Career Advice

How to Write a Strong CV for the European Job Market

HomeBlogHow to Write a Strong CV for the European Job Market

Mikkel Holm

Career Advisor

2 April 20267 min read

Your CV is the first thing a European employer sees. Get the structure, length, and content right from the start — and significantly improve your chances of landing an interview.

Two Pages Maximum — No Exceptions

European employers, particularly in Scandinavia, expect a CV that is concise and to the point. Two pages is the accepted maximum, and for candidates with fewer than five years of experience, one page is often sufficient. A longer CV does not signal more experience — it signals poor judgment about what is relevant. Cut anything that does not directly support your application for the specific role.

Clean Formatting Makes a Strong First Impression

Before a recruiter reads a single word, they see the layout. Use a simple, professional font such as Calibri, Arial, or Georgia at 10 to 12pt. Divide your CV into clearly labeled sections with consistent spacing. Generous white space makes the document easier to read and gives it a polished, professional appearance. Avoid tables, graphics, and decorative elements — they often cause problems when CVs are processed by applicant tracking systems.

The Right Structure: What Goes Where

Start with a short personal summary of three to five sentences at the top — this is your pitch. Follow with work experience in reverse chronological order (most recent first), then education, skills, and languages. Each work experience entry should include your job title, employer name, dates of employment, and three to five bullet points describing your key responsibilities and achievements. Keep education entries brief unless you are a recent graduate.

Use Action Verbs to Open Every Bullet Point

Weak CVs describe duties. Strong CVs describe actions and results. Begin every bullet point with a strong action verb: managed, delivered, created, improved, coordinated, implemented, reduced, increased, led, negotiated. This immediately communicates that you are someone who takes initiative and gets things done, rather than someone who simply occupied a role.

Quantify Your Achievements Wherever Possible

Numbers make your experience concrete and credible. Instead of writing responsible for sales, write increased regional sales by 15% over 12 months. Instead of managed a team, write led a team of 8 across two locations. Even approximate figures are better than none. Think about volume, speed, cost savings, revenue generated, team size, or customer satisfaction scores — any metric that gives context to your contribution.

Tailor Your CV for Every Application

A generic CV sent to ten employers will perform far worse than a tailored CV sent to three. Read each job description carefully and identify the key skills and experience the employer is looking for. Adjust your personal summary and bullet points to reflect those priorities. Mirror the language used in the job posting — many companies use software to scan CVs for specific keywords before a human ever reads them.

Include a Professional Photo

In Scandinavia and across most of Europe, including a professional photo on your CV is standard practice and expected. Use a recent headshot taken against a neutral background, dressed appropriately for the industry you are applying to. The photo should be clear, well-lit, and cropped to show your head and shoulders. Avoid selfies, holiday photos, or images where you have been cropped out of a group.

Language Proficiency: Be Precise and Honest

List every language you speak and indicate your level using the CEFR scale: A1 to A2 (beginner), B1 to B2 (intermediate), C1 to C2 (advanced/native). European employers take language skills seriously, and overstating your ability will become apparent quickly — often at the worst possible moment. If you are actively learning a language, you can note it as currently studying to show initiative.

Final Steps Before You Send

Add a References available upon request line at the end of your CV. Proofread the entire document at least twice — a single spelling error can be enough to disqualify an otherwise strong candidate. Ask a trusted friend or colleague to read it with fresh eyes. Finally, save your CV as a PDF before sending. This preserves your formatting exactly as intended, regardless of what software the recipient uses to open it.