CV examples: three annotated CVs that work (Norway)

Most people look for a CV example to see one thing: what does a good CV actually look like when it is finished? Not the rules, not the theory, but a real CV where you can point at a line and say "that, that is how it should read".

This guide gives you three. One for you if you are a recent graduate, one for you if you have a few years of experience, and one for you if you are changing industry. Under each example we explain what makes the lines good, so you can use the same moves on your own story.

If you would rather have the whole process from scratch, it is in the guide on how to write a CV. This one is about seeing the finished result and understanding why it works.

How to read a CV example

The most important thing first: don't copy the text. A CV example is not a template you fill your name into. It is a demonstration of form. You look at how a sentence is built, not what it says, and then you build your own sentences the same way.

The difference between a template and an example is worth keeping straight. A CV template gives you the empty layout: font, margins, sections and order. The example gives you content to mirror. You need both, but they do different jobs.

All three examples below share the same structure, because that structure works wherever you are in your career:

1. Header: name, the title you are aiming for, city, email, phone.
2. About me: three to four sentences that place you for this position.
3. Experience: reverse chronological, results instead of tasks.
4. Education: short, with more detail the more recent it is.
5. Skills: what can actually be verified.

What changes between the three is the order and the weight. A recent graduate lifts education high. An experienced professional leads with results. Someone changing industry translates old experience into a new language.

Example 1: A recent graduate with no relevant work experience

Situation: just finished a bachelor's degree, applying for a first full-time job. Little or no relevant work experience, but projects, volunteering and part-time jobs.

Ida Solheim Marketing coordinator | Bergen | ida.solheim@epost.no | 412 34 567

About me Recent graduate with a bachelor's in marketing from Kristiania University College. Ran social media for the student association and grew its Instagram reach from 300 to 2,400 followers in a year. Looking for a coordinator role where I can work close to content and numbers from day one.

Experience Content lead (volunteer), Studentmediene i Bergen, 2024 to 2025

• Planned and published two posts a week, and built a content calendar the rest of the board still uses.
• Increased engagement on the association's Instagram by 140 percent by switching from poster images to short videos.

Shop assistant, Meny, 2022 to 2024 (alongside studies)

• Trained four new part-time staff on the till system and shelf stocking.

Education Bachelor's in marketing, Kristiania University College, 2022 to 2025. Thesis on content strategy for small online shops (grade A).

Skills Norwegian (native), English (fluent). Meta Business Suite, Canva, Google Analytics, basic SQL.

Why it works:

• About me leads with a number. "300 to 2,400 followers" is concrete and verifiable. It beats "committed and creative" every single time.
• Volunteer work counts as experience. Ida has no marketing job, but the board role proves exactly the skills the job requires. It goes first because it is the most relevant, not because it was paid.
• The part-time job is cut down to one line. It shows work ethic, but it isn't relevant, so it gets the least space.
• Education is high up and detailed. When the work history is thin, this is where the weight lies. The thesis is tied to the field.

If your history is thinner still, the guide on getting a job without experience is written for exactly that situation.

Example 2: Experienced, five to ten years in the same field

Situation: solid experience, applying for a step up or sideways in the same industry. Here education isn't the point. Results are.

Jonas Berg Project manager, construction | Trondheim | jonas.berg@epost.no | 901 23 456

About me Project manager with eight years in public-sector construction projects, mostly schools and healthcare buildings. Delivered the last three projects within budget, the largest worth 180 million kroner. Looking for a role with greater overall responsibility and involvement in the early phase.

Experience Project manager, Veidekke, 2021 to present

• Led the conversion of Lade School (NOK 180 million) from pre-project to handover, completed two weeks ahead of deadline and 3 percent under budget.
• Introduced a weekly progress meeting with subcontractors that cut delays from an average of 9 to 2 days per milestone.
• Had line responsibility for four project engineers.

Assistant project manager, Skanska, 2017 to 2021

• Coordinated health, safety and environment (HMS) work on three simultaneous projects without a single lost-time injury in the period.
• Took over as acting project manager for four months during a sick leave, and kept the schedule on track.

