The same CV can be exactly right in Munich and slightly odd in Dublin. Most of it travels well: your roles, your results, a clean layout. Three things don't: the photo, the personal details at the top and how long the CV is allowed to run.
None of this is written down in law as a format, and every employer is a little different. But recruiters in each country read hundreds of CVs that follow the local habit, so a CV that breaks it stands out for the wrong reason. Here is what to expect, country by country.
The three things that change
The photo. In German-speaking countries most recruiters still look for one, even though no law asks for it. In the UK and Ireland it's the opposite: employers avoid photos so nobody can say they judged by appearance, and some remove them before a CV is passed on. Elsewhere it's a matter of taste, and a photo is optional.
Personal details. Older CVs opened with date of birth, place of birth, nationality and marital status. Equal-treatment laws across Europe mean employers can't use these to choose, so most no longer expect them. A line on your right to work is more useful than your nationality when you apply from abroad.
Length. Recruiters skim. One page suits a first job or a short career; two pages suit most people with a few years behind them. Beyond two, readers rarely keep going.
Country by country
- Germany, Austria, Switzerland
A tabular CV, newest first, usually two pages, often with a professional photo. A gap of more than a few months is noticed, so name it: parental leave, study or a career break. Some still close with place, date and a signature. In Switzerland, add your work permit if you are not Swiss; in all three, work references (Arbeitszeugnisse) often go with the application.
- France
One page for a junior, two at most for anyone else. A short title at the top says which job you are after. A photo is optional and less common than it was. A cover letter is still expected for most roles.
- United Kingdom and Ireland
No photo, no date of birth, no marital status. Two pages, opening with a short profile of three or four lines. References are given when asked for, so the old “available on request” line can go.
- Spain
One or two pages. A photo is common but no longer expected everywhere, especially in tech and international companies. Personal details beyond your contacts are optional.
- Italy
Two pages are usual, and a photo is common. Many CVs end with a line giving consent to process personal data under the GDPR. It isn’t legally required, but some recruiters still look for it.
- Poland
A photo is common, and so is the data-processing consent clause (klauzula RODO) at the bottom, worded as the posting asks. Postings often say which version they want: copy it.
- Ukraine
One or two pages, often with a photo. Many people apply through job sites’ own CV forms, so keep a PDF ready for employers who ask for a file.
Country guides: Germany.
And the Europass CV? It's the EU's standard format, accepted by EU institutions and some public bodies, and you'll still meet it in Italy and Spain. For most private employers it reads long and generic. A clean one-column CV says the same in half the space.
The facts stay the same. Only the frame around them changes.
What stays the same everywhere
Whichever country you apply to, the reader is looking for the same thing: whether you have done this kind of work before, and what came of it. These hold in every market:
- Write the CV in the posting’s language. An English posting at a German company takes an English CV.
- Newest role first, each with its title, employer, place and dates on one line.
- Results over duties, with numbers only when they are true and you can explain them.
- One column of real, selectable text, so the application system reads it in order.
- Contacts in the body of the page: email, phone, city and a LinkedIn link if you keep it current.
- No gaps left unexplained. One line is enough: “Career break: caring for a family member”.
If you apply in several countries at once, the language is the change that matters most. A strong CV translated well beats a perfect local format in the wrong language.
One master CV, a version per country
You don't need to rewrite your career for each market. Keep everything you've done in one master CV, then make a copy for each language or country you apply to: the photo on for Zurich, off for London, the page count set by what each reader expects. When something new happens at work, you add it once and every copy can pick it up.
Make the German and the English version from one CV
Duplicate your master CV and have Romy translate the copy. The Design tab says whether a photo is expected for the CV’s market, and Fit to two pages tightens it when it runs long.
- Duplicated your master CV and translated the copy into GermanCopy
- Photo: expected for this CV’s marketDesign
- Fitted the CV to two pagesLayout
- Cover letter laid out to DIN 5008Letter
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