What Is a CV, and Why Does It Matter?
A CV (Curriculum Vitae) is a structured document that summarises your academic background, skills, and experience. For a technical competition like the Ideathon, it tells sponsors who you are beyond your team’s challenge solution — your degree, your projects, your interests, and your potential.
Sharing your CV is optional, but highly recommended. It’s a low-effort, high-reward step: the sponsors are already interested in the competition participants, so your CV lands in front of the right people at the right moment.
Step 1: Choose Your Tool
You don’t need Word or expensive software. Here are some great options:
- Reactive Resume is a free, open-source CV builder that requires no account and produces clean, professional results. It offers multiple templates, is easy to customise, and lets you export directly to PDF. Perfect if you’re starting from scratch.
Other options
- Overleaf — If you’re comfortable with LaTeX, Overleaf has excellent academic CV templates. Great for a more technical or research-oriented look.
- Canva — User-friendly with visually polished templates. Good if design matters to you, though keep it professional.
- LinkedIn — You can export your LinkedIn profile as a PDF CV. Handy if your profile is already up to date.
- Word / Google Docs — Simple and reliable. Search for “CV template” and adapt one to your needs.
Tip: Whatever tool you use, always export your final CV as a PDF. It preserves formatting across devices and is the universally accepted format.
Step 2: Structure Your CV
A clear, well-organised CV is more effective than a flashy one. Stick to one page if you have less than 3 years of experience. Here’s the standard structure:
1. Header
Your name, contact email, LinkedIn profile (optional), and location (city, country). No need for a full street address.
2. Education
List your degree(s) in reverse chronological order (most recent first). Include:
- University name and location
- Degree title (e.g. BSc Aerospace Engineering)
- Expected graduation year or graduation year
- Relevant coursework or GPA (only if strong)
3. Experience
Include internships, part-time jobs, research assistantships, or even significant volunteer roles. For each entry:
- Organisation name and your role
- Dates (month/year – month/year)
- 2–3 bullet points describing what you did and what you achieved
Tip: Use action verbs — developed, designed, analysed, coordinated, led — and quantify results where possible (“reduced processing time by 30%”, “organised an event for 80 participants”).
4. Projects
This section is especially important for students with limited work experience. Include:
- University projects (final year projects, lab work, design exercises)
- Personal or extracurricular projects (robotics clubs, coding side projects, hackathons)
- Any EUROAVIA activities or events you’ve been involved in
For each project, briefly describe what it was, what tools or methods you used, and what the outcome was.
5. Skills
Keep this section concise and honest. Split it into:
- Technical skills: software (MATLAB, CATIA, Python, AutoCAD…), programming languages, lab techniques
- Languages: include proficiency level (e.g. Spanish – Native, English – C1)
6. Extracurricular Activities & Volunteering
Aerospace recruiters value initiative. If you’re part of a student association (like EUROAVIA!), a sports team, or any volunteer organisation, list it here with your role.
7. Certifications & Awards (optional)
Online courses (Coursera, edX), competitions you’ve placed in, scholarships. Only include if relevant and verifiable.
Step 3: Make It Look Good
You don’t need a design degree, but a few principles go a long way:
- Stick to one or two fonts. A clean sans-serif like Inter, Calibri, or Helvetica works well.
- Use consistent spacing and alignment. Misaligned bullets are distracting.
- Avoid photos, graphics, and coloured backgrounds unless you know the recruiter culture well. In aerospace and engineering, clean and simple wins.
- Keep it to one page. For most students and recent graduates, two pages is too much.
- Use a readable font size — 10–12pt for body text, slightly larger for your name.
Tip: Ask a friend or classmate to read your CV. If they don’t understand what a line means, rewrite it. Clarity beats jargon.
Step 4: Tailor It
Since your CV will be shared with aerospace sponsors, make sure the content you highlight is relevant to the industry. Push aerospace projects, relevant software, and technical coursework to the top of their sections. Even a small adjustment in emphasis can make a big difference.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Spelling and grammar errors. Use a spellchecker and read it aloud.
- Generic objective statements. (“I am a motivated student looking for opportunities.”) Skip it or replace with a short, specific summary.
- Lying or exaggerating. Sponsors and recruiters will notice. Stick to what you can back up in conversation.
- Outdated or irrelevant information. That summer job from five years ago probably doesn’t need to be there.
- Overly creative formats. Multi-column layouts with icons and progress bars may not parse correctly in applicant tracking systems.
Quick Checklist Before You Submit
- [ ] Name is clearly visible at the top
- [ ] Contact email is professional (not a childhood nickname)
- [ ] Dates are consistent in format (e.g. Sep 2023 – Jun 2024)
- [ ] One page (or justified if two)
- [ ] All links work (LinkedIn, GitHub, portfolio if included)
Resources
- Europass — EU standard CV format, widely recognised by European employers
