How to Write a Resume (CV) + Free Online Template to Download

Quick Overview

• Ideally, keep it to one or two pages and use a clear structure.
• Start with your contact information and a brief professional introduction.
• List your work experience from most recent to oldest.
• Highlight the experience and skills relevant to the specific position.
• It is not necessary to include, for example, your marital status, number of children, or a photo in your resume.

A well-written resume is not a list of everything you’ve ever done. It should quickly show the recruiter why you’re the right fit for the position. Therefore, always tailor your resume at least slightly to the job posting and place your most relevant experience at the top.

Looking for a new job is often connected to leaving your current one. If you’re dealing with a notice of termination, a settlement with your employer, or are unsure of your rights, you can contact us.

What Is a Resume?

A resume, often referred to as a CV (from the Latin “curriculum vitae”), is a document that summarizes an individual’s professional history. It is used to present a job applicant to potential employers and aims to convince them of the applicant’s qualifications and suitability for a given position.

What Types of Resumes Are There?

There are three basic types of resumes:

1. Chronological resume: This is the most common type of resume. Work experience is listed in reverse chronological order, from most recent to oldest. This type of resume focuses primarily on work history and is therefore ideal for candidates with a smooth and continuous work record.
2. Functional Resume: This type of resume focuses more on skills and competencies than on chronological work history. For this reason, it is the ideal choice for people who have gaps in their work history, are changing careers, or have little work experience.
3. Combined Resume: A combined resume combines elements of both the chronological and functional resumes. This type of resume lists work experience in chronological order but also emphasizes skills and achievements.

In this article, we ’ll focus on the chronological resume, which is the most commonly used type. However, the information we provide here can also be applied to other types of resumes.

Why You Shouldn’t Underestimate the Importance of a Resume

A resume is a key tool in the job search process and is of vital importance for several reasons:

• First impression: A resume is the first document a potential employer sees. A well-crafted resume shows that you are meticulous, organized, and seriously interested in the position. This significantly increases your chances of being invited to an interview.
• Showcasing Skills and Experience: A resume provides an overview of your education, work experience, skills, and achievements. It allows you to highlight your most important skills and experiences that are relevant to the position you’re applying for.
• Targeted Approach: You can tailor your resume to a specific job opening. This allows you to demonstrate how your experience and skills align with the employer’s specific needs.
• Competitive advantage: A professionally written and structured resume can help you stand out from other applicants.

A well-written, structured resume will help you highlight what matters most—your experience, skills, and career goals.”

How to Write a Resume Step by Step

If you don’t want to start from scratch, you can use one of the specialized tools to create a structured resume online in just a few minutes. A structured resume should be clear, concise, and include all the important information about your professional career, education, and skills. Not sure how to write a resume that will catch a recruiter’s eye? Let’s take a look at the essential information you need to include and the guidelines you should follow:

Basic Information

Personal Information:

• First and last name,
• date of birth (optional),
• contact address,
• phone number,
• email address.

Introduction:

A short paragraph (3–4 sentences) about yourself that summarizes your professional background, skills, and career goals.

Work Experience:

Start with your most recent job and list your previous positions in reverse chronological order. Include the company name, job title, dates of employment (month/year – month/year), and a brief description of your duties and key responsibilities. Include key achievements and skills gained in each position.

Education:

Start with your highest level of education and list in reverse chronological order. Include secondary school, college, and university education, as well as any courses, retraining programs, etc., that you have completed. Always list the name of the institution, field of study, graduation dates (month/year – month/year), and, if applicable, the degree earned.

Skills:

• Technical skills (e.g., programming languages, computer skills).
• Soft skills (e.g., communication, teamwork).
• Language skills (indicate your proficiency level in each language).

Additional Information:

• Volunteer work, membership in professional organizations, publications, conferences.
• Interests and hobbies (if relevant to the position).

References:

You may state that references will be provided upon request, or include the contact information of people who can recommend you.

Guidelines to Follow

When writing a resume, there are certain guidelines you should follow. The main ones include:

• Clarity: The structure of your resume should be logical and easy to understand. If you follow the structure mentioned above, you can’t go wrong. Use a standard format and font, such as Arial or Times New Roman in size 10–12. Highlight important information in bold. Use short sentences and bullet points to make it easier to read.
• Minimalism: Use a simple and clean design. Avoid unnecessary graphic elements and excessive color combinations. Focus on what’s essential. Omit information that isn’t relevant to the position.
• Up-to-Date: Your resume should always contain the most current information about your education, work experience, and skills.
• Honesty: Provide truthful information about your skills, experience, and education. Avoid exaggerating or distorting the facts. It might not pay off. If you have gaps in your career or other issues, be prepared to explain them during the interview.
• Relevance: Include only relevant information. Omit details that are not important for the position in question.

Legal Basics for Writing a Resume:

Although it may not seem like it, even a resume has its own legal rules. Not every question or requirement from an employer is permissible.

