Choose the best CV example

The best curriculum vitae example to follow is the one closest to the job you want and the experience you have, not the most impressive one you can find. Treat any example as a model for structure and tone, not a script. These checks help you pick one whose structure is worth borrowing.

Same job, or a close neighbor

Pick the example for the role you’re applying for, not the one you hold now. If yours is hard to find, choose a title from the same field with similar daily work, so the duties and wording still fit. Someone moving up from supervisor to manager, for instance, learns more from a manager’s CV than from another supervisor’s.

Same level of experience

A manager’s CV leads with results, team size and budgets. An entry-level CV leans on education, projects and the tools you’ve learned. Compare the SEO intern example with the growth manager one above to see the difference. Following the wrong level makes a CV feel either thin or overstated.

Examples you can honestly match

Read each bullet and ask whether you’ve done something like it. If you have, rework it with your own numbers. If you haven’t, skip it, however good it sounds. Interviewers can ask about any line, so keep only what you can talk about; a plain line with a real story behind it beats a polished one you can’t explain.

What a line worth copying looks like

A strong line names an action, a scale and a result: “Cut fleet fuel costs by planning routes around peak traffic” does all three. A line that only lists a duty, such as “Responsible for company vehicles,” shows you the job but not the person, so borrow the first kind and skip the second. When a strong line is close to your own work, keep its order of action, scale and result, and replace each part with your facts.

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A layout you can scan in seconds

You should spot every job title, employer and date at a glance. If you have to hunt for them, look for a clearer example before you copy its layout. Check where each job’s dates sit, too: the same spot on every entry makes a career easy to follow. The usual order in the layout section above is the safest model for most job applications.

How many examples should I compare?

Two or three. Read one for your exact job, one from a close neighbor and, if you’re stepping up, one at the level you’re aiming for. Note what all of them put first, because that’s what readers in your field expect to see; anything only one of them does is a style choice you can take or leave.

Same country, same conventions

Applying abroad? Follow an example from that country if you can, or adjust spelling, date formats and length to local habits. In the UK and Ireland, for instance, a short personal statement usually sits right under the contact details, and a date in numbers puts the day before the month. Small details like these show a reader you know the market.

Then make the CV example your own

Borrow the structure and leave the details behind. Once you’ve chosen your example:

• Keep the order of sections and the rhythm of each bullet.
• Replace every made-up detail with your own facts.
• Cut anything that does nothing for the job you want.
• Read it aloud to catch anything that still sounds borrowed.

For format and length, our CV writing guide covers both in detail. For examples sorted by field, with a tip for each, visit CV examples by job title.