What to Put on Your CV, Section by Section

PDFly guide · Updated October 2026

Most CVs are read quickly, so every section has to earn its space. Here is what belongs in each one and what to leave out.

1. Header

• Full name, then a job title that matches the role you want, for example Digital Marketing Manager.
• A professional email address, a phone number you answer, and your city and country. A full street address is not needed.
• A LinkedIn or portfolio link if it is up to date.

2. Professional summary

Two to four lines: who you are, how many years you have done it, and what you are good at. Include one concrete result if you can.

Example: Marketing manager with 8+ years of experience building brands and turning data into growth. Led teams of up to 9 people and managed budgets of $2M.

3. Work experience

• List most recent first. Give title, company, location and dates.
• Write three to five bullets per role, one achievement per line.
• Start with a verb and add a number where possible: Grew conversion by 38% in twelve months says more than Responsible for conversion.
• Older or unrelated roles can be shortened to a single line.

4. Education

Degree, institution and years. Recent graduates can add a line on relevant projects or honours. With long experience, keep it brief.

5. Skills

List skills the job actually asks for, using the same words as the advert. Group them if there are many, and drop ones everybody has, such as "email".

6. Languages and certifications

Languages with an honest level (native, fluent, intermediate). Certifications with the issuer and year, only if they are relevant and current.

What to leave out

• Reasons for leaving a job, and references (say "available on request" only if space allows).
• Personal details the employer does not need, such as marital status or ID numbers.
• A long list of duties with no results.

Length

One page for under ten years of experience; two pages at most for senior roles. The CV Maker shows you the page count in the preview.