Chanuka Jeewantha.

Global Markets

Written for the country you are applying to.

A CV written for London looks out of place in New York, and a resume that works in Sydney will get filtered out in Toronto. Choose your target market to see the exact format, length, and recruitment rules expected by local hiring managers.

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Primary hubs

Dedicated country hubs.

Full market guides, hiring conventions, in-demand sectors, and localized packages in USD.

CV Standard

United Kingdom

UK hiring is split between employers who recruit directly and recruitment agencies who shortlist on their behalf, so your CV is often read first by a consultant matching it against a client brief. Both readers expect the same thing: a concise, evidence-led document in a layout they have seen a thousand times. The UK register is understated. Claims backed by scope and outcomes land; adjectives do not. For applicants from overseas, the question underneath every read is right to work, and a CV that answers it plainly removes the most common silent objection.

Standard Length:
Two pages for most professionals. One page can work early in a career.
Spelling:
British English
Photo Policy:
No Photo (Strict)
View UK Guide Order for UK
Resume Standard

United States

US hiring runs at volume, and most resumes pass through an applicant tracking system such as Workday, Greenhouse, Lever or iCIMS before a person ever opens them. That reality shapes the whole document: a clean, single-column layout the software can parse, keywords pulled from the job posting, and bullets that lead with results rather than responsibilities. A US resume is also a sales document in a way a CV rarely is. Recruiters expect you to state your impact in numbers, dollars, percentages or scale, and a resume that only lists duties reads as unfinished. For applicants outside the US, the underlying question is almost always the same one an employer cannot ask directly: can this person legally work here, and does the company want to sponsor that. A resume that is honest and quiet about it, and a cover letter or application form that addresses it properly, removes the most common reason a strong candidate gets passed over.

Standard Length:
One page for most professionals under about ten years of experience. Two pages once your career justifies it. Longer, structured formats apply only to academic CVs and to federal resumes submitted through USAJOBS, which are their own category.
Spelling:
American English
Photo Policy:
No Photo (Strict)
View US Guide Order for US
Resume Standard

Australia

Most Australian professional hiring happens through SEEK and similar job boards, with an applicant tracking system doing the first pass before a person reads anything. A second, distinct hiring track runs through government, health and many large or public-facing employers, where a resume alone is not the application: a separate statement addressing stated criteria or capabilities usually is, and it is often scored on its own. Skilled migration sits underneath a good share of the market too, so an accurate work rights or visa line, and a resume that lines up with the occupation an applicant is being assessed against, both matter. None of this makes an Australian resume harder to write than a UK or US one, only different: longer where detail earns its place, direct about referees, and explicit about criteria where a role sets them.

Standard Length:
Two to three pages for most professionals, extending to four when a role asks for a selection criteria response or for senior and government positions.
Spelling:
Australian English (British spelling)
Photo Policy:
No Photo (Strict)
View Australian Guide Order for Australian
Resume Standard

Canada

Canada hires through a mix of large-company applicant tracking systems, small and mid-size employers who read resumes directly, and a genuine reliance on referrals and networking, so a resume has to work both as a document a system can search and one a person reads with attention. For newcomers, the practical obstacle is rarely qualifications. It is the quiet preference some employers show for candidates who have already worked in Canada, often called the Canadian-experience question. A resume cannot manufacture that experience, but it can present international work in terms a Canadian reader recognises, name any credential assessment already under way, and avoid the formatting habits, a photo or a personal-details block, that mark a resume as unfamiliar with local convention.

Standard Length:
Two pages for most professionals. One page suits entry level and new graduates.
Spelling:
Canadian English
Photo Policy:
No Photo (Strict)
View Canadian Guide Order for Canadian
CV Standard

New Zealand

New Zealand's job market is small by international standards, and that shapes almost everything about how a CV is read. Many hiring managers already know several of the people who might apply for a given role, so a CV that sounds like it was written for anywhere reads as written for nowhere in particular. Employers respond better to a plain, specific account of what you did than to language that oversells it, a habit some New Zealanders call tall poppy syndrome: a wariness of anyone who appears to rate themselves above the evidence. For applicants writing from outside Aotearoa New Zealand, the CV also has to answer a quiet question early: are you genuinely able to work here, and do you actually intend to move.

Standard Length:
Two to three pages for most professionals. One page can work early in a career.
Spelling:
British spelling
Photo Policy:
No Photo (Strict)
View New Zealand Guide Order for New Zealand
CV Standard

United Arab Emirates

UAE hiring runs at speed and volume. A single advertised role in Dubai or Abu Dhabi can draw hundreds of applications within days, screened first by a recruitment consultant or an in-house talent team working through a job portal or an agency database before a hiring manager sees anything. The UAE also reverses several conventions the UK and Australia insist on: a professional photo is normal, and nationality and visa status are read as practical logistics rather than personal information. For the large South Asian, Filipino, Arab and international workforce that makes up most of the country's private sector, the CV question is less about hiding personal details and more about stating them clearly enough that an employer can judge, in seconds, whether you can start and how.

Standard Length:
Two pages for most professionals. Senior technical and executive CVs can extend to three.
Spelling:
British English
Photo Policy:
No Photo (Strict)
View UAE Guide Order for UAE
Resume Standard

Singapore

Singapore hiring moves quickly and draws from one of the most international talent pools in Asia. Local employers, the regional headquarters of multinationals, and a large recruitment agency market all compete for the same pool of professionals, and most source candidates through MyCareersFuture, JobStreet or LinkedIn before an interview is ever booked. The resume that gets a first look is short, quantified and specific: one to two pages, a summary that states your specialism plainly, and achievements written as outcomes rather than duties. For candidates applying from outside Singapore, nationality and work pass status sit under every read, because employers hiring for Employment Pass or S Pass roles are also working within the Ministry of Manpower's Fair Consideration Framework and, for Employment Pass roles, the COMPASS points system. A resume that states your position plainly, rather than leaving the employer to guess, moves faster through that process.

Standard Length:
One to two pages for most professionals. Senior and specialist candidates rarely exceed two.
Spelling:
British English
Photo Policy:
No Photo (Strict)
View Singapore Guide Order for Singapore

Relocation & Visas

International job-seeker corridors.

Applying from abroad? Explore destination-specific guides covering work rights orientation, overseas candidate filtering, and CV translation across global markets.

Middle East→

Qatar

Qatar shares the Gulf CV format with the UAE: a professional photo, personal and visa details on the page, and recruiters working at speed across high volumes. What is distinct is the concentration of hiring around major state-linked employers in energy, infrastructure, aviation, healthcare and education, several of which run structured, credential-focused recruitment. For overseas applicants, matching qualifications and licensing to the role is often as important as the achievements themselves.

Middle East→

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia's labour market has shifted rapidly as large-scale projects and economic diversification drive demand in construction, technology, tourism, healthcare and professional services. CV norms are Gulf-standard, with a professional photo and personal details expected. The market also weighs qualifications and, in regulated professions, licensing and equivalency, so an overseas CV that makes credentials easy to verify moves faster than one that leaves them implied.

Unsure which format matches your goals?

Message Chanuka directly with your target countries. You will receive a direct recommendation on format, length, and positioning.

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