Adjust emphasis, not the truth
The same experience can be relevant to both audiences. The difference is which question you answer first: can this person take ownership in an uncertain environment, or can this person deliver reliably at scale within a defined system? Read the vacancy and company information before choosing a style.
| CV area | Startup emphasis | Corporate emphasis |
|---|---|---|
| Profile summary | Ownership, learning speed, versatility and a concrete problem you have shipped. | Exact role alignment, years or depth in the relevant domain and operating context. |
| Achievement language | Built, tested, launched, learned, iterated and removed a bottleneck. | Improved, governed, standardised, scaled, reduced risk or delivered against a framework. |
| Breadth versus specialisation | Show a useful range while naming the problem you can own end to end. | Lead with the specialist depth that matches the job family and level. |
| Skills | Prioritise tools you used to ship, measure or learn quickly. | Prioritise recognised systems, methods, standards and role-specific capabilities. |
| Side projects | Include a shipped experiment, customer discovery or working prototype. | Include only when it demonstrates a capability relevant to the role or team. |
| Leadership | Show influence without a formal title, ownership of decisions and team enablement. | Show team size, governance, stakeholder alignment and accountability for outcomes. |
| Tools | Name the tools that show speed, collaboration and practical delivery. | Name the tools or frameworks requested by the vacancy and used at meaningful scale. |
| Design | A little personality is fine when readability and evidence remain first. | Use restrained, consistent formatting that fits a formal application route. |
| CV length | One focused page can work when the scope is recent and concentrated. | Two pages can be useful when scale, governance or specialist depth needs evidence. |
| Keywords | Mirror the problem, customer, product or delivery language in the vacancy. | Mirror the exact function, system, framework and domain terms used by the employer. |
| Work authorisation | State the route and start constraints briefly so a small team can assess them. | Use a concise, factual line that helps HR apply the employer's process. |
| Portfolio or GitHub | Link to shipped work and explain your contribution in one line. | Link only when it supports the role; keep the CV understandable without a click. |
Two profile-summary examples
Keep the facts consistent and change the emphasis. These examples use fictional experience so the distinction is clear without implying a universal startup or corporate formula.
Startup-focused summary
- Product analyst who turns ambiguous customer problems into tested workflows. Built and shipped a self-serve onboarding experiment, combined SQL analysis with user interviews, and worked directly with product and engineering to move from idea to measurable release.
- Corporate-focused summary: Product analyst with five years in regulated financial services, specialising in customer analytics, governance and cross-functional delivery. Experienced in translating portfolio data into controlled experiments, executive reporting and repeatable operating processes.
Achievement bullets for each audience
A useful bullet names the context, action and outcome. Do not invent numbers because a startup or corporate reader may prefer them; use a clear scope or observable change when a metric is unavailable.
Startup-focused bullets
- Interviewed 18 new users, redesigned onboarding questions and shipped a two-week experiment that reduced avoidable support requests.
- Owned the first reporting workflow from messy source data to a weekly dashboard used by product and customer success.
- Tested three pricing messages with a small launch cohort and documented the decision that informed the next release.
- Corporate-focused bullets: Standardised monthly risk reporting across four business units, reducing manual reconciliation and giving senior stakeholders one agreed view.
- Coordinated a migration with compliance, operations and technology teams, maintaining audit evidence while moving 12,000 records to the approved platform.
- Managed a cross-functional improvement programme with defined controls, milestones and stakeholder updates through to operational handover.
Tailor the same experience without rewriting history
Suppose you improved a customer-support workflow. A startup version can lead with ownership, rapid testing and a shipped change. A corporate version can lead with process control, stakeholder alignment and repeatability. Both remain accurate when they describe the same work from a different decision-maker's perspective.
One experience, two openings
- Startup opening: Took ownership of a fragmented support intake, tested a simpler triage flow with agents and shipped the first version in one sprint.
- Corporate opening: Redesigned support intake with operations and compliance stakeholders, documented controls and standardised triage across two service teams.
Questions to classify the employer
Do not rely on a job title or a bright office photo. Use the vacancy, company site and interview information to answer these practical questions:
- Is the role expected to define the problem, or mainly execute a defined process?
- Does the team describe product discovery and experimentation, or controls and operating standards?
- Will you work close to founders or a small leadership team, or through several formal stakeholder layers?
- Are the requested tools evidence of hands-on delivery, governance, scale or compliance?
- Does the vacancy ask for a portfolio, case study, certification, framework or regulated-domain experience?
When the distinction does not apply
A scale-up may operate like a large corporate function, and a small family-owned company may have more formal processes than a funded startup. Some roles, such as finance, legal, security, healthcare or government work, have strict evidence requirements regardless of company size. Let the role and application instructions override the label.
Quick checklist
- ✓The first paragraph reflects the work the vacancy actually asks you to do.
- ✓Bullets show ownership, scale, governance or delivery in the relevant balance.
- ✓Tools and keywords match the vacancy without keyword stuffing.
- ✓A portfolio or GitHub link explains your contribution and is not required to understand the CV.
- ✓Work-authorisation wording is factual and concise.
FAQ
Should my CV look different for a Dutch startup and a corporate employer?+
The content should remain truthful, but the emphasis can change. Startups may need ownership, experimentation and shipped work; corporate teams may need scale, governance, domain depth and exact role alignment.
Are startup employers always more interested in broad experience?+
No. A startup can need deep expertise in a critical function, while a corporate team can value versatility. Read the vacancy and describe the evidence that matches the actual role.
Should I use a creative design for a startup CV?+
Use restrained branding only when it keeps the document readable and compatible with the application route. A startup does not automatically mean decorative formatting is useful.
Do I need a portfolio or GitHub link?+
Include one when it demonstrates work relevant to the role and explain your contribution. The CV should still make the main case without requiring the reader to click away.
Related Resources
English-speaking companies
Use employer context to decide how to localise your application.
Netherlands CV format
Keep the local structure stable while changing the evidence you emphasise.
Software engineer CV example
See how technical delivery and tools can be shown without unsupported claims.
Product manager CV example
Compare product outcomes, stakeholder work and portfolio context.
Expat CV guide
Check language, authorisation and Dutch-market expectations.
Sources
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