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Swiss CV conventions, from the photo to work certificates

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Illustration: seen from above on a terracotta ground, two white CV pages with a grey photo box, a paper-clipped stack of copies, a blank card, a dried edelweiss, a fountain pen and a closed laptop.

Swiss application guides call for a CV of two or three pages, languages rated from A1 to C2 and all your work certificates, but disagree on the photo. ZHAW (2026) says work certificates carry great weight in Switzerland.

2 min read

Eight sections to check

The canton of Geneva's page, updated on 2 June 2026, limits the CV to two pages and sets the order of its sections. The page published in May 2026 by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) allows three.

Section What the guides say What to do
Order Most recent first (SECO 2026); education first for early-career applicants (University of Zurich 2023) Contact details, photo, job title, skills, experience, education, IT, languages (Geneva 2026); dates as month and year
Length Two pages at most (Geneva 2026); three at most (SECO 2026) Two A4 pages, a third for a long career
Photo Listed under personal details (SECO 2026), expected (ZHAW 2026) or optional (University of Bern) Always if the ad asks for one; recent, professional, focused on your face
Personal details Date of birth expected (ZHAW 2026); L, B or C permit for foreign nationals, marital status optional (University of Zurich 2023) Name, address, one phone number, email in your name, date of birth, nationality, permit
Languages Common European Framework levels A1 to C2 (ZHAW 2026) Native language first, then each language with its level (English C1), including language certificates
Education Exact title: Federal VET Diploma or Certificate, Matura, university degree (SECO 2018) Qualification, school, place, dates; highest one always documented (St. Gallen 2025); foreign grades explained (ZHAW 2026)
References On request (SECO 2026) or a named, informed referee (Vaud 2023) “Available on request”; tell each person you name in advance
File PDF (SECO 2026); a single file (St. Gallen 2025) or one per document (Neuchâtel 2026) Follow the ad; otherwise, a PDF named after you (CV_LastnameFirstname.pdf)

Does a Swiss CV need a photo?

The guides disagree. ZHAW (2026) says a photo is expected, although nothing requires it, while the University of Bern calls it optional. In 2018, SECO's leaflet reserved it for ads that asked for one, whereas its brochure included one in the first application. Its May 2026 page lists the photo under personal details. If the ad asks for a photo, provide one.

Work certificates, the centrepiece of your application

SECO (2026) asks you to submit all your work certificates, without exception, and to request them from your employers in good time. They go into a single PDF, most recent first, as copies and never originals; Geneva (2026) wants each copy legible and in colour. In the application, they follow the cover letter and CV and come before your diplomas (BIZ Bern 2026). They should cover your entire career, and St. Gallen (2025) notes that a missing certificate raises suspicion.

According to ZHAW (2026), they are highly valued in Switzerland and must always be attached. A 2024 survey by von Rundstedt and HR Today of 936 HR managers and executives found that certificates have lost some of their importance in many companies but remain an unavoidable formality.

Submitted online, your CV also passes through recruitment software, described in our ATS article.

What we think

In our view, you learn these conventions once. When an ad specifies the photo, references or how to apply, follow it rather than the guides. Each time, you rework the content, adapting it to the needs the ad describes without inventing anything.

For each vacancy, the free version of ApplyNow prepares this CV to Swiss conventions, in the ad's language, ready for review. Before each application, open the PDF of your certificates and check that there is one for every job on your CV.

Sources

Published on 28 October 2026, by Greg Lefebvre

Swiss CV format, from the photo to work certificates