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CV format by country

A photo or none, one page or three, your date of birth or only your email: what a good CV looks like depends on the country. Here are the conventions of 197 countries, grouped into 11 formats.

These are each country’s usual conventions, not rules. Real practice varies by employer, industry and seniority, and it is changing with anti-discrimination law, screening software and remote hiring: photos are fading even where they were traditional, and multinationals usually expect none. Treat this as a starting point.

Country guides

22 countries in detail: the format, the photo, the length and what to leave out.

All 197 countries, by format

North American résumé

3 countries

Photo
No photo
Length
1 to 2 pages
Personal details
None
Nothing beyond your name and contact details.
Section order
Experience first
References
Left off
Local name
Résumé
“CV” means a long academic document.

Countries

How it is written

  • Built on results: achievement bullet points, with numbers attached.
  • Tailored to each job.
  • Reads as a narrative, but never uses the word “I”.
  • “CV” means a long academic document.

British and Commonwealth CV

50 countries

Photo
No photo
Length
1 to 2 pages
Personal details
Contact details only
Section order
Experience first
References
On request
Local name
CV

Countries

  • Antigua & Barbuda
  • Australia
  • Bahamas
  • Barbados
  • Belize
  • Botswana
  • Dominica
  • Eritrea
  • Eswatini
  • Ethiopia
  • Fiji
  • Gambia
  • Ghana
  • Grenada
  • Guyana
  • Ireland
  • Jamaica
  • Kenya
  • Kiribati
  • Lesotho
  • Liberia
  • Malawi
  • Marshall Islands
  • Mauritius
  • Micronesia
  • Namibia
  • Nauru
  • New Zealand
  • Nigeria
  • Palau
  • Papua New Guinea
  • Rwanda
  • Samoa
  • Seychelles
  • Sierra Leone
  • Solomon Islands
  • South Africa
  • South Sudan
  • St. Kitts & Nevis
  • St. Lucia
  • St. Vincent & Grenadines
  • Tanzania
  • Tonga
  • Trinidad & Tobago
  • Tuvalu
  • Uganda
  • United Kingdom
  • Vanuatu
  • Zambia
  • Zimbabwe

How it is written

  • Opens with a personal statement: two or three sentences that work like an executive summary.
  • Factual and focused on competencies and achievements, with plain formatting.
  • South Africa is the exception: two or three named references are expected.

German-style CV (Lebenslauf)

4 countries

Photo
Included
Use a formal headshot. Leaving it out lowers recruiters’ confidence.
Length
2 to 3 pages
Personal details
Standard
Date of birth, place of birth and nationality.
Section order
Experience first
Reverse-chronological: the most recent first.
References
Certificates attached
Your diplomas and certificates go with the application.
Local name
Lebenslauf

Countries

How it is written

  • Europe’s most formal and structured format.
  • Reverse-chronological: the most recent first.
  • Dated and signed at the bottom.
  • Gaps in the timeline have to be explained.
  • Leaving out the photo lowers recruiters’ confidence.
  • Expect to attach many documents, such as diplomas and certificates.

French-style CV

26 countries

Photo
Common
Length
1 to 2 pages
Personal details
Standard
Your état civil: age, place of birth, marital status and nationality, sometimes the number of children too.
Section order
Experience first
References
On request
Local name
CV

Countries

  • Algeria
  • Belgium
  • Benin
  • Burkina Faso
  • Burundi
  • Cameroon
  • Central African Republic
  • Chad
  • Comoros
  • Congo - Brazzaville
  • Congo - Kinshasa
  • Côte d’Ivoire
  • Djibouti
  • France
  • Gabon
  • Guinea
  • Haiti
  • Luxembourg
  • Madagascar
  • Mali
  • Monaco
  • Morocco
  • Niger
  • Senegal
  • Togo
  • Tunisia

How it is written

  • Short and direct, under a strong headline or job title.
  • Built around your compétences (skills), each backed by concrete results.
  • Sometimes includes a projet professionnel: a statement of your career goal.
  • Gives your full état civil: name, age, place of birth, marital status and nationality, sometimes the number of children too.
  • Written in French.

Southern European CV

15 countries

Photo
Included
It goes at the top right.
Length
1 to 2 pages
Personal details
Standard
Date of birth.
Section order
Education first
References
Usually left off
Local name
CV

Countries

  • Andorra
  • Angola
  • Cape Verde
  • Cyprus
  • Equatorial Guinea
  • Greece
  • Guinea-Bissau
  • Italy
  • Malta
  • Mozambique
  • Portugal
  • San Marino
  • São Tomé & Príncipe
  • Spain
  • Vatican City

How it is written

  • The photo sits at the top right.
  • Education comes before work experience.
  • Grades and marks are listed.
  • In Italy, a missing grade is taken to mean a poor one.
  • The tone is persuasive.
  • In Italy, hobbies are often discouraged.
  • The EU’s Europass template is common and accepted.
  • Written in the local language.

