What is a CV?
·
A marketing tool to sell your skills to an employer.
·
A list of your major skills and achievements.
·
A product that will show how your qualifications match
the needs listed in the job description.
The CV is your first impression over the recruiter. Your CV is
your first face forward to the employer, so it’s very important that you take
the time to filled
with good things, only then it will help in generating your positive image in
front of recruiters, make sure it looks great. If your CV is itself not unique then it
will not be able to bring positive gains to you both during and after the
interview. Before you
get invited in for an interview, employers and recruiters look at your CV to see if you’re a good enough
candidates for the job to be worth their time. If your CV doesn’t look good, you don’t look good. Even if
you’re qualified, a silly mistake on your CV can kill your chances. So the
golden rule is: First impression
is the last impression.
A good CV clearly
highlights a candidate’s relevant skills. It must present the candidate in the
best possible light because, after all, it is one’s
first chance to persuade the reader that she is the best candidate
for the job.
Writing an effective CV
When
you create a CV that is well formatted, accurate and precisely constructed, and
then this gives the recruiter an idea that you are able enough to keep things
well organized, structured and clear. Well organized CV content without too
much verbiage is always welcomed as first priority by recruiters. When a
recruiter picks up your CV, his/her eye jumps to certain things. School,
degree, major, and graduation year and your professional experience (companies, titles, length of employment).
A CV should have the following sections:
·
Heading
·
Personal Details
·
Contact Details
·
Professional Summary
·
Work experience
·
Education
·
Workshops/Training/Courses
·
Skills/Qualifications
·
Certifications/Honors
·
References
·
Publications
Who Reads Your CV?
Before sitting down
with your application, ask yourself: who will read my CV? The likely
possibilities are:
·
Internal
HR professional.
·
Third
party service provider such as a recruitment. consultant or head-hunter.
·
Future
Line Manager.
·
Future
Line Manager's PA.
·
General
Office Manager.
·
Retired
Director or Non-Executive Director.
Know your
potential employer.
Before sending
in your CV, do a bit of research about the position you are applying for. This
will help you assess whether you are qualified for the position or not. Also
gather as much information as you can about the company that you want to work
for. Read about the employer's (company's) mission, vision statements, goals
and approach. Also try to assess the working environment of the company.
Use a good printer and good quality paper
If you are sending out a hard copy of your CV, make sure that you use a
good quality printer and good quality paper.
Heading
Your name should be at the very top of your CV. It should be in a large
font and preferably boldfaced. Be consistent in your use of line spacing. It is
recommended that you use double line spacing between headings and the body of
text and a single space within sub-headings.
Example
Abcd Efgh
Do not include
picture/photo
A potential
employer is more interested in your scholastic accomplishments and your work
experience than looking at your picture. Avoid attaching a photo/picture with
your CV unless the recruiter has specifically asked for it.
Keep your CV up
to date
Ensure that your CV is kept up to date. Keep adding any
courses, certifications or volunteering work on a regular basis. This can save
you from having to send an obsolete CV to an employer. You should keep your CV up-to-date whether
you’re looking for a job or not. Every time something
significant occurs in your career, record it so you don't later forget
something that could be important.
Personal Details/
Profile
A personal details with your name, address, day and evening phone numbers,
cell phone number and email address. An email address is an essential element
for all job hunters, particularly if you are applying online. These usually go
right at the top of page one and, with clever word-processing, needn't take up
too much space. You don't need to write 'Personal Details' or 'CV'.
Date of birth
Date of birth is
optional and not necessary, particularly in the light of new anti-ageism
legislation.
Sex
You might want to
include Gender if your name isn't sex specific, e.g. Alex, or if your name is
foreign or unusual, but this is by no means essential and entirely up to you.
Nationality/Birthplace
Do include your
nationality or birthplace if there is any possibility that employers would
query whether or not you have the right to work in their country. Ensure that
your visa status is clear.
Marital Status
It isn't necessary
to indicate your marital status or to mention any dependents unless you
particularly want to.
Example:
PERSONAL PROFILE
Full Name : Abcd Efgh
Date of Birth : 01-04-1990 (Not
Necessary)
Sex : Male
Nationality : Bangladeshi
Birthplace : Chittagong, Bangladesh
Marital Status : Single (Not Necessary)
You Should Not Include:
· Your salary history or requirements
· Names of supervisors, former employers’ addresses or references
· A header with either the title “CV” or the date that the CV was created.
· Personal information, such as height, sex, race, religious affiliation,
number of children, date of birth, health status, political affiliation,
marital status, etc.
Contact information
People
forget to update their CV to include their most recent contact information. If
you’ve moved or changed phone numbers, make sure that your phone number,
address and e-mail information (Some employer needs your skype id, Linkedin
profile link) is up to date. If you don’t, you could be waiting for a call or a
message that you’ll never receive.
Also, make sure you
have a professional sounding email address. Email addresses that are for your
friends' eyes only. Don’t get an address that’s too long. Your email address
abdurahman78@hotmail.com is fine for your friends but isn't going to look great
to a prospective employer. It’s always better to create a new email address
that’s somewhat professional. Even if you can’t get [yourname]@gmail.com – at least get something
neutral sounding (like arahman or rahman78). It’s too easy for a typo to
happen when someone is emailing you.
Strictly speaking,
name, address, email and phone numbers are all that is necessary. Ensure that
it is obvious how to contact you if you have different term time and vacation
addresses; include dates if necessary.
Example
ADDRESS & CONTACT
1 Winton Avenue,
London, SW12 0NO
Tel: 000 1234 5678,
Mobile: 07789 123456
Skype:
Email:
abcdefgh@mycv.ac.uk
Personal Summary/
Statement
A personal statement that fits your career goals and focuses on what skills
you bring to an employer tailored for each job for which you are applying. This is a statement
that offers a brief overview of your skills and ambitions, and it would usually
fit between your personal details and the education section. Think carefully
about including a statement.
A statement could
work particularly well to explain your thinking if you are changing career direction.
For artists' CVs, a short, unpretentious statement is vital, to explain your
philosophy and work. Medical CVs often include a brief Career Plan providing
some idea of how you see yourself developing in the medical world.
Don’t just assume an employer will
see how your experience relates to their job. Instead, use a short personal
statement to explain why you are the best person for the job. Including
professional goals can help you by giving employers an idea of where you are
going, and how you want to arrive there. You don’t need to have a special
section devoted to your professional objectives, but overall the resume must
communicate it. The question of whether or not to highlight your career
objectives on the resume is a polemic one among HR managers, so go with your
feeling. If you decide to list them, make sure they are not generic.
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