How to Customize Your CV to Get Hired in Europe

If you’re looking to live and work overseas, you may need to switch up your resume. Here’s how to customize your CV for Europe.

How to Customize Your CV to Get Hired in Europe

If you’re looking for the right CV for Europe, it can be tricky to figure out exactly what you need. There are numerous templates out there, but which is the one that’s actually going to work for your industry? Well, luckily, you’re in the right place. 

Here is everything you need to know about customizing your CV for Europe, including the pros and cons of certain CV styles and some key differences that you might not be aware of. Let’s dive in and learn more. 

Types of CVs in Europe

First things first, you need to know that there are two main types of CVs used around Europe. The first is your typical resume that you might be familiar with in the US or elsewhere around the world.

It’s often nicely designed and details all your experience, education, and a blurb about why you’re right for the job and what your passions are. 

The default CV format in Europe is something called the Europass. This was put together by the European Union to standardize CV formats across the economic area (we’ll go over that type of CV later on in this post).

As residents and citizens of the EU can travel and work within member states, it was created to make things easier for hiring managers across the various borders.

The Europass has a very specific structure and package that goes along with it. Of late, the Europass is dropping out of style, with industry-specific resumes taking hold. As companies are more global, it’s more important to be standardized within your industry than within your economic area. 

If you’re looking to create an industry-specific resume, you can also find an easy-to-use CV builder within the Ausland app that seamlessly helps you customize your CV for the European market.

What to Include in a CV for Europe

Most CVs or resumes in Europe will include:

These are the basics. You should still keep everything as concise and to the point as possible.

You can add some extracurriculars if you like to show a well-rounded personality, and you should still list the languages that you can speak, whether that’s verbal languages or digital programming languages. That goes under skills and competencies

Make Sure to Use an Industry-Specific CV

Regardless of where you are in the world, you should try to tailor your CV to your industry. After all, a teacher’s CV is going to look a lot different from a coder’s CV, which will look different from a graphic designer’s CV.

An industry-specific CV for Europe or elsewhere shows that you understand the landscape you’re applying for. Certain industries will prioritize portfolios over CVs, for instance, so the CV itself will be pretty low-key, but the link to the portfolio is where the work goes in. 

However, if you’re a project manager, you might want to go into more detail about the metrics you hit and the value your managerial skills gave to the company.

Standardized CV formats like Europass don’t allow for these variations. As many people have pointed out over the years, the photo alone takes up a chunk of writing space, and the restriction of a one-page CV and then having separate supplements for elaborating is messy and disjointed.

When looking at jobs in Europe, you’re better off tailoring your CV for your industry. For example, the world of tech is global.

Chances are that any given major company is hiring from all around the world, so there are going to be resume variations. As long as your skills, experience, and competencies ring out, that’s the main thing.

Customize Your CV for Each Job

A key question that gets asked a lot is, Why do you need to customize your CV at all? Well, every job is different and demands slightly different competencies and skills, even if the job title is the same. 

Certain recruiters and companies will value different parts of the role, so it’s important to look at the job description carefully. Here are a few key reasons why you should customize your CV to get hired in Europe.

To match competencies

When you read through the job description, highlight any key words that are repeated or emphasized. When editing your CV, mirror those key words and terms to show the recruiter that you’ve read and understood what they’re looking for.

This shows that you’re ticking the boxes of the job description. After all, most job descriptions are just a wish list of what they want in a candidate.

Show relevant skills

Again, specific job descriptions will mention different skills. This might be broad, like languages or experience with certain content styles, or it might be very specific, with you needing to have experience with certain CMSs and systems.

Mention anything specific and show that you’re hitting everything they want. Make it easy for them to put you in the yes pile!

Dos and Don’ts When Customizing Your CV For Europe

When you’re customizing your CV for Europe, there are a few dos and don’ts that you need to be aware of. While some of them are common sense for CVs around the world, others you might not be familiar with.

Dos

Let’s start off with the things you should do when you’re customizing your CV for Europe. These may seem like common sense, but you’d be amazed at how many people forget to do some of the things on this list. Save this for later and use it as a checklist!

Save it in the specific format

Most recruiters want all CVs, resumes, and cover letters to be in PDF format. That makes it easier for them to open, as you’re not relying on them having either Microsoft Office or Google Docs.

PDFs also maintain the integrity of the design choices, so if you’re formatting with bullet points and varying alignments, this should keep it looking as intended. Make sure you check this is the case after you save it as a PDF.

Double-check it

We cannot overstate this enough. Double-check your CV. Look for spelling mistakes, check for inconsistencies in things like full stops at the end of bullet points, and make sure your email is correct! 

Go back through the job description with your CV next to it and make sure you’ve ticked all the boxes. Get a friend to check it if you need to – fresh eyes often work wonders!

Add a cover letter

While nobody really likes writing a cover letter, they are an integral part of job applications. Even if it says a cover letter is optional, make sure you add one.

It shows that you’re willing to go above and beyond, and you can further elaborate on your skills and transferable experience that you might not have the space to do in your actual CV.

If you’re in any kind of creative or technical field, make sure you add a link to your portfolio website or GitHub with the personal information at the top.

This makes it easy for recruiters to look at your experience and projects and see your skills on your CV at the same time. It marries up the practical with the theoretical!

Make sure your email is respectable

This should be a no-brainer, but make sure your email address is not the one you made when you were 14 and had a Hotmail account.

You need an email that is essentially just your name, maybe a dot or dash if your name is already taken. You want to be seen as a professional immediately, not as [email protected].

Include contact information

On a US resume, you usually don’t include your name or contact information. This is because they want all resumes to be anonymous for bias reasons.