Northern European CV

6 countries

Photo
Optional
The trend is toward leaving it off.
Length
1 to 2 pages
Personal details
Kept light
Age and exact address are often left off.
Section order
Experience first
References
Usually left off
Local name
CV

Countries

How it is written

  • Concise and egalitarian.
  • Informal but professional in tone.
  • Personality and interests are welcome.
  • Plain design.
  • Age and exact address are often left off.
  • The trend is toward dropping the photo and personal data, for anti-discrimination reasons.

Central and Eastern European CV

30 countries

Photo
Common
Length
1 to 2 pages
Personal details
Standard
Date of birth and nationality.
Section order
Experience first
References
Usually left off
Local name
CV

Countries

  • Albania
  • Armenia
  • Azerbaijan
  • Belarus
  • Bosnia & Herzegovina
  • Bulgaria
  • Croatia
  • Czechia
  • Estonia
  • Georgia
  • Hungary
  • Kazakhstan
  • Kosovo
  • Kyrgyzstan
  • Latvia
  • Lithuania
  • Moldova
  • Mongolia
  • Montenegro
  • North Macedonia
  • Poland
  • Romania
  • Russia
  • Serbia
  • Slovakia
  • Slovenia
  • Tajikistan
  • Turkmenistan
  • Ukraine
  • Uzbekistan

How it is written

  • Europass is widely used.
  • In EU countries, a GDPR-style data-consent clause is often added at the bottom.
  • In Russia and other post-Soviet countries, it is called a rezyume.
  • Written in the local language.

Latin American CV

20 countries

Photo
Common
Use a formal photo.
Length
2 to 3 pages
Personal details
Extensive
Date of birth, marital status, nationality and national ID number.
Section order
Experience first
References
Listed
With their contact details.
Local name
CV, hoja de vida or currículo

Countries

  • Argentina
  • Bolivia
  • Brazil
  • Chile
  • Colombia
  • Costa Rica
  • Cuba
  • Dominican Republic
  • Ecuador
  • El Salvador
  • Guatemala
  • Honduras
  • Mexico
  • Nicaragua
  • Panama
  • Paraguay
  • Peru
  • Suriname
  • Uruguay
  • Venezuela

How it is written

  • The Western format with the most personal data.
  • A national ID number is commonly included: the CPF in Brazil, the DNI in Argentina, the RUT in Chile.
  • References are listed with their contact details.
  • Written in Spanish or Portuguese.
  • Multinationals lean toward US or European norms and drop the photo.

Middle East and Gulf CV

19 countries

Photo
Expected
Use a professional headshot.
Length
1 to 2 pages
Personal details
Extensive
Nationality, visa or residency status, date of birth and marital status.
Section order
Experience first
References
On request
Local name
CV
Writing direction
Right to left
For the Arabic version of a bilingual Arabic and English CV.

Countries

How it is written

  • Built around visa-based employment: nationality and residency status (an Iqama, an Employment or Golden Visa) sit just under the contact details, and in the Gulf they are often mandatory.
  • A professional summary near the top.
  • Bilingual in Arabic and English, with the Arabic version written right to left.
  • Experience in the region is emphasized.

East Asian standardized CV

5 countries

Photo
Often mandatory
Use a passport photo.
Length
About 2 pages
A fixed form, often provided by the company.
Personal details
Extensive
Date of birth, age and gender.
Section order
Education first
References
Varies
Local name
Rirekisho, iryeokseo or standardized résumé

Countries

How it is written

  • Highly templated, often on a form the company provides.
  • Formal and indirect: overt self-promotion reads as arrogant.
  • In Japan: a rirekisho, plus a shokumu-keirekisho, a sheet of your work history.
  • In South Korea: an iryeokseo, plus a jagi-sogaeseo, a self-introduction essay. The private sector uses a photo, but the public sector’s “blind” form bans photo, age, school and family details.
  • In China, education comes before experience.

South and Southeast Asian CV

19 countries

Photo
Common
Use a passport photo.
Length
1 to 3 pages
Personal details
Extensive
Date of birth, father’s name, religion and marital status. All but the date of birth belong to the traditional biodata block, which corporate and multinational roles drop.
Section order
Experience first
References
Listed
Local name
CV, résumé or biodata

Countries

  • Afghanistan
  • Bangladesh
  • Bhutan
  • Brunei
  • Cambodia
  • India
  • Indonesia
  • Laos
  • Malaysia
  • Maldives
  • Myanmar (Burma)
  • Nepal
  • Pakistan
  • Philippines
  • Singapore
  • Sri Lanka
  • Thailand
  • Timor-Leste
  • Vietnam

How it is written

  • In South Asia, the traditional biodata block (father’s name, religion, marital status, nationality and a signed declaration) persists in government, teaching and traditional firms; corporate and multinational roles drop it.
  • Southeast Asia expects a photo and personal particulars, often with a US-influenced résumé layout.

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