What to put on a CV

A CV is a filtered document. Everything on it should help someone decide to talk to you. Everything else is noise they will not forgive on a phone screen.

Must appear

• Full name — the one you will use in interview.
• How to reach you — phone, email, city. A website or LinkedIn only if it is real and current.
• Work if you have it, newest first, with a few bullets that say what changed because you were there.
• Education — school or university, qualification, years. Detail only when it still matters.
• Skills that belong on this application, not every tool you have opened.

The experienced sample shows that shape on a quiet layout.

Optional on purpose

Languages, certificates and projects are optional. Add a language if you will use it at work. Add a certificate if the posting named it or if it is current. Add a project when it is the strongest evidence you have — typical on a first-job CV.

A professional summary is optional. Two or three sentences. Delete it if it only repeats the first job.

Usually leave off

• Full street address.
• National ID, passport number, religion, marital status, date of birth.
• A photo in the UK or US unless they asked. In Egypt and the Gulf a photo is a different question.
• References, or “references available on request”.
• A headshot, chart, or skill bar that cannot be read as text.
• Every job since school if the early ones add nothing to the role you want.

Website field

A LinkedIn, GitHub, or portfolio URL is useful when it is yours and it loads. It is clutter when it 404s. CV4Free only prints it if you fill it in.

Order

For most people: heading, summary, work, education, skills, then extras. For a first job, education and projects move up. You can reorder sections in the builder. You cannot make a weak fact look strong by moving it.

When the page looks like you, download the PDF. The file is yours.