That’s not the case in Europe, and you need to include your name, email, address, and any portfolio links or LinkedIn profile links. They want to be able to look you up if they’re getting to the vetting stage. 

Be concise

For all its flaws, Europass was great for making sure people were concise. Not every section needs a full paragraph. Utilize bullet points where you can and be direct. Recruiters have to sift through a lot, so be crystal clear in what you’re trying to say. 

Be outcome-driven

A lot of people will use lines like “managed a team of six” and leave it at that. While this is true, it can be better. “Managed a team of six on a project that increased revenue by X with a Y-month time frame”, is a lot better.

Talk numbers, be specific, and show the value that you could bring to their company. 

Add your languages

If you’re writing a CV for Europe, you have to be aware that if you’re a resident or citizen of an EU country, you can live and work in any of the member states without a visa. As a result, hiring managers get CVs from a wide range of countries, from a variety of speakers.

Putting down your languages is important in Europe, even if it’s just English. If you’re learning another language, you can put it down with the competency level you’re up to (A2, B1, etc.). You can also put programming languages down here for tech roles.

Don’t be a robot

While the key skills might be the same for every candidate, there is space for you to stand out. Add a couple of interests that you have outside of work, like climbing, running clubs, or cooking. People want to hire people with a little personality. 

Put your current role first

When laying out your work experience, remember to put it in reverse chronological order. That means putting your current job at the top.

Logically, this should be your most senior position, with the most good stuff in it. If you do it in reverse, they’ll think your first job is where you’re currently at, and probably won’t continue reading it. 

Don’ts

Okay, now onto the don’ts. Some of these are immediately jarring when you open a CV, or they can instantly put you off if you see them. Don’t say we didn’t warn you!

Mess with the font too much

Certain fonts are defaults for a reason. They’re clear and easy to read, whether you print it out or read along online. Switching your CV into Comic Sans is not a good move and a recipe for a hiring manager closing your CV without reading it. Stick with the classics like Arial, Calibri, Verdana, or Times New Roman, if you’re feeling formal.

Misspell things or use US English

Please don’t misspell things on your CV. It’s a huge red flag. It’s also important to remember that the form of English used across most of Europe is British English, not US English.

There are a lot of spelling differences that you need to be aware of. Download Grammarly and switch the format to British English, and it should pick up on any discrepancies. 

Forget to use a grammar checker

On a similar note, don’t forget to do a grammar check. Again, you can use Grammarly for this (it’s free), and it’ll highlight any words or phrases that are grammatically incorrect, or just plain clunky.

It’s also got a clarity section where it’ll tell you if you can make the sentence clearer. 

Don’t get too personal

In the About You section, don’t put your religion or information about your family. It’s not relevant and can make things awkward. It’s not your Instagram bio.

You don’t have to put a photo either, and if you do and it’s not required, again, it can make things awkward. Keep things professional and speak about your interests and competencies, rather than going into your census data.

Back up your claims

Don’t just say I’m an excellent problem solver. We can all say that. It sounds boastful, which is not something that’s overly celebrated in a lot of European companies.

Instead, list your achievements and outcome claims clearly. This will show you can problem-solve. Show the recruiter, don’t just tell them.

Go over two pages

In an ideal world, a CV for Europe is just one page. That’s the standard that’s been left by Europass. But, it’s important to remember that Europass also allows for supplementary materials, which regular CVs and resumes do not.

So, do not go over two pages. If you have that much content, you’re not being concise, and you’re likely including experiences and jobs that are no longer relevant. Edit it down, and thank us later.

What is a Europass CV?

A Europass CV is a standardized CV format that is specific to countries within the EU. It has a set structure and is part of a four-document pack that you can send to recruiters and hiring managers, known as a European Skills Passport.

Simply put, it’s a CV and accompanying documents that are designed to streamline the hiring process. As everyone’s CVs are in the same format, it makes it easy to compare and contrast different candidates at a glance. 

What Are the 4 Documents of the European Skills Passport?

The four documents within the European Skills Passport include:

The Europass Mobility section is a document that allows you to record different jobs you’ve had across Europe. This includes work placements, volunteer work, and academic exchanges or years abroad.

This is Europe-specific, so you can’t put any US or Worldwide content here. That stays in your Europass CV as your work experience.

Your certificate and diploma supplements go into detail about your education. You can outline the courses you’ve taken, what they included, and the resulting qualifications.

Certificate and Diploma Supplements are exactly the same, except for the type of qualification they focus on. 

What is Included in a Europass CV?

Okay, so what actually is included in a Europass CV? At the top, you’ll have your name, address, email, and often a photo of yourself. This is usually a headshot, and while not all companies require this, it is part of the template.

Underneath, you’ll have your work history. This has your job title, company name, location, and the years you worked there, with a couple of bullet points underneath about what you did there and appropriate outcomes.

Next, you have your education section. This just has your degree, the university name, the year, and the location. You can go into more detail on your Diploma and Certificate Supplements. 

Finally, you have the skills section. This is another series of bullet points that are typically broken down into:

These are no more than a sentence each. The key thing about a Europass CV is that it’s brief and to the point. 

While the Europass still has its place, it’s falling out of popularity. On the templates you can find online, you’ll see more people are dropping the headshot and making their resumes stand out with unique designs. 

You’ll also see that some of the modern Europass templates have an About Me or Personal Summary section at the top. Traditionally, this was a key difference between a Europass and a Resume. Europass CVs did not have a personal statement at the top, as they were largely generic and not actually useful.

This shows that even in templates that say they’re adhering to Europass standards, most people are using standard resume style templates now. It’s all about finding a template that works best for your industry.