CV and Resume Writing: How to Write a CV That Gets Read

A CV (curriculum vitae) is a short, factual document that shows an employer who you are, what you have done, and why you fit a specific job, usually in one to two pages for Indian job seekers. This guide walks you through what to write in every section, how to format for both human recruiters and the ATS software that scans your file first, and gives you full fresher and experienced samples you can copy. In India the words CV and resume are used to mean the same thing, so we use them together here. Good writing here is not decoration: a clear, mistake-free CV is often the single reason one candidate gets the interview and an equally skilled one does not. If you want your own draft marked line by line, our English writing classes do exactly that in 1-on-1 sessions.

What a CV is and how it differs from a resume

A CV is a written summary of your education, work, and skills that you send to an employer to be considered for a job. In India, and in the UK and most of the Commonwealth, CV and resume mean the same thing for private-sector jobs: a short, targeted, one to two page document. The strict academic distinction (a long, exhaustive CV versus a short resume) only matters when you apply to universities, research posts, or some overseas roles.

So when an Indian job advert says “send your CV” or “send your resume”, it wants the same file: a focused summary that fits the role. The difference below is worth knowing so a US-based recruiter does not misread your document.

How to write a CV step by step

Write a CV in seven steps: gather your facts, pick a format, write the header, write a tailored summary, list experience with action verbs, add education and skills, then proofread hard. Do it in this order and the document almost builds itself. Do not start by opening a fancy template; start by collecting the raw material.

The seven steps

• Step 1. Gather facts. List every job, internship, degree, certificate, project, and skill with dates. Keep dates in one format, for example MM/YYYY.
• Step 2. Choose a format. Reverse-chronological (newest first) suits almost everyone in India and is the format ATS software reads best.
• Step 3. Write the header. Name, phone, professional email, city, and one link (LinkedIn or portfolio). Nothing else.
• Step 4. Write a summary. Three or four lines tailored to the one job you are applying for, not a generic paragraph reused everywhere.
• Step 5. Write experience. For each role, three to five bullet points that start with an action verb and show a result, with numbers where you can.
• Step 6. Add education, skills, extras. Education, then a skills list, then certifications, languages, or projects if they help the role.
• Step 7. Proofread. Read it aloud, check every date, and have one other person read it. Spelling and grammar errors are the fastest way to get rejected.

Steps 4 and 5 are where most Indian candidates lose the job, because the writing there is weak or copied. Clear English writing skills matter most in the summary and the bullet points, which a recruiter reads first.

The sections of a CV and what to put in each

A strong CV has five core sections and a few optional ones. The core five are contact header, professional summary, work experience, education, and skills. The optional extras (certifications, languages, projects, references) go in only when they help the specific job. The table maps each section to exactly what belongs there.

CV format and layout: font, length, and structure

Use a clean reverse-chronological layout, one or two pages, in a plain font at 10 to 12 point, with clear headings and plenty of white space. The goal is a document a busy recruiter can scan in ten seconds and a machine can read without errors. Design should never fight readability.

Format rules that work in India

• Length: one page for freshers and up to five years of experience; two pages after that. Rarely more.
• Font: Calibri, Arial, or Times New Roman at 10 to 12 point for body, 14 to 16 for your name.
• Order: reverse-chronological, newest role or degree first.
• Headings: clear and standard (Work Experience, Education, Skills), not clever labels the software cannot recognise.
• Margins and space: 1.5 to 2.5 cm margins; leave white space so the page does not look crowded.
• File type: send a PDF unless the advert or portal asks for Word (.docx). Name the file Firstname_Lastname_CV.pdf.
• Consistency: one date format, one bullet style, the same tense throughout (past tense for past jobs).

Fancy templates from design sites often break ATS scanning because they hide text in tables, columns, headers, and images. When in doubt, choose the simpler layout.

How to write a professional summary

A professional summary is three to four lines at the top of your CV that state who you are, your strongest skills, and what you offer this specific role. It replaces the old “career objective” and it is the first thing a recruiter reads, so it must be tailored, concrete, and free of empty adjectives. Write it last, after the rest of the CV, when you know your best points.

A simple formula

Role or title + years or level + one or two key skills + what you bring to this job. Add a number if you have one.

Examples you can adapt

• Fresher (B.Com): “Commerce graduate (B.Com, 2025) with internship experience in accounts payable and strong MS Excel skills. Comfortable with Tally and GST-based data entry. Seeking a junior accounts role where I can support monthly reporting and grow into a reconciliation profile.”
• Experienced (sales): “Sales professional with 6 years in FMCG distribution across Maharashtra, consistently meeting quarterly targets and managing a team of 8. Skilled in dealer relationships, route planning, and Excel-based tracking. Looking to bring the same growth to a regional sales role.”
• Career switcher: “Customer support executive with 4 years handling B2B clients, now moving into content and communications. Strong written English and a track record of resolving 95 percent of tickets within SLA. Keen to apply clear writing and client sense to a content coordinator role.”

