The standard curriculum vitae format is a reverse chronological layout on A4 paper: your name and contact details at the top, a short profile, then work experience with the latest job first, education, and skills, in a clear font on no more than two pages. That format works for most jobs in the UK, Ireland, Europe and many other countries. The US equivalent is a resume on US Letter paper, and academic roles use a longer CV with research and publications.

Below you will find a ready-to-copy CV format layout, the typography guidance UK careers services give, a comparison of formats by country, and when to use a skills-based layout instead. To skip the formatting entirely, the CV maker applies this layout for you.

Standard CV format in brief

  • Order: name and contact, profile, experience, education, skills, references on request.
  • Within each section, most recent first.
  • Body text 10 to 12 point, headings 14 to 16 point and bold (Prospects).
  • A4 paper, two pages at most, saved as PDF unless the employer asks otherwise.

CV layout: the sections from top to bottom

A CV layout has to work in two ways: a person skimming it for a few seconds, and software reading it from top to bottom. A predictable order helps both. This is the order UK government careers services describe:

PositionSectionWhat goes in it
TopName and contact detailsFull name as the heading, then phone, email and town or city
Under the namePersonal profileThree or four lines tailored to the job
Main bodyWork experienceJob title, employer, dates, then achievements in bullet points
Main bodyEducation and qualificationsMost recent first, including training from work
LowerSkillsLanguages, software, licences, certificates
OptionalInterestsOnly those that support the application
EndReferencesA line saying they are available

Students and recent graduates often swap experience and education, so the degree sits higher. People with long careers can shorten older roles to a single line each; nidirect suggests compressing "earlier roles into short descriptions or just include job titles."

Sample CV format you can copy

Here is the format as plain text. Each line in brackets is a slot; in the CV maker these become fields.

[FULL NAME]
[Phone] | [Email] | [Town or City] | [Portfolio or profile link]

PROFILE
[Your current role or field] with [number] years of experience in [area]. Known for [one strength with evidence]. Looking for [the kind of role you want].

WORK EXPERIENCE
[Job Title], [Employer], [Town] | [Month Year] to Present
- [Achievement with a result]
- [Responsibility that matches the job ad]
[Previous Job Title], [Employer] | [Month Year] to [Month Year]
- [Achievement]

EDUCATION
[Qualification], [Institution] | [Year]

SKILLS
[Skill], [Skill], [Software], [Language and level]

REFERENCES
Available on request.

Use "Month Year" for dates (for example "Oct 2026"). It reads the same way in the UK and the US, whereas a numeric date like 10/2026 can be confusing next to day-month-year styles.

Fonts, sizes and spacing

Prospects gives specific typography guidance for UK CVs: choose a font that is "professional, clear and easy to read such as Arial, Calibri or Times New Roman"; set body text "between 10 and 12"; and make headings stand out "by making them larger (font size 14 or 16) and bold."

Harvard's career office adds rules that apply equally to CVs: "Be consistent in format and content," make the page "easy to read and follow, balancing white space," and use bold, italics and capitals consistently for emphasis.

A few practical habits keep a CV tidy:

  • Use one font for the whole document, with size and weight for hierarchy.
  • Align all dates the same way, either at the right edge or after the employer name.
  • Keep bullet points to one or two lines each.
  • Leave a clear gap between sections rather than adding lines and boxes.

CV format by country

The core layout travels well, but some details change by region. Paper sizes below come from the Unicode CLDR locale data used by browsers; the other rows come from the official or careers-service sources listed at the end.

RegionDocument namePaperPersonal detailsTypical length
UK and IrelandCVA4No date of birth, age, marital status or nationality (National Careers Service)Two pages at most
United StatesResumeUS LetterNo photo, age or gender (Harvard)Concise
CanadaResumeUS LetterFollow the job adConcise
European UnionCV or Europass CVA4Varies by countryVaries
PhilippinesResume or CVLetter and A4 both usedVaries by employerVaries
Most other countriesCVA4Follow local practiceVaries

On the Philippines: CLDR lists US Letter as the default there, while government offices have officially adopted A4, so both sizes are in use. When you are unsure, follow the job ad or ask the recruiter. A British CV template is simply this format on A4 with UK spelling; there is no separate official UK template.

Europass

The European Commission runs Europass free of charge in 31 languages, including a CV editor. It is one format option among many, not a requirement for most EU jobs. If an employer asks for it, use the official tool on the Europass website.

Reverse chronological or skills-based format?

The reverse chronological format is the default because employers can see your current level at a glance. A skills-based (sometimes called functional) format groups achievements under skill headings and keeps the job list short. It suits a few situations:

  • You are changing field and your recent job titles do not match the new role.
  • You are returning after a long break.
  • Your experience is many short contracts or freelance projects.

Even in a skills-based CV, keep a short dated list of employers. Readers and software both look for it. If your history is steady and relevant, stick with reverse chronological.

Professional CV format for experienced candidates

A professional CV for a senior role keeps the same skeleton but changes the balance. The profile becomes a sharper summary of scope (team size, budget, markets). The latest two or three roles get the most space, with achievements stated as outcomes. Earlier roles shrink to one line. Education moves lower and can lose its detail.

What does not change: two pages at most for most industry roles, a clear font, and consistent dates. For writing achievement bullets, see the resume writing guide; the advice on verbs and results applies to CVs as well.

Which file format to send

Prospects advises checking what the employer wants: "Double check what this is by looking at the job advert, application instructions or by contacting the recruiter." When there is no instruction, a PDF keeps your layout fixed on every device. Greenhouse, a common applicant tracking system, accepts .doc, .docx, .pdf, .rtf and .txt uploads, and its candidate FAQ recommends uploading a PDF "for best results."

The PDF must contain real text, not a picture of text. Greenhouse lists resumes "uploaded as an image" among causes of failed parsing. More on this in the ATS-friendly resume guide.