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Advice on writing a CV or Resume.

WRITING A CV OR RESUME

If you are seeking a new job or indeed career, it is crucial that you gain some knowledge in 'selling' yourself to a prospective employer.

The modern orthodox way is by presenting a 'CV' (curriculum vitae ) it is Latin for 'life story'. Also called 'resume', pronounced 'res you may'.

If you are seeking employment overseas, always investigate as to whether the country you are looking at has a different style of CV or resume, they do vary from country to country.

Think of a CV or resume as an advertisement' to sell yourself to an employer. Imagine your prospective boss receiving hundreds of CVs and there is only one position. Yours has to stand out in that pile. What will make the interviewer shortlist you? PRESENTATION! Make it look professional, nice and neat, clean and tidy.

If you have access to a career advice office that provides fact-sheets and offers advice on preparing a CV, whilst you are encouraged to make full use of those facilities, bear in mind that prospective employers may reject CVs that are all exactly the same format. It is a good idea to alter yours slightly to maintain an different format but on the same lines as the original.

Hand written CVs are a big NO, use a PC or typewriter. Think about the end-product too. A quality printer and nice paper for instance. Imagine if your paper is that bit thicker with a textured finish, how would that compare with a tenth generation poor quality photocopy?

Whilst using bold and underlined text, don't mix fonts and sizes, equally don't get overzealous with the colours!

• Bullet Points are good
• Plenty of white space is good too
• Remember 'KISS' - 'keep it simple, stupid'.

Think of your initial CV as a draft copy, show it too friends and family. Don't be too sensitive about their comments, especially if you have done a good job at selling yourself ...enjoy the fun comments but listen to constructive criticism, use the comments to imprive it.

Let's assume you've just seen a job advertisement for 'Webwide Corporation Limited' and the job description fits you. Ask yourself, do you fit them ?

Do a bit of research on the company, find out about the company, their success, their products and services, their ethos and approach. Build those snippets in the original CV so that it is designed specifically to suit them.

If you have never seen a CV or Resume, here are the basic details.

• Name, address, phone number, email address, date of birth
• Website
• Your sex, if your name could be male of female
• Education and Qualifications in chronological order.
• Work Experience
• Volunteer Jobs, this adds kudos.
• Personal interests & hobbies
• Sports interests and your successes
• Other languages
• Driving experience
• References (don't cheat & lie). Include telephone numbers and email.
• Page numbes, try to tick with two pages.
  

There are two common styles of CV or resume. Chronological is in date order from the most recent downwards. The detail is under general headings such as Work experience. The other is skills based where You highlight the necessary skills needed for a specific job for which you are applying. This is followed by your personal details and is generally a UK style CV.

If adding a photo, look through your album or photo box and choose a flattering one, scan it and crop it to just your face. Hopefully it will be passport size. This is a better option than the non-flattering passport photo kiosks that might have adverse results.

If the name of the person isn't published, It doesn't harm to phone and ask for the name. This helps to ensure it lands on the right desk.

There are only two reasons why you are sending a CV, one is to response to an advertisement, the other is pure speculation. Always ensure the position and job description is place on the CV.

Good Luck!