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Curriculum Vitae

Sample CVs that summarise educational background, professional experience, skills and achievements in the format admission and visa officers expect.

How to use the samples

We keep a set of five reference CVs covering the common applicant profiles. Ask for them at the office or through the inquiry form, then make sure every personal detail, qualification and work entry is reviewed and rewritten to reflect your own accurate, current information before submission.

Sample documents

5 samples. Read one in the browser, or save it. They are formats rather than templates to copy: every detail has to be replaced with your own, and a counsellor should check the result before anything is lodged.

Step by step

An academic CV is not a job CV. Follow the order below, and expect to cut rather than add.

Usual length
Two pages
Format
PDF, named with your own name
Samples held here
Five, covering the common profiles

  1. Pick the format the destination expects

    The UK and Ireland expect two pages with no photograph and no date of birth. Australia and New Zealand accept two to three pages. Germany still commonly expects a photograph and a signature. Using the wrong convention marks you out before anything is read.

  2. Head it with contact details that work

    Full name exactly as it appears on your passport, one phone number with the country code, one email address you check, and your city. Leave out marital status, religion and your father's name unless the destination genuinely asks.

  3. List education newest first

    Institution, board or university, qualification, years attended, and your result in the format your transcript uses. Do not convert a GPA into a percentage yourself; give the original and let the assessor convert it.

  4. Write experience as outcomes, not duties

    Each role gets employer, title, dates and two or three lines. Write what changed because you were there rather than what you were responsible for. If you have no formal employment, an internship, family business or volunteer role counts, provided you can evidence it.

  5. Put test scores and certifications together

    IELTS, PTE, TOEFL or SAT with the score, the date and the test report number. Add any technical or professional certification with the issuing body. Everything here must be verifiable.

  6. Add referees only if you can reach them

    Two is enough, with role, institution and a working email address. Ask them first. A referee who does not respond is worse than no referee listed at all.

  7. Run the final checks

    Every date consistent with your transcripts and your statement, no gaps left unexplained, one font throughout, exported to PDF, and the file named with your own name rather than a draft number.

Common mistakes we send back

  • Three or four pages where two would do
  • Dates that disagree with the academic transcripts
  • A photograph included where the destination does not want one
  • Duties copied from a job advert instead of what you did
  • Test scores with no test report number
  • Sent as a Word file, which reflows differently on the assessor's machine