Professional CVThe pen is the tongue of the mind. - Miguel de Cervantes
A CV or resume is a document and it must be always treated as a document. There are certain
rules of designing a CV. A good CV usually consists of the following segments: personal profile, education, work experience, achievements, computer skills, research skills, teaching skills, languages and some other exceptional skills or interests. These skills and interests are usually related to the position a person applies for. There are two basic types of CV, chronological and functional. A combination of chronological and functional is usually the most effective. If you are not sure how to design your CV you will
find excellent tips and resources here.
Synonyms: resume, vita, curriculum vitae (in Latin: description of life), biodata, and Europass (in European Union countries).
Most CVs are Rejected. Why?
You only have one chance to make a first impression therefore your CV must look attractive and grab the reader’s attention.
Here are the main reasons why most CVs are rejected:
1. Poor first impression
2. Poor visual layout; standard and overused template
3. Too long (more than three pages)
4. Poorly organized (difficult to understand)
5. Lack of uniformity
6. Repetition of information
7. Contains names and addresses of referees
8. Lack of information; omissions and temporal gaps between jobs
9. No accomplishments or achievements
10. Does not ‘sell’ you well (why they should employ you)
11. Computer skills are on the last page
12. Listed jobs that are older than fifteen years
13. Too much experience is mentioned
14. Too many general words masking your personality
15. Grammar errors
Essentials of a Powerful CV
A
powerful CV has the following basic features:
1. Has original design and style
2. Contains complete lists of data
3. Updated for the purpose of a specific position
4. Accomplishments-oriented, i.e. contains action verbs such as ‘designed’, ‘created’, ‘restructured’, etc.
5. Contains key skills, achievements, accomplishments and roles.
It is essential to prepare a
good quality electronic version of your CV. You can apply online. You can either email your CV directly to recruiters or apply online by posting your CV to Internet job boards. When you send a document as an attachment from your computer to someone else's computer, it sometimes does not look the same on the other person's computer as it did on yours. Sometimes it has more pages on the other computer; sometimes page 3 starts at the bottom of page 2 or the fonts and colors are different. To ensure quality of printing, you can prepare a PDF version of your CV. If you are not sure how to do it, go to the free service of
Express PDF.
