How to prepare your CV?
C V Opens Doors for Employment. So, effective CV Writing is vary important
Length: As long as it takes Content: Area-specific listing of education and academic background, skills and interests
Curriculum Vitae (or CV) (Latin origin) Means “the course of one’s life”
What is the purpose of a CV?
• To inform the employer about your education, work experience, skills and interests
• To ‘sell’ these qualities and to persuade the employer to invite you to interview
It’s all about you CVs are an opportunity to show an employer why you are an ideal candidate for the job. A good CV will:
•Stand out from the crowd.
• Draw attention to your relevant skills, experience, achievements and potential.
• Create such an impression on the employer that they will not be able to turn you down for interview.
Everyone has potential. Everyone has more skills than they think they do. Everyone can write a good CV
Dos:-
• Use a standard font size in.
• Include recent and relevant work experience (paid or voluntary).
• Be consistent in your layout.
• List your skills and achievements and back up with evidence.
• Keep it short (maximum 2 pages).
• Use positive action verbs such as “organized, delivered, accomplished, achieved”.
• Include a statement about your career aspirations and what you have to offer the employer.
• Be honest but positive (negatives can always be turned into positives).
• Proof-read for spelling, punctuation, grammar and meaning.
• Get someone to check it for you.
Don’ts:-
• Do it in a rush.
• Leave gaps in employment.
• Lie.
• Include irrelevant personal details such as marital status.
• Simply write a list of duties under work experience (remember you are selling yourself!).
• Use flashy or large font.
There is no single way to write a CV. It is your document and can be structured and presented as you wish within a basic framework. The important thing to remember is that this is the first impression an employer will have of you. It is your marketing brochure through which you are trying to sell yourself. 5 Tips for a better CV preparation: -
• Clear – well organized and logical
• Concise – relevant and necessary
• Complete – includes everything you need
• Consistent – don’t mix styles or fonts
• Current – Up-to-date
What should be on a CV?
• Start with contact information
– Full name
– Permanent mailing address
– E-mail address that won’t expire
– Phone numbers
• Education
• Honors and Awards
• Professional Experience (employment)
• Publications and presentations
• Extracurricular and volunteer experience
Other sections for a CV
• Certifications and licensure
• Professional affiliations
• Professional activities
• Research
• Added qualifications
Proving your ability, there are four main things employers will look at in CVs:
• Education - ability to think clearly, analyze and assess information, draw conclusions, work independently, research
• Work experience - ability to get on with people, work under pressure, meet deadlines
• Leisure interests - ability to plan and organize, co-operate with others, compete, lead, work hard to achieve results
• Specific skills – e.g., driving license, computer skills, foreign languages, artistic skills
Tips on Education section
• Most current schooling first (include your current educational work)
• Only include diploma distinctions
• Get the school’s names correct!
• Degrees/certifications are what is important – not time spent
• List Thesis/Dissertation titles
Tips on Honors and Awards Section
• List most recent first
• Honors/Award Title – then date received
• Go back to undergrad but not before. – Only academic or professional
• Scholarship count
Tips on Professional Experience Section
• Includes anything you were paid to do or was extensive and regular volunteer work
• Only list items relevant to academic work
• List most recent first
• If listing research, include the lab and director/principle investigator
Work Experience
• There is no need to list every job you’ve ever had – detail the most relevant
• Don’t just list your duties – sell your skills. Which skills are relevant to the position/company you are applying to?
• Dates, name of company, position and skills
Tips on Extracurricular and Volunteer Experience Section
• List most recent first
• This tends to be a long list – careful!
• It is better to have long-term items or very relevant items instead of EVERYTHING
• Student organizations go here
Tips for Professional Section Affiliations
•Only those current
•Most current first
•Include all dates of affiliation
•Note any leadership positions Activities
•Past and present
•Most current first
•Only those specific to academic/research
•Should be school or university sponsored
•Include your role
Tips for Research Section
• List most current first
• Make sure you indicate others you worked with
• Include grant funds if obtained
• Briefly describe here
Publications and Presentations Section
• Two options for listing – Most recent – Order of publication
• Always bold your name in authorship
• Include submitted and/or pending publications or presentations
• Presentations may be large or small but pertinent enough to talk about
• Have copies of your pubs and/or presentation for the life of your CV
Added Qualifications Section
•Should be verifiable
•Include language fluency
•Cultural knowledge – maybe. Especially if you have had hands-on experience
•Anything else special
What examples can you give from your work experience? If you have no paid work experience, give examples from voluntary work or from your course matching up your CV with the position/company
It is not ‘one size fits all’, you need to tailor your CV to each position you apply for. Research the company. Do they have a mission statement or core values? What will they be looking for in you? Who works there at the moment? What are they passionate about?
Presentation of your CV
• The first visual impression of your CV is important
• For standard CVs, use plain white A4 paper
• Do not double side
• Keep your CV to two sides of paper
• Check your spelling
• Use bullet points and bold font but in moderation
• Formatting – make sure it’s consistent
• Size 10-12 font (depending on font style)
• Clear font e.g. Arial, Calibri
• Focus on accomplishments
• Target your CV to that job/company
• 2:1, not Two One or 2,1
• Use short, concise sentences
• Consider your audience
References
• Ideally, one academic and your manager
• Ask permission from your reference and let them know what position(s) you’ve applied for
• Use relevant references if possible
• You can say ‘references available on request’ rather than including contact details if you wish
Covering letters
• Never send a ‘naked’ CV
• There are two types of covering letters: • Speculative/accompanying letter or Letter of application
Speculative/Accompanying letter
• Should be three short paragraphs
• Opening paragraph – why you are writing
• Paragraph 2 – show knowledge of employer, highlight your skills
• Paragraph 3 – Refer to your CV and availability
Letter of application
• Used when asked to ‘apply in writing’ or ‘send CV and cover letter’
• 1 side of A4 – similar to a personal statement
• Followed by background skills and experience developed through study, work experience and paid work
• ‘Matching up’ with job description
• What you can offer the employer
Where to find jobs
Networking
• Use your contacts from your work experience/course/friends
• Use social networking sites such as LinkedIn, upload a portfolio of your work onto it
• Attend events, keep business cards and keep in contact
Internet sources
Alternative Routes
- Postgraduate Study
- Masters/PhD
- Self-employment/Freelance
