CV conventions in Europe, country by country

Photos, personal details, signatures and length vary across Europe; here's what's commonly expected in each country, and how it's changing.

There’s no single European CV. Each country has its own habits about photos, personal details, length and layout, and they’re shifting as employers adopt equal-treatment practices and international hiring norms. Everything below describes conventions, not rules: what’s commonly expected, which varies by sector, company size and how international the employer is. Large multinationals and tech companies often accept a UK- or US-style CV anywhere. When in doubt, look at the job ad, the company’s careers page and CVs of people in your field in that country.

At a glance

Country	Photo	Personal details	Typical length	Notable conventions
Germany, Austria, Switzerland	Traditionally common; increasingly optional	Date of birth and nationality sometimes included; less so now	1 to 2 pages	Tabular layout; place, date and signature traditionally at the end
France	Less common than it used to be; optional	Minimal is increasingly normal	1 page early career, 2 later	Target job title at the top; interests section common
Netherlands	Optional	Minimal	1 to 2 pages	Direct, concise; short personal profile
Spain	Traditionally common; increasingly optional	Sometimes date of birth	1 to 2 pages	Europass format fairly widely recognised
Italy	Sometimes	Sometimes date of birth	1 to 2 pages (Europass often longer)	Data-protection consent line commonly added at the end
Nordic countries	Fairly common in some countries; optional	Minimal	1 to 2 pages	Informal, concise; personal profile; interests sometimes included

Germany (and Austria, Switzerland)

The German CV, the Lebenslauf, is traditionally the most formal in Europe. Common features:

Tabular layout. Dates in a narrow left column (often month and year, such as 03/2021 to 06/2024), details on the right. This is what the Continental template’s date column is for.
Reverse chronological order is now the norm, with your most recent role first.
Photo. A professional photo has long been common. It is optional, and many employers no longer expect one. Germany’s General Equal Treatment Act (AGG) of 2006 prohibits discrimination in hiring on grounds such as age, sex and ethnic origin, and some employers prefer not to receive photos for that reason. Include one only if you’re comfortable and it suits the sector. See photo on a CV.
Personal details. Date of birth, place of birth, nationality and sometimes marital status traditionally appeared at the top. These are increasingly left out, especially in larger and international companies.
Place, date and signature. Traditionally the CV ends with the city, the date and your signature (for example, “Berlin, 14.10.2026” with a signature underneath). It’s increasingly omitted on online applications, but still seen, particularly in traditional sectors.
The application pack. A German application (the Bewerbung) usually includes a cover letter and often copies of certificates and employer references (Arbeitszeugnisse). Follow the job ad’s instructions on what to attach.

Austrian and Swiss conventions are broadly similar, with local variations.

France

A job title at the top. Many French CVs open with a headline naming the target role (“Chargée de communication digitale”), sometimes followed by a short profile.
Length: one page is common for early-career candidates; two for experienced ones.
Photo: was once common; now optional and less expected, varying by sector.
Sections: usually Expérience professionnelle, Formation (education), Compétences (skills), Langues and Centres d’intérêt (interests). Interests are more commonly included than on UK CVs and can come up in interview.
Education: give the full name of the qualification and institution; French readers may also want to see the level relative to the baccalauréat (for example “Bac+5” for a master’s level).

Netherlands

Concise and direct. One to two pages, plain wording, results over adjectives.
Personal profile of a few lines at the top is common.
Photo is optional; some people include one, many don’t.
Personal details are usually minimal.
Interests sometimes appear in a short line at the end.

Spain

Photo: traditionally common and still seen fairly often, though increasingly optional, particularly in international companies.
Personal details: date of birth is sometimes included; it’s becoming less common.
Europass is reasonably well known, but a clean, well-designed CV of your own is widely accepted.
Length: one to two pages.

Italy

Europass is widely recognised and common, particularly in the public sector, though private employers increasingly accept other formats.
Photo and date of birth are sometimes included.
The data-protection consent line. Italian CVs commonly end with a sentence authorising the employer to process your personal data, citing Italy’s data protection law, Legislative Decree 196/2003 (the Codice in materia di protezione dei dati personali), and the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/679, GDPR). A typical wording:

Autorizzo il trattamento dei miei dati personali ai sensi del D.Lgs. 196/2003 e del Regolamento UE 2016/679 (GDPR).

(“I authorise the processing of my personal data under Legislative Decree 196/2003 and Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR).”)

Treat this as a convention. Under the GDPR, an employer usually processes candidate data on grounds other than consent, so the line is often described as not strictly necessary. But many Italian recruiters still expect to see it, and its absence can look like an oversight, so it’s sensible to include it on CVs for Italian employers.

Nordic countries (Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Iceland)

Concise and informal in tone. One to two pages, with a short personal profile.
Photo: fairly common in some Nordic countries, though optional everywhere.
Interests and a sense of who you are outside work are more often included than in the UK or US.
Flat-hierarchy language. Bullets that show collaboration and initiative tend to read well; exaggerated self-promotion tends not to.
References: sometimes listed with names, sometimes “available on request”.

Conventions differ between these countries, so treat this as a starting point.

Europass

Europass is the EU’s free set of tools for presenting skills and qualifications, including an online CV editor and cover letter builder. Its CV format has a fixed structure, and its language section uses the Council of Europe’s CEFR levels (A1 to C2).

When it’s useful:

the job ad or application process asks for it (some EU-funded programmes, public bodies and academic exchanges do);
you’re applying in a country where it’s widely recognised, such as Italy;
you want a structure that’s easy to compare across countries.

When it’s less useful: for many private-sector roles, a Europass CV can look generic and can run long. Many applicants use its section structure but write the content in their own design. Either approach is acceptable; follow what the employer asks for.

Things that are fairly consistent across Europe

A4 paper (see paper size).
Day-month-year dates in full dates, or month/year for roles.
Languages with CEFR levels, widely understood. See certifications and languages.
Reverse chronological order.
The EU’s GDPR governs how employers handle your data, wherever in the EU you apply.

Tip: If you’re applying across several countries, keep one master CV and produce country versions from it: photo on or off, personal details in or out, signature line for German employers, consent line for Italian ones. The builder flags photos and personal details for regions where they’re not usually expected, which is a useful check when you switch versions.

Start a blank EU CV in the builder for A4 and European defaults, or start in the Continental template for a German-style tabular layout with an optional photo.

Next: read photo on a CV and personal details for country-by-country decisions on both.