Use a source hierarchy

  1. The vacancy and application portal
  2. The employer’s official instructions
  3. The relevant regulator for licensed work
  4. A current public employment or careers service
  5. General advice only when stronger sources are silent

What the initial guide covers—and does not

The reviewed set covers named public guidance from Canada, England, New Zealand, Australia and Europass. It records what each source actually says and lists unresolved fields instead of converting them into worldwide rules.

Not yet covered: dedicated guidance for the United States, Latin America, Africa, Asia or the Middle East. Those regions require their own current official sources and local review before expansion.

Format and identity boundaries

  • A4 and Letter are both supported; the employer or portal controls the choice.
  • Dates, addresses and phone numbers are not silently rewritten.
  • Document direction follows language and content, not location detection.
  • Credential names remain attached to their awarding body and jurisdiction.
  • Sensitive personal data is excluded unless legitimately required.

Read the sourced regional matrix

The detailed matrix below shows terminology, photo/personal-information guidance, privacy boundaries and explicit unknowns with direct links and checked dates.

What this page does not decide

It does not provide immigration, employment or privacy law advice; declare universal photo, page-size or address rules; or infer a user’s destination from their network location. Local human review remains appropriate for high-stakes applications.

Sourced regional matrix

Canada — Resume in the cited Job Bank guidance

Verified from the named source

  • Canada Job Bank says a photo is not the norm.
  • It advises excluding age, marital status, religious/political views and a Social Insurance Number.
  • It recommends clear contact information and says a resume is generally no more than two pages.

Not established by this source

  • Province, occupation and employer requirements still need separate verification.
  • The source does not establish one required paper size, date format or phone format for every Canadian application.

Sources: Canada Job Bank — How to write a good resume (checked 2026-09-30)

England — CV in the cited National Careers Service guidance

Verified from the named source

  • The National Careers Service uses “CV” and recommends name, phone, email and a professional profile link where useful.
  • It says not to include age, date of birth, marital status or nationality.
  • It advises tailoring the CV to the job advert.

Not established by this source

  • Guidance is from an England service and is not asserted as a universal UK rule.
  • The page does not establish a universal photo, paper-size, date or phone-format rule.

Sources: National Careers Service (England) — CV sections (checked 2026-09-30)

New Zealand — CV in the cited Careers guidance

Verified from the named source

  • The public guidance uses “CV.”
  • It advises leaving out photos or images and personal details including date of birth, marital status and religion.
  • It recommends making both PDF and Word versions available.

Not established by this source

  • Occupation, employer and visa processes may request additional evidence.
  • The source does not establish one paper-size, date or phone-format rule for every application.

Sources: New Zealand Careers — How to write a CV (checked 2026-09-30)

Australia — Resume in the cited Workforce Australia guidance

Verified from the named source

  • Workforce Australia uses “resume” and treats it as one part of an application that may also include a cover letter, profile, screening questions or selection criteria.
  • It advises following the job ad and tailoring each application.
  • It distinguishes a Workforce Australia profile from a resume.

Not established by this source

  • The cited page does not establish a country-wide photo, personal-details, paper-size or length convention.
  • Regulated occupations require their own Australian authority or regulator source.

Sources: Workforce Australia — Tips for successful job applications (checked 2026-09-30)

European Union / Europass — CV in the Europass service

Verified from the named source

  • Europass provides a CV builder in 31 languages and advises tailoring the CV to the vacancy.
  • Europass profile guidance says not to include sensitive information such as health, beliefs or other information irrelevant to career and learning.
  • A Europass CV is an available format, not proof of one shared hiring convention across Europe.

Not established by this source

  • Photo, personal-detail, date, address and page-size expectations differ by country, sector and employer.
  • The linked Europass builder currently presents a professional photo as part of its guidance; applicants should verify whether that is appropriate for the destination rather than generalizing it across Europe.

Sources: Europass — Create your Europass CV (checked 2026-09-30) · Europass — Information to include in a profile (checked 2026-09-30) · Europass — Protection of personal data (checked 2026-09-30)

Cross-border format boundaries

A4 and Letter

APWICO can render both. No source above establishes a universal country rule, so follow the employer or portal and inspect pagination in the selected size.

Dates, addresses and phone numbers

Keep the applicant’s intended meaning and use a format the recipient can understand. Include an international calling code for cross-border use when appropriate; no automatic locale rewrite is performed.

Writing direction

APWICO supports left-to-right and right-to-left document direction. Direction follows the language and content—not a guessed country or IP address—and still requires human review.

Credentials

Use the credential’s official name, awarding body and jurisdiction. Do not translate it into an “equivalent” qualification unless an authoritative evaluator or regulator has done so.

Privacy

Minimize personal information. Never add identity numbers, banking data or protected characteristics just because an unsourced example contains them.

Use the evidence

Compare the job’s actual requirements

Local convention never replaces the vacancy’s source wording.

Compare the job’s actual requirements