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CV Writing Skills
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A CV or Curriculum Vitae is:
- Your Life History
- Your job history
- Your achievements
- Your Skills
A CV or curriculum vitae is a marketing tool. With your CV you will be able to promote yourself. Imagine the CV as being a brochure that will list the benefits of a particular service. The service being your time and skills! When writing a CV look at it from your employers point of view. Would you stand out against the competition (the other candidates) and would the manager want to talk you for a possible job? You have to ask yourself these questions when writing your CV or curriculum vitae.
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Networking and interviewing are essential for your job hunt and your CV is just the first step in the job search. However a CV will be your first contact with potential employers and will open the door. If you are invited for an interview you would then be in a position to explain and expand on what is in your CV.
A CV is an essential tool in your job search. When applying for a vacancy you generally first have to send your CV to present yourself to the prospective employer.
In CV heading you can write your general information:
Name
Surname
Local address
E-mail address
Phone number
(If applying for an overseas job, please remember to include your international dialling code.) Include your mobile/cell phone number if you are going to relocate soon.
The Skills Summary section of your CV includes your main skills. You should only include keywords in his section, do not go into lengthy descriptions of your skills. The skill summary is also called personal profile.
The CV Objective, sometimes also referred to as CV Personal Profile states "What is my next step in my career?" This should be a short, concise statement that informs the employer what kind of position you are looking for. The type of position, the role (managerial, supervisor, contractor) should be included as well.
List all your qualifications in this section. Include all of your education including certifications from non-academic institutions, especially those that are related to this job vacancy. If you have more work experience than qualifications, put your work experience before your qualifications.
Academic and related awards are listed here.Read this article on How to write about your achievements, on your CV Relevant Courses which are directly related to the job vacancy you are applying for should be listed in this section. If your degree is not related to this job, highlight aspects of the course that are. List any projects you have worked on that are related to this job.
This section includes any work experience that you have in the field you are applying for. Even if the post was unpaid, voluntary, summer job, internship, co-op experience or extracurricular activity. When listing these work experiences include what kind of job was it (internship/full time/ part time etc).
Title of position
Length you held the post
Responsibilities
Name of organization.
Include also languages (spoken/written/understood). Computer Skills (include title of software package and proficiency level), Research Skills and other skills that are not in the rest of your CV.
Any activities that you do in your free time, can be related to your job. If you worked in the school paper it shows initiative and you are willing to make sacrifices in order to further your career. Participating in student activities, professional associations or enthusiast clubs shows leader ship qualities. Leave out any activities related to politics religion or controversial topics. alienating the reader.
If you have references, that you are willing to provide include the above statement. Ask people if they are willing to serve as references before you give their names to a potential employer.
A CV should:
- provide your contact details: name, address, phone, mobile, email.
- say clearly who you are, what you are, and what you are offering a potential employer.
- do justice to your achievements and skills.
- say more about your recent experience than your early life.
- be honest and positive, containing nothing negative about you.
- look attractive, be well laid out and easy to read.
- focus on your achievements and not just the tasks you have performed.
- be tailored to target specific jobs or specific organisations.
- be thoroughly reviewed for its appropriateness. Show your CV to a tutor, friend or careers counsellor.
- If you are job hunting it is a good idea to have several CV's with different profiles or objectives. For example, you can have a CV for a sales supervisor and the other for a shop floor manager. Your 'sales supervisor' CV can highlight achievements in this area, the CV would be tuned to that particular in terms of job descriptions and achievements.
In its final form your CV should:
- be word processed on good quality paper in a clear typeface. White paper is usually best.
- be concise. Aim for no more than two A4 pages.
- make use of bold, underlining, italics and blocks of text to achieve a clear layout, but avoid making it over-fancy.
- not have any chronological gaps. An employer will regard them with suspicion.
- present education and work experience in reverse chronological order.
- emphasise relevant skills, achievements and experience.
- be truthful; do not be tempted to fabricate, you could come unstuck at interview.
- use descriptive language. Do not make lists.
- use power words, e.g., achieved, produced, established, implemented, formulated, etc.
- be thoroughly checked for accuracy. Show your CV to a tutor, colleague or a Careers Counsellor, and have it checked for spelling, grammar and typing errors.
Employers recruiting staff will have analysed the skills required to carry out the tasks involved in the job concerned. The key skills required are often identified in job advertisements, job descriptions, or in graduate recruitment brochures. It is essential to be aware of these key skills prior to writing your CV.
Prior to compiling your CV you need to identify those skills that you have developed, both within and outside the education system, which could be relevant to the type of work which you are seeking. If you find it difficult to identify your skills a simple way of doing this is to list your education, work experience (full-time and part-time), and your other activities, e.g. interests, significant events in your life, etc. From this list draw out the skills you obtained, for example:
- presenting a paper to course colleagues may illustrate communication skills.
- acting as course representative may indicate negotiating and organisational skills.
- Be positive, but be truthful, recruiters will need back-up evidence of skills not just a bland, "I am good at..." statement.
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