Curriculum Vitae (CV) Format: Samples & Formatting Tips

In some circumstances, employers want you to submit a CV rather than a resume as part of the application process. It’s important to understand under what circumstances you should use a CV or resume before you choose which to include.

What is a CV? In many parts of the world, the terms “CV” and “resume” are used interchangeably, and refer to the same document. In North America, however, CVs are distinct in a few ways:

1. CVs are typically used to apply to academic positions such as graduate programs, research or teaching.
2. CVs serve as longer and more comprehensive documents than resumes, including all of your academic and work history.
3. CVs require their own unique CV-specific formatting.

Knowing how to write a CV can be daunting, especially if you’ve never done it before. In this article, we’ll show you what to include in your CV, how to properly format it, and give you several CV examples and CV templates to draw from.

What to include in a CV

CVs tend to be much longer than the standard one-page resume because they include so much more detail about your academic background. Because CVs can be so long, it’s important to make sure your CV is clear and well-structured so employers can focus on your qualifications.

Here are the sections you should include in your academic CV where applicable:

1. Header
2. Eduction
3. Professional experience
4. Teaching experience
5. Research
6. Publications
7. Grants & Fellowships
8. Presentations
9. Conferences
10. Honors and awards
11. Certifications & licensure
12. Professional Associations
13. Skills
14. References

While that’s a lot of sections, keep in mind that they can be combined to make your CV more concise. For example, if you’ve only given one presentation and attended one conference, list them both under a “Presentations & Conferences” section.

Alternatively, if you have an extensive list of publications or research projects to include under a single section, you can split them into subcategories. For instance, publications can be divided under the subheadings: books, articles, academic journals, etc.

How to format a CV

Here’s how to format each section of your academic CV:

1. Create a CV header

Your CV’s header should include the following contact details:

• Your name: formatted in bold text and set in a larger font size than the rest of the text on your CV. Making your name stand out helps the hiring manager notice your application and then easily find it again.
• Your mailing address: traditionally positioned beneath your name, however it’s no longer a requirement. You can also choose to simply include your city, state, and zip code.
• Your professional email address.
• Optionally, add links to relevant online profiles or portfolios.

Here’s a sample CV header for a professor:

2. Format your CV education section

Format your CV education section by listing all your degree titles, using one of these formats:

If you’re a recent graduate applying for your first professorship or research position, adding your GPA (if it’s 3.5 or higher) and any honors you received is a good idea because it shows employers that you are driven and capable.

If you already have university teaching experience, there’s no need to include your GPA and honors as employers will be more interested in your professional performance.

Here’s an example of a CV education section that uses proper formatting:

3. Fill out your CV’s professional experience and teaching sections

Start each heading in your work experience section with the name of the institution or company, followed by your job title and employment dates.

Under each heading, list your most relevant accomplishments — supporting them with hard numbers when possible — in a few bullet points. Here’s what a work experience section looks like when you use professional CV formatting:

Here’s how to list your teaching experience on your CV in three steps:

1. include the name of your position
2. list the dates you held that position (years only is fine, or the month and year)
3. write the name of the institution and your department

If you only have a couple of teaching positions to include, you can provide more context by adding bullet points that describe your teaching experience. However, if you’ve held many teaching positions, then forgo these to save space.

Here’s an example of teaching experience listed on a CV:

4. Put together your CV’s research section

Adding research experience to a CV isn’t an exact science. If you have limited experience, you could include research in your work experience section and follow the same formatting you used for your employment history.

However, if you’ve worked on many projects and want to highlight relevant qualifications for a research position, create a unique section for your research experience.

Here’s an example of how to format research on your CV:

5. Arrange your CV publications section

When you list publications on your CV, simply apply the formatting your discipline uses (e.g., MLA formatting for humanities or APA formatting for sciences).