• Discrimination – An employer may not discriminate during the hiring process based on gender, age, marital status, health condition, religion, or ethnic origin. So if you come across a job posting seeking a “young, childless female colleague,” it’s not just in poor taste—it’s also illegal.
• Photos in a Resume – They are not required. An employer has no legal right to request one, and if they do, they should have a clear and legitimate reason (e.g., acting auditions). Otherwise, it can be problematic from a data protection perspective.
• Marital status, children, health status —This information does not belong in a resume. An employer is not allowed to ask you about these matters, even during an interview. If they do, it constitutes a violation of Section 12 of the Labor Code.
• Consent to Data Processing – In a standard hiring process, it is not necessary to give explicit consent to data processing under the GDPR—the legal basis is “legitimate interest.” However, if a company wishes to retain your resume for future positions, then consent is required.

From a lawyer’s perspective: The problem often doesn’t arise because of the resume itself, but during the subsequent interview. Job applicants are sometimes asked questions about children, pregnancy, or private family plans that are completely unrelated to job performance. In such a situation, it’s good to know that an employer does not have an unlimited right to ask a candidate anything.

What Not to Include in Your Resume

You can omit irrelevant work experience that has no bearing on the position you’re applying for. Only mention the reasons for leaving previous jobs if they are relevant and positive. Salary expectations should be discussed only during the interview or in subsequent communication with the potential employer.

Information about your health should also not be included in your resume unless it is directly relevant to the job. Personal interests and hobbies that have no connection to the job should also be omitted. Mention only those that can positively enhance your professional profile. Complex graphics, bold colors, or extravagant designs can distract from the content and come across as unprofessional, so it’s best to avoid them as well.

Exaggerated or false information about your education, experience, or skills is very easy to detect these days. Therefore, be sure to avoid it. Use a professional email address, ideally in the format jméno.příjmení@domena.cz, and avoid inappropriate or humorous email addresses that you created back in elementary school.

Finally, don’t provide overly detailed descriptions of all your job duties. Focus on key achievements and skills that are relevant to the position you’re applying for. This will ensure your resume is professional, relevant, and easy for potential employers to read.

What an Employer Might Ask During an Interview

Employers must follow certain rules during job interviews to protect job applicants from discrimination and ensure the protection of their personal data. So, what can an employer ask—and what can’t they ask?

What an employer can ask:

• Work experience and skills: Questions about previous job positions, responsibilities, achievements, and professional knowledge and skills relevant to the position. They may also ask you how you liked the job and why you left it, or what the two-year gap in your resume means.
• Motivation and Interest in the Position: Questions about why you want to work in this position, what motivates you, and so on.
• Future: For example, a typical question about where you see yourself in five years. However, this question must relate only to your professional career, not your personal or family life.
• Availability: Questions regarding your start date, or your availability for shift work or overtime.
• Eligibility: Questions regarding your eligibility to perform the job, such as whether you have the necessary work permits (in the case of foreign nationals).

What an employer cannot ask:

• Personal questions unrelated to work: Questions about your marital status, number of children, and plans to start a family. In general, questions about pregnancy or plans to become pregnant are prohibited.
• Health: An employer cannot request information about a job applicant’s health, except in cases where medical fitness is essential for performing the job and is required by law.
• Political and religious beliefs: Questions regarding political views, religious beliefs, etc.
• Ethnic origin, race, and nationality: An employer may not ask questions regarding a job applicant’s ethnic origin, race, or nationality.
• Sexual Orientation: Questions regarding sexual orientation are prohibited.

How Can You Defend Yourself Against Inappropriate Questions?

Just because some questions are inappropriate or even prohibited doesn’t mean you won’t encounter them in practice. But how should you respond in such a situation?

• Stay calm and professional: Even if the question is inappropriate, try to remain calm and professional.
• Do not answer: Politely decline to answer the question and explain why it is inappropriate. For example:“I’d prefer to stick to questions regarding my qualifications for this position.”
• Answer Generally or Vaguely: You can also try to answer in general terms without revealing any specific details. For example, if asked about pregnancy, respond:“My personal plans will not affect my job performance.”
• Answer the question with a question: Confront the employer directly. For example:“May I ask how this information relates to my duties in this position?”
• End the interview: If the situation becomes uncomfortable and the questions are repeatedly inappropriate, consider ending the interview. Realistically, you wouldn’t want to work for someone like that anyway, so there’s nothing keeping you there during the interview.

Practical advice: Job seekers sometimes feel they must answer every question during an interview so as not to jeopardize their chances of being hired. But that’s not the case. If a question is unrelated to the job or intrudes on your privacy, you can politely decline to answer and steer the conversation back to your qualifications and experience.

Discrimination against job applicants is illegal, and questions about pregnancy or sexual orientation constitute discrimination. Therefore, you may want to pursue the matter further to prevent the employer from discriminating in the future.

One option is to file a complaint with the State Labor Inspection Office. The office will then conduct an inspection of the employer, and if it finds that employees or job applicants are being discriminated against, it may impose a fine of up to one million crowns. The second option is to file an antidiscrimination lawsuit in court. The employer will then be required to prove that discrimination is not occurring at their company.

Summary

If you’re wondering how to write a resume, focus above all on simplicity, clarity, and relevance. Include your contact information, a brief professional introduction, your work experience starting with the most recent, your education, and the skills relevant to the position. Always tailor your resume at least partially to the specific job opening, and don’t overload it with personal information unrelated to the job. Furthermore, even during an interview, an employer cannot demand information about a candidate’s private life without restriction. As a starting point, you can use our free downloadable resume template and then customize it based on your professional history and the position you’re applying for.