Education MSc in civil and environmental engineering, NTNU, 2017.

Skills ISY Prosjekt, MS Project, Norwegian standard contracts (NS), BIM coordination. Certified in HMS management (2023).

Why it works:

• Every point has an outcome. "Two weeks ahead of deadline and 3 percent under budget" tells a recruiter everything about what kind of project manager Jonas is. No adjectives needed.
• The numbers give context about level. "NOK 180 million" and "four project engineers" place him in the right size bracket immediately.
• Education is one line. After eight years nobody cares about subject choices. The degree, the place, the year. Done.
• About me says where he wants to go. "Greater overall responsibility and early-phase involvement" is concrete. The recruiter knows which positions fit.

Notice the formula that keeps recurring: did X, which led to Y. It is the core of a strong experience section, and we go deeper into it in the main guide to the CV.

Example 3: Changing career to a new industry

Situation: experienced in one industry, wants to move to another. The challenge is that your earlier job titles mean nothing in the new industry. The solution is to translate.

Maria Ndege Customer success manager | Oslo | maria.ndege@epost.no | 488 76 543

About me Former teacher of ten years, now on my way into tech after six months of retraining in customer success. I built my career on relationships, follow-up over time and explaining the complicated simply, skills I now aim at SaaS customers. Looking for a role where I own the customer portfolio from onboarding to renewal.

Experience Class teacher, City of Oslo, 2015 to 2025

• Followed up 28 pupils and their parents through the school year, what most industries would call a portfolio with a high level of follow-up.
• Held parent meetings and development conversations, in other words structured stakeholder management with a clear agenda and documented follow-up.
• Trained three newly qualified teachers in classroom management and parent contact.

Retraining, customer success, 2025 to 2026

• Completed a course in customer success and basic SaaS metrics (NRR, churn, onboarding).
• Built a demo onboarding plan for a fictional SaaS product as a case project.

Education Primary school teacher education, OsloMet, 2015.

Skills Norwegian (native), English (fluent), Swahili. HubSpot (basic), Notion, Excel. Strong in written and spoken communication with different audiences.

Why it works:

• Every teaching task is translated. "28 pupils and parents" becomes "a portfolio with a high level of follow-up". Maria doesn't change the facts, she puts them into the new language.
• The retraining stands as its own experience entry. It shows that the move is deliberate and that she has done the work, not just wished herself across.
• About me addresses the elephant directly. She doesn't pretend she has always been in tech. She explains the shift calmly and points to what transfers.
• The case project makes up for missing experience. She has built something concrete in the new industry, even if it was fictional.

Changing careers is a discipline of its own, and the guide on changing careers goes deeper into how you position the whole application, not just the CV.

What all three examples have in common

Three different situations, but the same principles underneath:

• Results beat tasks. "Responsible for sales" says nothing. "Grew sales by 20 percent" says everything.
• The relevant comes first. Within each section, whatever hits the job best comes first.
• About me is three to four sentences, not a life story. It places you for this job. More on that section in the guide to About me on a CV.
• No empty adjectives. "Dedicated, dynamic, solution-oriented" is cut everywhere. Shown, not claimed.

Don't forget the machine reads first

All three examples are written in one column, with a plain font and clear headings. That is no accident. Most medium and large employers scan the CV through a recruitment system before a human sees it, and such systems stumble over columns, graphics and text boxes.

A CV example that looks fancy on screen but that the system can't read doesn't help you. Keep the layout simple. The whole logic is in the guide on the ATS-friendly CV, and it is worth a quarter of an hour before you send.

From example to your own CV

The examples above are the scaffolding. Now you build your own content into it. Take one role at a time, write down what you actually did, and ask for each line: what did this lead to? That answer is your bullet point.

Once you have a draft, the easiest next step is to check it against reality. Upload your CV and get concrete, free feedback on what is strong and what could be tightened with the CV check. Then you quickly see whether your own CV holds the same standard as the examples here.