Here’s a CV publications section format example that uses APA formatting:

6. Finalize your CV with optional sections relevant to your background

Depending on your field of work and what job you’re applying for, you may also need to include the following optional sections on your CV. Click on each section to view a correctly formatted sample:

• Grants & Fellowships
• Presentations
• Conferences
• Honors and awards
• Certifications & licensure
• Professional Associations
• Skills
• References

Sample CV grants & fellowships section

If you received grants and fellowships during your education, you can list them together on your CV. They should look something like this:

Sample CV presentations section

If you’ve ever made a formal presentation of a paper, or your dissertation, you can list it in a special section of your CV. Make sure to include the date, what your presentation was, and where you presented it. Here’s how to format it:

Sample CV conferences section

Conferences you’ve attended over the years can also be included in your academic CV (these are ones that you did not speak at, which should go in your presentations section). You can list them like so:

Sample CV honors and awards section

Listing your honors and awards is a great way to show potential employers that you’re a good hire. Here’s how you can list them on your academic CV:

Sample CV certifications & licensure section

Don’t forget to include any relevant certifications and licensures. These might not be very common in academia, but there are some instances where they should be included, for example, if you work in the medical field and are writing a nurse practitioner CV.

Here’s how to include certifications and licensure on your CV:

Sample CV professional associations section

You should include any professional associations you are a member of, or affiliated with. These help establish your credentials. Here’s how you can list them on your CV:

Sample CV skills section

Including a skills section on your CV is optional, however if you have some special or relevant skills to include then you can format them as below:

Sample CV references section

In some cases, references may be requested, in which case you can list them on your CV like the example below:

Sample CV format template and examples

If you’re still not sure what your overall layout should look like, below we have a simple text template and several examples to get you started.

Simple CV format template

Here’s how you can layout your academic CV, and how to format each individual section:

Teaching-focused academic curriculum vitae format example

If you’re applying to a university teaching position, you should use academic CV formatting and highlight your teaching experience by listing it on the first page.

Here’s an example of a teaching-focused academic CV:

Download This Free Template

The sample is adapted from the original 24-page CV of Dr. G. Richard Scott, a Professor of Physical Anthropology at the University of Nevada with nearly five decades of experience. (Contact information and other details have been changed.)

Research-focused academic curriculum vitae format example

Are you applying to a research position at a university or a lab? Use academic CV formatting, but begin listing your research experience on the first page.

This sample rearranges Dr. Scott’s information to emphasize his research experience. Follow this CV example to apply for an academic or scientific position:

Download This Free Template

Job-seeker CV format example (non-academic)

When you apply to jobs outside of academia and the sciences, write a resume that proves your qualifications in 1–2 pages.

Use this sample CV to apply for non-academic jobs:

Download This Free Template

CV formatting tips

Choose the best margins and font size for your CV

Attention to detail is important when it comes to formatting your CV. You want to make sure that the font size and style is simple and uniform so that the reader’s attention won’t be taken away from all of your academic achievements.

Here’s how to set margins and font sizes on your academic or job-seeking CV:

Margins

Set your margins between ½” and 1” on all sides. Margins that are too big squeeze your information together, making your CV hard to read. Margins that are too small lead to less white space and give your CV a cluttered appearance.

Fonts

The best font size for an easy-to-read CV is between 10.5 and 12 points. If you need to shorten your job-seeking CV, using a 10.5 or 11-point font size is often the best choice.

Choose the best file type for your CV

Submit your CV as a PDF whenever possible. Here’s why:

1. PDFs preserve your formatting: If the hiring manager opens your CV in an old version of Word, there may be formatting issues that make it hard to read.
2. PDFs don’t include red underlines: Word’s spell-check function redlines words and phrases it doesn’t know (e.g., names of people and places). When you save your CV as a PDF, the red lines disappear, making it easier to read.

Although it’s usually best to submit a PDF CV, there are instances when you should send a Word file instead:

• When the job posting specifically says to send a CV as a Word file, don’t send a PDF. Always follow the employer’s instructions.
• When the employer uses applicant tracking software (ATS) to vet applications, submit your CV in Word format. ATS software is better at scanning Word documents than it is at reading PDFs.