CV types explained: which CV format is right for you 

The format of your CV decides what a recruiter notices first, and the right choice depends on your career history and the role you are targeting. Different formats suit different situations, from steady progression in one field to a change of direction after a break. 

The main CV types are chronological, functional, and combination, with video and infographic formats used in specific creative fields. A chronological CV leads with your work history, a functional CV leads with your skills, and a combination CV blends the two. Your background and target role decide which one fits. 

Format	Leads with	Works well for	Main drawback
Chronological	Work history, newest first	Steady progression in one field	Highlights gaps and frequent moves
Functional	Skills and achievements	Career changers, gaps, early careers	Can obscure dates and progression
Combination	Key achievements, then history	Strong skills plus a solid record	Runs longer, needs tight editing
Video	Personality on camera	Creative, sales, customer-facing roles	Not read by ATS; niche appeal
Infographic	Visual data and results	Design, marketing, results-led roles	Hard for ATS to read; niche appeal

Choose a chronological CV when you have relevant experience and a clear track record in your field. It lists each role in reverse date order, so career progression and recent achievements stand out, and recruitment agencies tend to prefer it because it maps neatly to their clients’ vacancies. The trade-off is that it draws attention to employment gaps and frequent job changes, and it can imply you want more of the same, which does not help if you are changing direction. 

Choose a functional CV when you want your skills to lead rather than your job titles. It groups your experience under three or four areas of expertise taken from the job specification, with examples of responsibilities and achievements under each, which suits career changers, people returning after a break, or those drawing on earlier experience. It can feel harder to write at first, so start from your chronological content and reorganise it around skills. Some recruiters treat a skills-led format with caution because it can obscure dates and progression. 

Choose a combination CV when you have both strong skills and a solid work history to show. It opens like a chronological CV with your contact details and profile, follows with a key achievements section of seven or eight results drawn from across your career, then lists your employment history in reverse order. This puts the value you offer on the first page while keeping a clear timeline, and many recruitment agencies prefer it to a full functional CV. The main cost is length, so edit it tightly. 

Consider a video CV when you are applying in creative or customer-facing fields such as advertising, PR, or sales. A short recorded introduction shows personality and communication skills that a written document cannot, which can set you apart from other applicants. Treat it as a supplement rather than a replacement, since the written CV remains the standard application tool and an applicant tracking system cannot read a video. Use it only where the sector and the employer welcome it. 

Consider an infographic CV when you work in design, marketing, or a results-led role and want to present data visually. Charts and icons can draw the reader’s eye to measurable achievements at a glance. The format is still fairly new, and many employers and applicant tracking systems struggle to read it, so research the company culture first and keep a plain-text version ready for online applications. 

Most employers now filter applications through an applicant tracking system, or ATS, which scans a CV for relevant keywords and structure before a person reads it. Chronological and combination formats, with clear headings and a standard section order, read most reliably. Heavily designed formats such as infographic or video CVs often fail this scan, so keep a clean, text-based version for online applications and save the creative version for direct approaches or interviews. Matching keywords from the job description also improves how the system ranks you. How an AI career coach can help tailor your CV to a specific role shows this in practice. 

Start with three questions: what does your history look like, what does the role ask for, and what do you want the reader to notice first. If your timeline is a strength, choose chronological. If your skills matter more than your recent job titles, choose functional. If you have both, choose combination. Read the job description to see whether it emphasises experience or capability, and match your format to it. Whatever you choose, tailor the content to each application rather than sending the same document everywhere. 

The chronological CV is the most widely used and the format most recruiters expect. It suits applicants with relevant experience and steady progression, which covers the majority of jobseekers. 

A functional or combination CV works well for a career change, because both let your transferable skills lead instead of your recent job title. This shifts the reader’s attention to what you can do in the new field rather than where you have worked. 

A CV should usually run to two pages, with the most relevant information on the first page. Recruiters scan quickly, so lead with a short profile and your strongest, most relevant achievements. 

Using one CV for every job weakens each application. Tailor the format and content to the role, mirror the language in the job description, and lead with the experience or skills that specific employer values most.