Spain CV format: writing a currículum vítae the way Spanish employment services describe it
A Spanish CV is written in Spanish on one or two A4 pages and opens with datos personales. Regional employment services treat the photo, date of birth and DNI or NIE number as optional unless the employer asks.1
Written 20 October 2026. CitedCV. How we write our guides
Before the template: Spanish, one post, one company
EURES Spain is blunt about language: knowledge of Spanish is essential for working in Spain, and unless the employer says otherwise, the CV and cover letter are both drafted in Spanish, on a computer, in A4. The SEPE sheet on Spain adds a point of etiquette that templates rarely mention: applying for more than one post at the same company, or saying you are flexible enough for any post, is not well regarded. Aim each application at a single post and make the competences for it obvious.
- Read the offer and write down the exact job title and reference; both go into the email subject and the letter.
- Decide which one post at that company you are applying for.
- Draft in Spanish unless the offer is written in English or asks for another language.
- Choose the CV type: reverse chronological if you stay in your field, functional if your jobs span unrelated sectors.
- Fill the datos personales block using the table further down, deciding item by item what to include.
- Turn courses into competences rather than lists of hours, as SEPE advises, then cut to two pages.
Regional languages
Lanbide, the Basque employment service, notes in its CV workshop manual that Basque is co-official in the Basque Country and a possible CV language there, but recommends keeping a Spanish version ready because not every recruiter reads Basque. It advises against writing in a language you do not master.
The datos personales block, item by item
Spain has no single official CV template, and the regional services that publish advice agree on the core contact details but treat everything else as a choice. Read on 20 October 2026:
| Item | SOC (Catalonia) | Lanbide (Basque Country) | Xunta de Galicia | EURES Spain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name and surnames | Include | Include | Not stated | Not stated |
| Postal address | Include | Can be dropped if you give an email | Not stated | Not stated |
| Phone and email | Include | Include; highlight them | Include, with a professional email separate from your personal one | Not stated |
| Date and place of birth | Optional, not always needed | Date of birth optional | Not stated | Not stated |
| Nationality | Optional | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| DNI or NIE number | ID number optional | NIE/DNI optional | Not stated | Not stated |
| Photo | Not stated | Recent and formal; optional, if requested | Not compulsory unless asked; if used, recent and unretouched | Not compulsory; may help for some jobs |
| Driving licence | Under other information | In the personal block | Not stated | Not stated |
The law behind optional fields
Law 15/2022 on equal treatment, in the consolidated text on the BOE, forbids discrimination on grounds that include birth, racial or ethnic origin, sex, religion, age, disability, illness and language, whatever a person's nationality. Article 9 bars limits or exclusions on these grounds in access to employment, selection criteria included. It tells public employment services and placement agencies to favour measures such as the anonymous CV, which the law calls currículo de vida anónimo, and it says the employer may not ask about a candidate's health.
DNI, NIE and a candidate still in Türkiye
The Ministry of Inclusion's work authorisation sheet places the foreigner identity card after arrival: the worker requests it in person at a police station within one month of registering with Social Security. A candidate still abroad has no Spanish card to quote, and the regional guides mark the ID line optional anyway, so leave it out rather than putting a passport number in its place.
Section headings, in the order Spanish guides use
The headings below follow the content list of the Catalan service SOC, with the alternatives the Lanbide manual uses. EURES Spain allows the order to change: experience can come before training when it matters more for the post.
- Datos personales: name, contact details and any optional items you chose above.
- Objetivo profesional: Lanbide says to include it only when the goal is clear and backed by your training or experience.
- Formación académica (Lanbide: formación reglada): the highest completed degree, the centre and the dates; SOC says to skip lower stages that the top one implies.
- Formación complementaria: SOC lists centre, hours and year; the SEPE sheet asks you to express courses as competences instead.
- Experiencia profesional: employer and sector, functions and responsibilities, and the period in each job.
- Idiomas: each language with the level reached; Lanbide adds certificates, courses and stays in the country.
- Informática: the software you master, especially programs that appear in job offers (SOC).
- Otros datos de interés: driving licence, availability, professional cards, references or personal skills (SOC).
Four CV types, one sometimes missing
SOC names four types: ascending chronological for little experience, descending chronological for a long or continuous record, functional for unrelated sectors, and European, recommended for jobs elsewhere in the EU. The English EURES page for Spain announces four basic models but lists only the first three. Lanbide offers downloadable Word models for chronological, functional and Europass CVs.
