CV Writing Guide · Bfotool

The structure of a solid CV

Recruiters only skim a CV for the first 6–8 seconds. A good CV orders information by priority, keeping the most important part on top. A common, effective order:

Contact details — name, target role, email, phone, location, links (GitHub/LinkedIn/portfolio).
Career objective — 2–3 sentences on who you are and what you want.
Work experience — most important for professionals; put it near the top.
Education — students / recent grads can place this before experience.
Skills, projects, certifications — supporting; select them for the target role.

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Tip: Keep it to one A4 page if you have under 5 years of experience. Recruiters prefer short, focused CVs.

Writing your career objective

A 3-part formula: who you are + your standout strength + what you want to contribute. Avoid clichés ("dynamic, eager to learn") — replace them with numbers and a concrete direction.

✕ Avoid

"I am a dynamic, hard-working person looking for a stable job to develop myself."

✓ Write instead

"Backend developer with 3 years' experience building systems handling 2M orders/day. Aiming to design microservices architecture and grow into a Senior Engineer within 2 years."

Describe experience with results

Don't list duties — state measurable achievements. Each bullet follows the formula: Strong verb + what you did + result (a number).

Duty description (weak)

Result description (strong)

Responsible for optimizing the database.

Optimized PostgreSQL queries, cutting API response time by 65%.

Involved in CI/CD.

Built a CI/CD pipeline, reducing deploys from 40 min to 8 min.

Strong verbs to use: Designed · Built · Optimized · Led · Delivered · Reduced · Increased · Automated

7 mistakes that get a CV rejected

CV longer than 2 pages

Recruiters won't read it all. Trim it, keep the most relevant parts.

Spelling and typos

A basic error costs points instantly. Proofread, and have someone check.

Unprofessional email

Use a [email protected] style; avoid nicknames.

Listing duties, no results

Missing concrete numbers makes a CV bland.

Inappropriate photo

Use a serious photo on a plain background, or drop it if not needed.

One CV for every role

Tailor the objective and skills to each job posting.

Messy formatting

Inconsistent fonts, sizes and spacing look careless.

Checklist before you send

Tick them off — when all are done, your CV is ready.

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