Austria CV format: what a classic Austrian application expects#

Austria reads like Germany with the traditions turned up one notch. The CV is a German-language Lebenslauf on one to two A4 pages, the application is a package with a cover letter and supporting documents — and the photo is not just common but genuinely expected in a classic application. For an English speaker weighing Vienna against Berlin or Zurich, the differences are small but specific, and this guide walks through them. The full eleven-market comparison lives in our resume format by country guide.

The rules in brief#

• Photo: traditional and expected; use a current professional headshot unless the employer runs photo-free recruitment.
• Date of birth, age: omit by default.
• Length: 1–2 pages.
• Page size: A4.
• Dates: day-first, dotted full dates — 03/2021 or 03.2021 for ranges, one convention kept.
• Cover letter: normally part of the application package; qualification evidence often requested as copies.
• Language: German by default; English for international companies and EN-language vacancies.
• File: Jordan_Avery_CV_AT_DE.pdf.

German first — and which German#

Austrian applications normally run in German, and for CV purposes the German is the same one written in Berlin: Austrian German differs from Germany's in register more than in spelling. That has a practical consequence worth stating plainly — a CV written for the German market works in Vienna, while one written for Zurich, with ss replacing ß, does not. If you already maintain a German-market Lebenslauf, you are one photo decision away from an Austrian application; if your starting point is a Swiss document, fix the spelling first.

English has its niche here as elsewhere in the German-speaking world: international companies, research institutions, the Vienna-based international organisations and parts of the tech scene post vacancies in English and read English CVs without friction. The posting's language is the reliable signal. For everything else, the Bewerbung is in German — and if your German is not native, an honest CEFR level in the languages section beats an over-polished document you cannot back up in an interview.

The photo: Austria's strongest convention#

Of all the markets in the country guide, Austria is where the photo expectation runs strongest alongside Switzerland. In a classic Austrian application the photo is genuinely expected: a current, professional headshot, top of the first page. Photo-free recruitment exists — some employers run it deliberately, and when they say so, that instruction wins — but the default assumption in traditional sectors is that a Lebenslauf carries a picture.

Date of birth is the opposite story, and the contrast is worth noticing: it is better left off unless a form asks, because it adds nothing an Austrian recruiter needs. The traditional personal block does not survive as a unit — the photo stays, the birth date goes. Nationality, as everywhere, earns a line only as a work-authorisation statement when that is the real question.

Structure and section headings#

The skeleton is the familiar reverse-chronological one — contact details, profile, experience, education, skills, languages — rendered with the standard German headings:

As in Germany, Ausbildung covers the full education-and-training picture, and vocational qualifications carry real prestige — name an apprenticeship properly instead of burying it. Keep the tone factual and the chronology complete; unexplained gaps read worse in the German-speaking markets than a plainly labelled one ever does.

The package: cover letter and copies#

An Austrian application follows the same package logic as a German Bewerbung: the CV travels with a tailored cover letter, normally assumed rather than optional, and qualification evidence is often requested as copies — degree certificates, relevant credentials. Have clean scans ready when you apply, and keep the CV itself lean; the thoroughness lives in the attachments.

The cover letter is in the language of the vacancy, short and specific: the company, the role, the two or three reasons the match works. Our cover letter structure guide gives the frame.

Length, page, dates and the file name#

One to two A4 pages. Two pages are normal mid-career; three read as unedited.

Dates, day-first. Full dates are written 14.03.2026; ranges on the CV use month-year forms such as 03/2021 – 06/2024 or the dotted 03.2021 – 06.2024 — pick one convention and keep it throughout. Never import US month-first numerics, and write heute for a current role on a German-language CV.

File name. Jordan_Avery_CV_AT_DE.pdf — ASCII characters, underscores, no umlauts in the file name.

ATS notes for the Austrian market#

Austria's larger employers screen by machine, and the baseline applies unchanged:

• One text column, standard headings from the table above, normal reading order.
• Name, phone, email, city and links in the document body, not only in a header or footer.
• Selectable text; no scanned pages in the CV itself — scans belong in the attachments.
• A text-based PDF unless the portal asks for DOCX.
• One date convention throughout.

The full mechanics are in our ATS optimization guide.

Austrian quirks worth knowing#

• Vienna hosts an international enclave. UN agencies and other international organisations run English-language hiring with their own forms and rules — when applying there, the organisation's format wins over any national convention.
• Titles matter in Austria. Academic and professional titles carry genuine social weight; list your degrees precisely, and do not be surprised to see titles used in correspondence.
• The German market is the reference point. For everything this page does not cover — the Zeugnis culture, the Anschreiben in depth — the German Lebenslauf guide applies with the photo expectation turned up.
• Nothing is legally mandated. The photo is convention, not law; the vacancy and the employer's instructions always override the default.

Sources#

• EURES — Living and working conditions: Austria