Crafting a CV: A Complete Guide

A step-by-step guide for shaping a thoughtful and accessible document that supports your next move

Introduction: Beyond Job Titles, Toward Meaning

Your CV is often the first way someone meets your story. Not just your history, but your intent. Not just your achievements, but the shape of your journey.

Whether you’re applying for a research opportunity, preparing for interdisciplinary collaborations, or entering new professional spaces, this guide offers a way to build a CV that feels both relevant and reflective. One that helps others understand how you work, not just where you’ve worked.

Use it as a solo reflection, a group exercise, or a way to revisit materials that no longer feel like they fit. It’s yours to shape and reshape.

Ground Yourself Before You Begin

Before jumping into formatting, start with yourself.

☑ Reflect on:

What kinds of work make you feel most connected or alive?
What spaces or cultures have helped you thrive?
Who might be reading your CV, and what do you want them to understand about your values?

✍ I want my CV to reflect my values of ________, ________, and ________.

🟦 Prompt for clarity:
Does my current CV reflect only where I’ve been, or also where I’m going?

Choose a Format That Supports Readability

Not all CVs look the same. What matters is that it’s clear, easy to navigate, and fits your story.

☑ Consider:

Format Style	Best For	Notes
Chronological	Traditional roles	Good for showing consistent growth
Functional	Career shifts	Focuses on skills and strengths over timelines
Hybrid	Academic or mixed contexts	Offers flexibility while staying structured

✍ The format that suits me best is ________________, because ________________.

🟦 Prompt for accessibility:
Could someone outside my field still follow this structure with ease?

Build Sections with Intention

Every section should add clarity. You don’t need everything, just the parts that tell your story.

☑ Common sections to consider:

Personal Statement or Profile
Key Skills and Capacities
Experience (paid, voluntary, or lived)
Education and Training
Publications, Projects, or Community Contributions

✍ One experience I want to highlight is _____________________
✍ because it demonstrates _____________________.

🟦 Prompt for inclusion:
Have I made space for experiences that shaped how I work, not just where?

Make Language Clear, Active, and Inclusive

Use words that reflect what you’ve done, not just what you were assigned. Avoid jargon, explain acronyms once, and aim for clarity over formality.

☑ Watch for:

Passive phrases that hide agency
Buzzwords that lose meaning
Language that may be unclear to interdisciplinary readers

✍ Instead of saying “Synergised cross-functional collaboration,” I’ll say: ____________________________________.

🟦 Prompt for connection:
Would this language help someone understand what I actually did, or only that it sounds impressive?

Tailor with Empathy

CVs aren’t written into a void. Consider the reader, whether it’s a funding body, hiring manager, or academic panel. Help them see how you align.

☑ Ask yourself:

What might this reader care about, and how can I make that visible?
Does the tone of this CV reflect how I want to show up in a team or project?

✍ To make my CV more human and inclusive, I will ___________________________________.

🟦 Prompt for alignment:
Does this version feel performative, or does it feel like a reflection I can stand by?

Invite Feedback and Iterate

This isn’t a one-and-done process. Ask others to read your CV, not just for typos, but for tone. Not just polish, but resonance.

☑ Consider asking:

A mentor or supervisor
A colleague from a different field
A friend who knows your story

✍ I’d like feedback from _____________________________
✍ especially on how I’ve framed _____________________________.

🟦 Prompt for growth:
What kind of feedback would feel most useful, technical, emotional, or conceptual?

Final Reflection: Rethink What Counts

Many CVs reflect systems that reward productivity, prestige, and polish. But yours can also reflect process, purpose, and care.

✍ If I could redesign the CV to reflect care and inclusion, it would look more like ____________________________
✍ because that version would honour ____________________________.

🟦 Prompt for transformation:
What kind of world is my CV helping build, and for whom?