Annotated sample: a Turkish front-office supervisor applying in Málaga
The applicant is invented: Mert Aydın, eight years in hotel front offices in Antalya, the last four as a shift supervisor, applying for a jefe de recepción post at a resort hotel on the Costa del Sol. He holds a B2 in Spanish. The middle column is the CV text as he would send it; the right column says which advice each line follows.
| Section | CV text (Spanish) | Note and source |
|---|---|---|
| Datos personales | Mert Aydın · Antalya (Turquía) · +90 533 444 55 66 · mert.aydin.recepcion@example.com | SOC core details; a work-only email address, as the Xunta suggests |
| Optional line | Nacionalidad turca. Necesita autorización de residencia y trabajo. | SOC allows nationality; stating the permit need early saves the employer a surprise |
| Left out | No fecha de nacimiento, no DNI/NIE | Both optional (SOC, Lanbide); he has no Spanish ID card yet |
| Photo | Recent head-and-shoulders photo, formal, no filters | Optional; Lanbide and the Xunta describe the photo to use if you add one |
| Objetivo profesional | Jefe de recepción en hotel vacacional, con experiencia en equipos de turno y clientela internacional. | Lanbide: only when the goal is clear and backed |
| Experiencia profesional | 03/2022 - actualidad. Jefe de turno de recepción. Hotel de 5 estrellas, 420 habitaciones, Antalya (Turquía). Coordino un turno de 6 recepcionistas; reduje las quejas por tiempos de espera en el check-in en un 30 % en 2024. | Employer, functions and period (SOC); a result with a figure |
| 05/2018 - 02/2022. Recepcionista. Hotel urbano, Antalya (Turquía). | Newest first, as EURES advises for a long record | |
| Formación académica | 2018. Grado en Gestión Turística (4 años). Universidad pública, Antalya (Turquía). | Highest degree, centre and date (SOC) |
| Formación complementaria | Gestión de reservas y facturación con un PMS hotelero (curso de 40 h, 2023): cierre de caja nocturno y control de overbooking. | Course turned into a competence, as SEPE asks |
| Idiomas | Turco: lengua materna · Inglés: C1 · Español: B2 (curso 2025-2026) · Alemán: B1 | Language and level (SOC), with the basis (Lanbide) |
| Informática | Opera PMS, Microsoft Excel, channel managers de reservas | Software named in hotel offers (SOC) |
| Otros datos de interés | Permiso de conducir B · Disponibilidad: marzo de 2027 | SOC lists both under this heading |
The email that carries it
The SEPE sheet asks for a neutral sender address containing your name, a subject with your name and the post or reference (never just solicitud or cv), the CV and letter attached as Word or PDF, and a short presentation in the message itself, all under about 1 MB. Its model body, filled in for Mert:
- Asunto: Mert Aydın - Jefe de recepción, ref. JR-2026-08
- Estimada Sra. García: Le envío mi candidatura para el puesto de jefe de recepción. Para ello, le adjunto a este mensaje mi carta de presentación y mi CV para su consideración. Un cordial saludo, Mert Aydın
For the letter itself, the SEPE sheet sets the layout: your name and contact details top left, the company and the selector's name below them, the date lower and to the right, then the offer reference (job title, code and where it was published), the body, the farewell and the signature, with an optional line listing what you enclose.
Five official sources set against each other
Each cell paraphrases what the source says, read on 20 October 2026; not stated means silence, not a ban.
| Point | SEPE sheet on Spain (2020) | EURES Spain (dated 6 June 2026) | SOC | Lanbide | Xunta de Galicia |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Length | No more than two pages | Best kept to two A4 pages | Not stated | Preferably one sheet, two at most, one side | Only what is relevant to the post |
| Photo | Not stated | Not compulsory; useful for some jobs | Not stated | Optional, if requested | Not compulsory unless asked |
| Courses | As competences, not lists of hours | Not stated | Centre, hours and year | Course, centre, hours, date | Not stated |
| Certificates | Keep scans ready; employers often want them | Not attached unless requested; bring them to interview | Not stated | Send only CV and letter unless asked | Not stated |
| Gaps | Explain a long gap and what you did | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| Paper | White A4, 2.5 cm margins | A4, typed | Not stated | Good white A4 | White or very light background, dark text |
Dates: the SEPE sheet on Spain is the 2020 edition; Lanbide's workshop manual PDF was last modified in December 2015 and its CV web page shows no date; the SOC and Xunta pages show no date; Law 15/2022 is the BOE consolidated text, last updated 13 July 2022; the Ministry of Inclusion sheet was last updated in May 2025.
