A CV must be well structured; it must clearly explain your profile and show the continuity of your experience.

A/ Essential sections:

1. Contact information: Last name, first name, address, telephone number and e-mail.
   
   

You do not have to give a title to this section. It can also be included in the page header or footer.

Make sure no personal information appears, e.g. your picture, age, or civil status.

2. Experience

List your experiences in reverse chronological order, from the most recent to the oldest.

Clearly specify the relevant dates, job title, company name, and possibly give a brief description of the company.

Below, give a description of your taks. Be specific, especially for the most recent job. As required, also describe the context, company size, industry sector, etc.

3. Education

List the various phases of your education, from the most recent to the oldest. Only include relevant diplomas.

B/ Complementary sections

You can provide more details by adding other headings:

1. Objectives

In this section, briefly specify what type of job you are looking for. Since this sentence must make you stand out in the recruiter's mind, don't use a generic formulation not tailored to your profile.

You can put this section right after your contact information.

2. Areas of expertise

This section must help the recruiter quickly form a mental image of you, from the very beginning of your CV.

You can also call it "Profile" or "Presentation." It can go at the top of your CV, or after the "Objectives" section.

Summarize your key skills, main experiences and outstanding qualities. Be concise, and stick to the essentials. You may also include a short list of your personal qualities, years of professional experience, a few educational details, and your language or software skills.

3. Language and computer skills

If you work in information technology, you should list your computer skills in detail. Separate the language skills from the computer skills section, as necessary.

These sections can go either before or after professional experience, i.e. at the end of the CV.

4. Professional development

If you have taken relevant professional training, you can highlight it by adding a "Training," "Certification," or "Professional development" section. It can go either before or after the "Education" section, in accordance with its importance.

5. Extracurricular activities

This heading is used to draw attention to your extracurricular qualities: student life, role in an association, or involvement on a board of directors. This type of information is important—according to a Robert Half International survey, 83% of hiring managers consider that participating in professional association or sector activities promote career advancement.

You should only list those current activities that truly reflect your personality and/or call upon your professional skills.

6. Other possible headings: 

Depending on your experience, you can highlight items that are specific to you with special headings such as "Awards," "Professional affiliations," "Volunteer work," or "Publications."

Don't forget:

• Do a thorough spell-check.
• Have your CV reread by someone else to see what impact it has.