CV basics
CV Format for Nepal
A clean, well-ordered CV is the difference between getting shortlisted and getting skipped. This page shows the exact format most employers in Nepal expect — which sections to include, in what order, and the formatting rules that make it look professional. If you want the step-by-step writing process instead, see How to Make a CV in Nepal.
Updated 17 July 2026
Quick answer
The standard CV format for jobs in Nepal is one A4 page in this order: name and contact details, a 2–3 line professional summary, work experience (most recent first), education, skills, and languages. Add certifications or training only if relevant. Use one clean font, one date format, and send it as a PDF. A photo is optional for local corporate jobs and expected for foreign employment.
Key takeaways
- Section order for Nepal: header → 2–3 line summary → work experience (most recent first) → education → skills → languages.
- One page for most candidates; two pages only with several years of directly relevant experience.
- Photo: optional for local corporate jobs, expected for Gulf/Malaysia foreign employment, left off for remote/international.
- Write achievements, not duties — with numbers you can honestly stand behind.
- Send a PDF named after you (Sita-Sharma-CV.pdf), in one clean font and one date format throughout.
Build this CV in the editor.
Start building →The standard Nepali CV format at a glance
Employers in Nepal — banks, INGOs, private companies, schools — read hundreds of CVs the same way: top to bottom, fast. This order puts what they look for first where they look for it:
| Section | What goes in it | How much space |
|---|---|---|
| Header | Name, phone, email, city. Add LinkedIn or portfolio if you have one. | 2–3 lines |
| Professional summary | Who you are, your strongest skill, what role you want — tailored to the job. | 2–3 lines |
| Work experience | Most recent job first. Title, employer, dates, then 2–4 achievement bullets each. | The largest section |
| Education | Most recent qualification first: degree, institution, year. | 2–4 lines |
| Skills | The specific tools and abilities the job advert asks for. | 2–4 lines |
| Languages | Each language with an honest level. | 1–2 lines |
| Optional | Certifications, training, references — only when relevant or requested. | As needed |
Tip: Freshers flip one thing: education moves above work experience, because it is the stronger card. The full fresher layout is in the Fresher CV Format guide.
CV, resume, or biodata — which one do Nepali employers want?
Job adverts in Nepal almost always say "CV", and that is the document this page describes. "Resume" means the same thing here — the subtle international difference is explained in CV vs Resume, and it only starts to matter when you apply abroad.
"Biodata" is the older format — a table of personal details (date of birth, father's name, address, marital status) with work history squeezed in at the end. Some traditional offices and printed application forms still use the word, but for a private-sector, bank, NGO, or IT application, sending a personal-details table instead of an achievement-focused CV reads as outdated. If a form explicitly asks for biodata fields, fill the form — and attach this kind of CV alongside it.
How to format each section
Header and contact details. Your name is the heading of the document — large, at the top, no "CV of…" label. Under it: one phone number you actually answer, a professional email address (your name, not a nickname), and your city. A full street address is not needed.
Professional summary. Two or three lines: who you are, your strongest relevant skill or achievement, and the role you want. Write it last, tailor it per application. The formula with fresher and experienced examples is in the Professional Summary guide.
Summary example (experienced)
Accountant with 4 years' experience in a Kathmandu trading company, handling VAT filing, reconciliation, and monthly reporting in Tally. Looking to bring accurate, on-time financial work to a growing finance team.
Work experience. Most recent job first. For each: job title, employer, city, dates — then two to four bullets that show what you achieved, not just what you were responsible for.
✗ Duty (weak)
Responsible for handling customers and sales at the shop.
✓ Achievement (strong)
Served 50+ customers daily and handled cash and digital payments with zero reconciliation errors over two years.
Education. Most recent qualification first: degree or level, institution, completion year. Once you hold a bachelor's degree, your +2 needs only one line and SEE details can go entirely — a recruiter hiring a graduate does not read school marks.
Skills and languages. List the specific tools and abilities the advert asks for — "Excel (pivot tables, lookups)" beats "computer skills". For languages, give an honest level: Nepali (native), English (fluent), Hindi (conversational).
Formatting rules that make it look professional
- One page for most candidates; two only with several years of relevant experience. NGO and academic careers are the exception — see the NGO/INGO guide.
- One clean font throughout (for example Inter, Calibri, or Arial), 10–12 pt body size.
- One date format everywhere — pick "Jan 2024 – Mar 2026" style and never mix it with "2024/01".
- Short bullets starting with an action verb — no paragraphs in the experience section.
- Single-column layout if the employer might screen with software — see the ATS-Friendly CV guide.
- Save and send as PDF so the layout survives every device. Send a Word file only when the advert asks for one.
- Name the file with your own name: Sita-Sharma-CV.pdf, not final-cv-2.pdf.
Local job, foreign employment, or remote: how the format changes
The section order above stays the same everywhere. What changes is the personal-details block and the photo:
| Applying for | Photo | Personal details (DOB, passport, marital status) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local corporate / bank / NGO | Optional, usually left off | Leave out | 1 page (2 if senior) |
| Foreign employment (Gulf, Malaysia) | Expected — passport style | Include near the top | 1 page |
| Remote / international | Leave off | Leave out entirely | 1 page |
For foreign employment, the exact personal-details block and photo rules are in the Gulf CV Format guide. For remote and international applications, what to cut and why is in the Remote Job CV guide. CVNepal's builder handles this automatically: choose your goal (local, foreign, remote) and the right fields and template appear.
Do and don't
Do
- Tailor the summary and reorder bullets for every application.
- Use numbers where you can honestly stand behind them.
- Proofread twice — and once more for the employer's name.
- Keep verb tense consistent: past tense for past jobs, present for the current one.
Don't
- Write long paragraphs anywhere except the 2–3 line summary.
- Include DOB, marital status, or religion on a local corporate CV.
- Decorate with borders, clip art, or more than one accent colour.
- List "references available on request" — give references only when asked.
Frequently asked questions
- Should a Nepali CV include a photo?
- For local corporate, IT, bank, and NGO jobs, a photo is optional and most candidates leave it off. For foreign employment (Gulf, Malaysia) a passport-style photo is expected. For remote and international applications, leave it off entirely.
- What is the difference between a CV and a biodata?
- A biodata is the older table format centred on personal details — date of birth, address, family information. A CV is centred on work and skills. Nepali employers hiring for private-sector jobs expect a CV; only fill biodata-style details when a specific form asks for them.
- Should my CV be in English or Nepali?
- English for almost all private-sector, NGO, and foreign-employment applications — adverts are written in English and recruiters expect the CV to match. A Nepali-language CV makes sense only when the advert itself is in Nepali and asks for one.
- How many pages should a CV be in Nepal?
- One page for freshers and most candidates with a few years of experience. Two pages are fine once you have several years of directly relevant experience. Nobody reads page three.
- PDF or Word — which format should I send?
- PDF, always, unless the employer specifically asks for Word. PDF keeps your layout identical on every device; Word files reflow and can look broken on the recruiter's screen.