that are relevant to the position.
5. Keep your interests short but specific. Give as much detail as possible to your major themes.
6. Take care of the presentation. Stay soft with a few touches of color. Keep an A4 pdf format.

Plus de modèles de CV ➜