How to Write a CV in 2026: A Step-by-Step Guide

A CV doesn't need to be original to work. It needs to be found, read in a few seconds, then understood without effort. That is the only job of this document: make the recruiter want to call you. Everything else (the colour, the font, the little icon) is secondary.

This guide follows the order in which a CV is really built, from the blank page to the PDF ready to send. It applies to France, Belgium and Canada, with the differences flagged along the way.

What a recruiter actually reads

In a pile of applications, the first read is fast. They look for three things: the target role, your latest job or your latest degree, and a few elements that match the job posting. If those three points are visible at the top of the first page, the CV survives that first screening.

This shapes the whole construction: put the most useful information at the top, write it short, and avoid anything that forces the reader to hunt.

Step 1: choose the right format

There are three main layouts. In the vast majority of cases, the first one is the right one.

• Reverse chronological: your most recent experience comes first. It's the format recruiters expect and the easiest for screening software to read. Choose it if your career path is consistent.
• Functional (skills-based): you group content by skills instead of dates. It can help hide gaps in a career, but it raises eyebrows: many recruiters distrust it.
• Hybrid: a block of key skills at the top, then a chronological history. Useful for a career change or a very versatile profile (see our article on the CV for a career change).

Step 2: build an effective header

The header takes four lines at most:

1. Your first and last name, larger than the rest.
2. A target job title (for example "Accounts Payable Clerk" or "Front-End Developer"). It's the first keyword of your CV.
3. Your city (no need for the full address), a phone number and a plain email address such as firstname.lastname@...
4. A link to your LinkedIn profile or portfolio, only if it's up to date.

A few useful points depending on the country. In France and Belgium, a photo is not mandatory: if you add one, it should be plain and recent, and it doesn't replace solid content. In Canada, you don't include a photo, a date of birth or a marital status: anti-discrimination hiring rules make these details pointless, even counterproductive. To dig into these differences, read CV or resume: differences between countries.

Step 3: write a two-to-three-line summary

Under the header, a short paragraph sums up who you are professionally, what you can do and what you're looking for. It must be specific: a reader should be able to guess your profession and level from it.

Too vague: "Dynamic and motivated person, looking for new challenges."

More useful: "Administrative assistant with 6 years of experience in an accounting firm. I handle invoicing and client follow-ups from start to finish, and I'm looking for a role in an industrial SME."

We detail the method in how to write a CV summary that makes people want to read on.

Step 4: detail your work experience

This is the core of the document. For each job, give the title, the company, the city, the dates (month and year are enough), then three to five bullet points describing what you achieved, not a list of your tasks.

Compare:

• "In charge of stock management."
• "Reorganised the warehouse into rotation zones: 15% fewer references to count each month, stockouts cut in half over the quarter."

The second version proves something. If you don't have exact figures, honest orders of magnitude are better than silence. The article on describing experience with measurable results gives ready-to-adapt formulas.

Step 5: education, skills and useful sections

After experience, place education (degree, institution, year), then the skills useful for the role, and finally any additional sections.

• Education: if you have less than three years of experience, it can go before experience. Otherwise, one line per degree is enough.
• Skills: group them by category (tools, technical skills, languages) rather than lining up thirty words. Avoid level bars or stars, which mean nothing. See the skills employers look for.
• Languages: state the level using a known scale (A2, B2, C1) or a simple word (fluent, professional).
• Optional sections: certifications, volunteering, personal projects, a driving licence if the job requires it. Add them only if they support your application.

Interests aren't forbidden, but one concrete line ("volunteer at a youth basketball club, 2 evenings a week") says more than a list ("travel, reading, cinema").

Step 6: length and layout

One page if you have less than ten years of experience, two pages beyond that or for a senior profile. Any longer and nobody reads the rest. In Canada and the United States the rule is the same, with a strong preference for concision.

For layout:

• A single readable font (Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, or a classic serif), at 10 to 11 points for body text.
• Margins of 1.5 to 2 cm. White space isn't wasted room; it's what makes the text readable.
• Standard section headings: "Work Experience", "Education", "Skills". Recruiting software recognises them better than "My adventure".
• Few colours. One accent colour is enough.

If your application goes through an applicant tracking system (ATS), these simple choices avoid unpleasant surprises. Our article ATS-friendly CV: myths, facts and tips separates what really matters from received wisdom.

Step 7: tailor, proofread, export

A generic CV sent to twenty postings works less well than a CV adjusted in ten minutes for each one: same facts, but words and priorities aligned with the posting. The method is explained in tailoring your CV to a job posting.

Before sending:

1. Read it aloud: you'll spot heavy sentences and typos.
2. Ask someone who doesn't know your field to read it. If they understand what you do, that's a good sign.
3. Check the dates: no unexplained overlaps, no missing months.
4. Export as a PDF to lock the layout, and name the file properly: "Firstname-Lastname-CV.pdf".
5. Open the PDF and try selecting the text with your mouse. If you can, the file is readable by software.

Checklist before sending

• The target role appears at the top of the first page.
• The CV fits on one or two pages, never one page and three lines.
• Each experience contains at least one concrete result.
• Contact details are accurate and the phone number works.
• Section headings are standard.
• The file is a PDF with a clean name.
• You've tailored at least the summary and the first bullet points to the posting.

Writing a CV is mostly accepting to choose: what matters for this role, and nothing else. Start with an imperfect first draft, then tighten it. If you want to save time on layout, the GoMyCV templates follow these rules by default and let you focus on the content.