LaTeX Lebenslauf Vorlage: The German CV, Done Right

A German Lebenslauf is not a US résumé with German words in it. It is a tabellarischer Lebenslauf — a dated table, reverse-chronological, one to two pages, with no summary paragraph, usually signed at the bottom, and submitted alongside a separate Anschreiben. Send a translated résumé instead and it reads as someone who did not check.

Below: what the format actually expects in 2026, where it differs from an English-language CV, and free LaTeX templates for Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the EU Europass — all editable in the browser on LetX, no install.

What the format expects

• Tabular, not prose. Two columns: dates on the left, the entry on the right. No paragraphs describing yourself.
• Reverse-chronological. Most recent first, within each section. Older German advice said chronological; reverse is now standard.
• No objective or summary. There is no equivalent of the US “professional summary” — that belongs in the Anschreiben.
• Persönliche Daten. Name and contact details. Date and place of birth and nationality are traditional and still common, though no longer expected by everyone.
• One to two pages. Two is normal for experienced applicants — the US one-page rule does not apply.
• Ort, Datum, Unterschrift. Place, date and signature at the foot. Conventional rather than required.

The photo question

Employers cannot require a photo — the Allgemeines Gleichbehandlungsgesetz rules that out — and many large firms now explicitly ask you to omit one. It nevertheless remains common, and expected at plenty of Mittelstand employers. The workable rule: include a professional headshot unless the posting says not to. The template below makes the photo optional, so you are not rebuilding the layout to remove it.

Templates

Do not forget the Anschreiben

A German application is normally Lebenslauf plus Anschreiben, and the cover letter follows business-letter layout conventions rather than CV ones — DIN 5008 governs margins, the address block and the subject line. The DIN 5008 business letter template handles that, so the two documents look like they belong together.

Austria and Switzerland are not the same

Austrian applications track the German conventions closely. Swiss ones often expect a fuller dossier — references, work certificates (Arbeitszeugnisse), and a language choice that depends on the canton and the employer. Reusing a German Lebenslauf for a Swiss application is the common mistake; use the country template instead.

All 37 country-specific CV formats — from the Lebenslauf to the Japanese rirekisho — are listed in the full CV template index, filterable by country, field and career stage.