Amy Lindgren

Welcome to the second of two articles on creating a powerful CV (curriculum vitae). Last week’s column described how CVs are used and provided a basic outline of categories to include. Now we’ll focus on how the CV looks, which is a matter of strategic formatting.

To review, a CV differs from a résumé in length and content. A CV provides all the events of someone’s professional and academic life and 10 to 15 pages is common. They are typically used in applying for academic or high-level titled positions either in academia or in professional trades such as law and medicine.

A good CV format can drive the reader’s attention to key points while downplaying areas of weakness. It can also improve the reader’s experience, making the candidate seem more desirable.

By contrast, a poorly formatted document will hurt the applicant’s chances. In these cases, readers might even make unfavorable assumptions about the applicant’s work and attention to detail.

Of course you want the first outcome, not the second. These tips will help you create a handsome, functional and strategic CV that promotes you as a true professional.

1. Ditch the template: While it’s tempting to “save time” by using an online template, you’ll pay dearly in terms of the end product. Most templates are rigid, making you struggle to fit in a long title or more complete job description. They can also be overly embellished. While a CV can benefit from a touch of color, for example, it can be overwhelmed by the graphics and other visual elements often provided in a template.

2. Steal the template’s ideas: On the other hand, by reviewing several templates, you can discover content ideas you might not have considered. You can gain a similar benefit from looking at CVs online, asking a search engine to provide samples.

3. Limit the use of tables: For some reason, CV writers love to insert tables everywhere. Unfortunately, tables don’t work well for information that varies in size. For example, the name “Macalester College” might need only one line in a table’s cell, while four or five lines are needed in the next cell to list “The Joe Jackson and Sally Jones Institute of Technology and Engineering” (I made that up). The resulting format will be very choppy looking. Not to mention, visible table lines will be a distraction.

4. Avoid columns of dates: No matter where you put the column it will draw the reader’s eye to something less important than your key data. Experiment instead with typing the date directly after the school, employer, publication, etc. as you create each entry.

5. Choose common fonts and type size: Common fonts (Times, Helvetica, Arial) are less likely to be exchanged for something different by a confused applicant tracking system or software on the recipient’s end. Standard type size would be 10 or 11 pt for the content and one size higher (11 or 12 pt) for the category headings. Your name at the top of Page 1 would be one size higher yet (12 or 14 pt), in bold print.

6. Incorporate white space: Because CVs can be lengthy (commonly 5-25 pages), there’s no reason to pack content tightly on the page. Set 1” margins, then double-space between each entry (such as jobs, degrees, publications), using a still larger space between categories. This helps readers identify “chunks” of information while providing note-taking space for those who like to print the CVs they review.

7. Use bold print and a left-margin focus: Although traditional CVs use only plain text, strategically formatted CVs use bold print for emphasis, while pushing key information to the left margin, for quicker scanning. As a rule, your job title would be more “key” than the company name, so you would place that in bold and on the left margin. Ditto for degrees, which should be emphasized instead of school names or graduation dates.

8. Frontload relevant information: Starting with a Professional Profile is an excellent way to introduce yourself to readers. For recent graduates, Education is a logical second category, while experienced workers should consider placing recent employment second. You’ll be making judgment calls, since CVs can have 20 categories or more. Just keep the reader in mind, rather than deferring to an un-strategized concept of what “should” appear first.

9. Use reverse chronology: However you order your categories, be sure the entries inside each category are presented with the most recent first. It’s confusing for modern readers when CVs list 20-year old jobs first, or high school diplomas ahead of advanced degrees.

10. Get help: If you’re not handy with formatting documents, find a friend who is. The “look” of your CV is a critical part of its success so it’s worth the extra effort to make it right.

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Amy Lindgren owns a career consulting firm in St. Paul. She can be reached at alindgren@prototypecareerservice.com.