Action words for your experience section

Start every experience bullet with a strong past-tense action verb, not with “responsible for” or “worked on”. Action verbs make you sound like the person who did the work, and they read better to both recruiters and ATS keyword scans. The table groups useful verbs by what you want to show.

Turn a duty into an achievement

To widen your range of precise verbs, a stronger working vocabulary helps, and for office writing our business English vocabulary page lists terms recruiters expect.

Full CV examples by situation

Below are two complete, copyable examples: a fresher with no full-time job and an experienced professional. Change the details to your own. Notice how the fresher leads with education and the experienced candidate leads with work.

Example 1: Fresher CV (first job, no full-time experience)

Professional Summary
Commerce graduate (B.Com, 2025) with a 3-month accounts internship and strong MS Excel and Tally skills. Comfortable with GST data entry and monthly reconciliation basics. Seeking a junior accounts executive role to support reporting and grow into an analyst profile.

Education
B.Com, Savitribai Phule Pune University, 2025, 72 percent
Class 12 (Commerce), Maharashtra State Board, 2022, 78 percent

Internship
Accounts Intern, Sharma & Associates (CA firm), Pune, May 2024 to July 2024

• Entered and verified 500+ vendor invoices in Tally with 99 percent accuracy.
• Prepared monthly GST input data that saved the senior accountant about 3 hours a week.
• Reconciled 2 client bank statements each month under supervision.

Projects
Final-year project: analysed the working capital of a mid-size retailer and presented cost-cutting suggestions in Excel and PowerPoint.

Skills
MS Excel (VLOOKUP, pivot tables), Tally ERP, GST basics, data entry, written and spoken English
Languages: English (fluent), Hindi (native), Marathi (native)
Certifications: Advanced Excel, online course, 2024

Example 2: Experienced professional CV

Professional Summary
Sales professional with 6 years in FMCG distribution across North India, consistently exceeding quarterly targets and leading a team of 8. Skilled in dealer management, route planning, and Excel-based sales tracking. Seeking a regional sales manager role to drive coverage and revenue growth.

Work Experience
Area Sales Executive, BrightFoods Pvt Ltd, Gurugram, Aug 2021 to present

• Grew territory revenue by 22 percent over two years by adding 35 new retail outlets.
• Led a team of 8 sales reps and cut monthly attrition from 3 reps to 1.
• Streamlined route planning in Excel, reducing average travel time per rep by 15 percent.

Sales Representative, DailyGoods Ltd, Delhi, Jun 2018 to Jul 2021

• Exceeded quarterly targets in 9 of 12 quarters, peaking at 118 percent of target.
• Built and maintained relationships with 60+ dealers across South Delhi.
• Trained 4 new joiners on order booking and the company CRM.

Education
MBA (Marketing), 2018 | B.Com, 2016
Skills: Dealer management, route planning, MS Excel, CRM, team leadership, negotiation
Languages: English (fluent), Hindi (native)

India-specific CV conventions

In India, keep personal details minimal and let your skills lead: a photo, date of birth, and marital status are optional and increasingly left out for private-sector and multinational jobs. This is the biggest way an Indian CV differs from advice written for the US, where those details are usually removed by law and custom. Judge by the employer, but when unsure, leave them out and use the space for your experience.

Fresher versus experienced in India

• Freshers: lead with education and internships, add academic projects, and keep it to one page. Percentage or CGPA can stay if it is strong.
• Experienced: lead with work experience and results, move education lower, and drop Class 10 and 12 marks once you have a few years behind you.
• Both: use a professional email, a working Indian phone number with +91, and consistent dates.

ATS-friendly formatting checklist

An ATS (applicant tracking system) is the software that scans your CV before a human sees it, so your file must be simple, keyword-matched, and machine-readable or it may never reach a recruiter. Most medium and large Indian companies and job portals use one. Follow this checklist before you upload.

• Use a single-column layout. Columns, tables, and text boxes can scramble when the software reads them.
• Use standard headings: Work Experience, Education, Skills, not “My Journey” or “What I Bring”.
• Save as PDF unless the portal asks for .docx. Never upload a scanned image or a JPG of your CV.
• Match keywords from the job advert where they are true, for example the exact tool or skill names.
• Avoid headers and footers for key details; some systems ignore text placed there.
• Use plain bullet points, not symbols, emojis, or images as bullets.
• Do not put your name or contact details only inside an image or logo; keep them as text.
• Spell out then bracket abbreviations once, for example Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), so both forms are searchable.
• Keep the font standard (Arial, Calibri, Times New Roman) and avoid decorative fonts.
• Name the file clearly: Firstname_Lastname_CV.pdf.

Common CV mistakes that get candidates rejected

Most rejected CVs fail for a small number of avoidable reasons: spelling and grammar errors, a generic summary, duties instead of results, wrong length, and a layout the ATS cannot read. Fix these and you already beat a large share of applicants. Go through the list below against your own draft.

The single mistake that ends most applications is careless English. A tutor who marks your real draft will catch the errors a spellchecker misses, from tense slips to Indian-English phrasing, which is where 1-on-1 writing feedback pays off more than any template.

Frequently Asked Questions