Work authorisation for non-EU applicants, in brief
Sheet 12 of the Ministry of Inclusion covers the initial residence and work authorisation for an employee. The employer applies, online, and the national employment situation must allow the hire: the occupation is on the catalogue of hard-to-fill occupations that SEPE publishes every quarter, or the employer shows it could not fill the post from the local labour market, with an offer posted on the Empléate portal and with the public employment services. The decision is due within three months, and silence means refusal. If it is granted, the worker has one month to apply in person for the visa at the consulate for where they live. Rules change; read the current sheet before you rely on this.
Who this format does not fit
- Public-sector jobs: EURES Spain points to open competitions published in the official gazettes, which set their own forms.
- Jobs where the company uses its own application form; EURES notes some do.
- Applicants writing in Catalan, Basque or Galician: only Lanbide addresses a regional language, and only for Basque.
- Anyone needing the current list of hard-to-fill occupations: this guide did not read the catalogue itself.
Next steps
- SOC's free tool, Tu currículum en 5 pasos y 30 minutos, which builds a CV you can save, edit or email.
- Lanbide's Word models (chronological, functional, Europass) and its pages on the cover letter and the interview.
- The Xunta de Galicia's ten tips to improve your CV, linked from its CV page.
- Our guides to Europass, CEFR language levels and the CV photo, and the Italy and France guides for nearby markets.
- CitedCV can draft an English version from facts you confirm, with EU conventions, for international hotel groups or English-language ads. It does not write Spanish.
Questions people ask
How do I write a CV for a job in Spain?
Write it in Spanish on one or two A4 pages: datos personales, an optional objetivo profesional, formación, experiencia profesional, idiomas, informática and otros datos de interés, adapted to one specific post.
Do Spanish CVs need a photo?
No. EURES Spain says a photo is not compulsory but may help for some jobs, and Lanbide and the Xunta de Galicia treat it as optional unless requested.
Should I put my DNI or NIE on my CV?
Only if you want to. The Catalan and Basque employment services mark the ID number optional, and a worker from outside the EU gets the foreigner identity card only after arriving.
Is it legal to ask my age in a Spanish job application?
Selection criteria may not exclude people on grounds of age under Article 9 of Law 15/2022, and both SOC and Lanbide mark date of birth optional.
What are the sections of a Spanish currículum?
Datos personales, formación académica, formación complementaria, experiencia profesional, idiomas, informática and otros datos de interés, with an optional objetivo profesional near the top.
Can I send an English CV to a Spanish company?
Only if the ad is in English or asks for it. EURES Spain says the CV and letter must be in Spanish unless otherwise indicated.
What is a currículum anónimo in Spain?
It is a CV stripped of identifying details. Law 15/2022 tells public employment services and placement agencies to favour it against indirect discrimination.
Should I attach my certificates to a Spanish job application?
Usually not. EURES Spain says copies go to the interview unless requested, while SEPE advises keeping scans ready because employers often ask for them.
Sources
- SEPE, Herramientas de búsqueda de empleo en España (2020)sepe.es/SiteSepe/contenidos/personas/encontrar_empleo/encontrar_empleo_europa/paises/espana/pdf_espana/CV_Carta_Presentaci-n_Espa-a_2020.pdf
- EURES, Living and working conditions: Spaineures.europa.eu/living-and-working/living-and-working-conditions/living-and-working-conditions-spain_en
- Servei Públic d'Ocupació de Catalunya, Como elaborar tu currículumserveiocupacio.gencat.cat/es/persones/necessito-orientacio-professional/eines/com-elaborar-el-teu-curriculum/index.html
- Lanbide, Curriculum Vitae (orientación)www.lanbide.euskadi.eus/informacion/curriculum-vitae/weblan00-orientacion/es/
- Lanbide, Taller de currículum y carta de presentación (manual, PDF)www.lanbide.euskadi.eus/contenidos/informacion/videos_orientacion/es_def/adjuntos/materiales%20de%20consulta/MANUAL%20COMPLETO%20TALLER%20CV.pdf
- Xunta de Galicia, Emprego Galicia, Tu CV: principales aspectosemprego.xunta.gal/es/tu-cv-principales-aspectos
- BOE, Ley 15/2022 integral para la igualdad de trato y la no discriminación (texto consolidado)www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-2022-11589
- Ministerio de Inclusión, Hoja 12: Autorización inicial de residencia temporal y trabajo por cuenta ajena (May 2025)inclusion.gob.es/documents/410169/2260168/12.%2BAutorizaci%C3%B3n%2Binicial%2Bde%2Bresidencia%2Btemporal%2By%2Btrabajo%2Bpor%2Bcuenta%2Bajena.pdf/