How to write a CV in 2026, step by step

What the recruiter is really looking for

A CV has one purpose: to get you the interview. Not the job, not to impress your family, not to document your life. Just the interview. That is a very low bar compared with what people try to make their CV do.

Recruiters read your CV for 6 to 10 seconds the first time. A study by Ladders (2018) measured the average at 7.4 seconds. That means the layout, the header and the first three bullet points under your most recent job decide whether you get the thorough 2 to 3 minute read.

The consequence:

1. The most important things go at the top, not hidden on page two.
2. Every sentence has to earn its place. Filler costs you the interview.

Why the format matters more than you think

Modern recruitment systems (Applicant Tracking Systems, ATS) scan your CV before a person sees it. Surveys by Jobscan and others estimate that more than 75 % of medium-sized and large employers in Scandinavia use some form of ATS. So your CV has to be read by a machine first.

ATS systems typically stumble over:

• Graphic design templates where the text is part of the image.
• Two- or three-column layouts where the reading order becomes unclear.
• Text boxes floating on top of each other.
• Headings that only exist as design (for example "EXPERIENCE" in a gradient that the system sees as a line).

The best format is often the simplest: one column, an ordinary font (Inter, Helvetica, Arial, Calibri or Times New Roman), clear section headings and a PDF with the text layer intact. See the ATS-friendly CV for the details.

Who this guide isn't written for

If you work in academia, art, architecture or another field with its own CV conventions, follow the norm in your field. An academic CV is not a job seeker's CV, and the principles here don't cover publication lists, curation or portfolio structures.

For everyone else, from new graduates to senior managers in the private and public sectors, the principles below apply.

1. Choose the right structure

Reverse chronological is the standard. That means the most recent first, working backwards in time. The reason is simple: what you did last year says more about you than what you did twelve years ago.

Avoid a "functional" or "combined" CV without a good reason. A functional CV groups skills by theme without a timeline, and recruiters almost always read it as an attempt to hide gaps or job changes. If you have gaps, explain them briefly and move on.

2. Create a clear header

The top of the CV should contain:

• Your full name, large and readable.
• A title that matches what you are applying for, not necessarily your current title.
• City, email, phone.
• Your LinkedIn URL if the profile is up to date.

Don't include:

• "Curriculum Vitae" as a heading, the recruiter knows what it is.
• Date of birth, national identity number, marital status. Irrelevant, and partly at odds with GDPR principles.
• A detailed postal address. Postcode and city are enough if you have to give something.

The title under your name matters more than people think. If you are applying for product owner jobs, write "Product owner" even if your current job is called "Senior Business Analyst". The recruiter should understand within two seconds what you are positioning yourself as.

3. Write an ‘About me’ of 3 to 4 sentences

This is the section people ruin most often. It shouldn't summarise your CV. It should position you for this job.

Poor:

Experienced and ambitious candidate with a strong work ethic and a passion for results.

Better:

Product owner with 7 years of experience in B2B SaaS, mostly in logistics and HR tech. Led a product launch that grew from 0 to 4,000 users in the first year. Looking for a team where research, data and customer conversations drive product decisions, not just management's gut feeling.

The second version tells the recruiter where you come from, what you have done, and where you want to go. Read more in the guide to ‘About me’ on your CV.

4. List experience with results, not tasks

This is the biggest difference between an average CV and one that gets you interviews.

Task-based:

Responsible for sales in Northern Norway.

Results-based:

Grew sales in Northern Norway from NOK 4.2 to 6.8 million in 18 months by building out a partner network in the fishing and aquaculture industry.

Same job, but the second one says what actually happened. Use numbers where you have them, and the phrasing "did X, which led to Y" as the basic structure.

If you don't have hard numbers, still use concrete outcomes. "Rewrote the onboarding material, feedback from new employees went from mixed to consistently positive" isn't as strong as "reduced staff turnover by 30 %", but it is a thousand times better than "responsible for onboarding".

5. Education, briefly

If you have 5+ years of experience: degree, institution, graduation year. Done.

For new graduates or students, a little more space is fine, including relevant courses, the topic of your bachelor's thesis if it fits the job, and your grade average if it is above average.

6. Skills that can be verified

Drop "Microsoft Office", "good at Excel", "communicative", "team player". These are stock words that say nothing.

Keep:

• Languages with your level, for example "Norwegian (native), English (C1), Spanish (B2)".
• Concrete tools, for example "Figma, Notion, Linear, SQL (PostgreSQL and BigQuery)".
• Certifications with the year, for example "AWS Solutions Architect Associate (2025)".

7. Test for ATS

Save your CV as a PDF from Word, Google Docs or a dedicated CV builder. Open the PDF file. Press Ctrl+A and Ctrl+C, and paste into an empty text document. If your name, titles and bullet points come out readable and in the right order, the ATS is happy. If the text is scrambled or empty, your layout is ATS-unfriendly.

Søknadsbasen always exports PDFs with a clean text layer, so this test passes automatically.

8. Proofread out loud

Read every line out loud. You will hear mistakes you don't see. Check in particular:

• The names of companies you have worked for. A typo here is fatal.
• Dates. Overlapping periods are a common mistake.
• Consistent punctuation. A full stop after bullet points or not, but consistently.
• That the "About me" text actually matches the job you are applying for.

Ask another person to read it if you can. Fresh eyes catch what you have stopped seeing.

Common mistakes you are probably making

Too many buzzwords. "Synergies", "dynamic", "results-oriented", "strategic". So overused that they now mean nothing. Replace them with concrete actions.

A hobbies section without relevance. "Enjoys travelling and reading" says nothing. If you have a hobby that actually builds relevant qualities (writing a technical blog, organising meetups, running ultramarathons), mention it. Otherwise skip it.

References "available on request". Don't write it. It is standard. If the employer wants references, they will ask.

The same CV for ten jobs. Yes, it feels efficient. And yes, you will be ranked lower for all ten. Spend 15 minutes per application tailoring the header and ‘About me’.

What to do once your CV is finished

The CV is one part of the application. The cover letter is the other, and many recruiters read it first to decide whether to open the CV. Plan your job search so that CV, cover letter and follow-up are one connected process, not three separate tasks. See the pipeline method for how.

A good CV isn't the most impressive one you can write. It is the one that honestly shows what you have done, what you are good at, and why you fit this particular role. The rest is quiet work.