There are certain things you should and should not include in your CV or Curriculum Vitae. As you would know, a CV is a more formalized and extended version of a resume. In some countries, a CV is considered to be the same as a resume. However, in some other countries, like the US and Canada (and perhaps in Europe), a CV is different to a resume, as it should be.

So  how to write a CV for a job? You should obviously include all details relevant to the job at hand, such as academic qualifications, relevant work experience as well as any publications, fellowships, awards and the like.

But some are a little reluctant when it comes to disclosing personal information about themselves. Since a CV requires an applicant to be as detailed as possible, it can be a little unnerving to be ‘too open’ about yourself. However, there is no law that prevents or compels a job applicant to withhold or disclose personal information about themselves.

But you also have to keep in mind, that it is nearly impossible to prove that such a discrimination occurred during the application stage, which would mean that any job recruiter or employer could easily discard your CV if they thought you were not being open enough about yourself.

So the best way to address this dilemma is to make disclosing more details about yourself as a selling point. In other words, include a cover letter with the CV and say something along the lines of if the employer would like to know more about yourself, then they should consider you as a candidate for the job and interview you. Don’t use this exactly, but word it in such a way that the employer or recruiter can’t think that you’re deliberately withholding information about yourself.

Another way to think about including details on your CV is to simply be as open as possible. This goes by the idea that you wouldn’t want to work for someone who can’t accept you for who you are, so why bother getting accepted by them anyway? Employers these days tend to be more ethical and responsive to openness, especially if you tell them why you are proud of who and what you are.

So including details like your name and contact information is obvious for any job application, but including your date of birth, gender, marital status, nationality and the like in your CV is ultimately a matter of choice.

As a guide, if you don’t mind employers knowing personal details about you because you are confident enough in yourself, then being as detailed as possible in your CV in the way to go. However, if you are not as confident or secure about this, then you could leave this as a selling point in your cover letter, and probably in your CV as well.

If you are deciding to upload your CV via an online job search site, or sending your CV to a relatively unknown employer/recipient, then you should also stray on the side of caution. Personal data stored electronically can be subject to deliberate hacking and identity theft, so you should be extra careful when it comes releasing personal details online.

These are some of the things for you to keep in mind when you’re thinking what to write on a CV. You could easily get a template for a CV but your application wouldn’t be as effective as it can be if you wrote it yourself.