The CV is your first impression over the recruiter, Part: 4

Work Experience/ Work History 

The Work Experience section is the most important section of the CV. Your work experience should, at the minimum, list your job title, company name, firm location, and dates of employment.

Your most recent job should have around four or five bullets of one to two lines each. Each bullet should focus on your accomplishments, not your responsibilities, and should be backed up with numbers whenever possible.

Most people write chronological CVs, so list your jobs in order of most recent and most relevant first. Since employers inevitably want to see dates and positions, include this information in the Work History section. You've already described your experience, so you don't need to describe what you did in each position.

The best way to start writing your CV is with a short summary, which consists of 3-4 sentences that describe who you are and what you can bring to the company if employed, highlighting your skills and qualifications. The sentences should be short and concise and not simply a repetition of your cover letter. Have a look at the job description and try to find the skills and qualifications they are looking for and include these in your summary.

For entry-level candidates, the experience section is probably the biggest challenge. If you don't have a college degree then mention any non-credit courses that you took. Whatever you do, just don't lie on your CV. Lack of relevant experience is a common problem for many people entering the workforce or even changing careers. Since you may not have a lot of experience, it is important to include coursework, summer internships class projects, volunteer work or extracurricular activities that are related to your target job. While these may not be paid experiences, they are still valid experiences that you can list in your CV or resume.

Don't leave gaps

We are a cynical bunch and leaving obvious gaps on your CV immediately makes employers suspicious and they won't give you the benefit of the doubt. If you’ve been out of work it can be a worry but just put a positive spin on it. Did you do a course, volunteer work or develop soft skills such as communication, teamwork or project management? If so, shout about it!

Identify the skills and experience

Identify the skills and experience that the employer is looking for. They are the criteria against which your CV will be assessed, and should be listed on the job description, website or job advert. If you cannot find them, ask the recruiter. Think of examples from your work, volunteering, study, interests, travel or home life that prove you have these job requirements. Try to choose examples that show you using the skills in a way which is similar to how they would be used in the role.  Decide which sections you need in your CV, then decide on section titles and order.

If you're not responding to a specific ad or don't quite know exactly what job you want, then take a few minutes to search job boards online. Look at 2-3 job ads for some jobs in industries you are considering and make a list of the common skills that appear in these ads.

Make sure that your summary includes the skills that they have listed. Of course, only list skills that you actually have. If you don't have all the skills, then only include the ones you do have. If you don't have any of the skills listed, you probably should think twice about applying to the position. Having the exact same skills an employer is looking for displayed at the top of your CV or resume, will give you the best chance of getting noticed by the recruiter.

An employer is not only looking at what you have done, but what you can do. You have to convince them that you are capable of taking on the job. Have you had experience working for a friend or relative’s company, even for a little while? You can also talk about general experiences you have had. Talk about travel, and challenges you faced. How did you overcome them and what lessons did you learn? While you are still studying, record the skills and work experiences you acquire just so you have an inventory of good examples to draw from on applications and in interviews. 

Highlight your achievements

Talk about your achievements in different contexts such as study, work or leisure. By talking about your experiences you are also reinforcing your skills. You could be dynamic and proactive - you are aware of what is happening in the industry and subscribe to relevant newsletters and participate in discussions in person or online.

Additional skills as life experiences on your CV

Use the interests and additional skills section to link the skills and knowledge you have that are important for this role. For example, if you may have been a captain of a sports team (leadership skills), if you have travelled (cultural awareness), maybe you were an editor or worked on a school paper/magazine (able to meet deadlines in pressured environments) etc.  Any positive life experience is a benefit to your CV.

 

·      Refer to the job description to find which skills are especially relevant.

·      Language skills, IT skills and Driving license normally go under this heading.

·      IT: Mention familiarity with wp packages (PC/MAC), spreadsheets, web, email, programs.

·      Language indicate level (Bilingual, Fluent)

·      Driving: Full clean driving license.

 

List only relevant work experience within the last 10 to 15 years. Omit unrelated short-term jobs. Your work experience should include dates of employment, name of employer, location (city, state) and the job title.

 

·      Voluntary/Charitable work should be mentioned alongside paid work.

·      Include work in gap year(s).

·      Avoid lengthy repetition of employer details.

·      Be specific: give examples.

·      List what you did, concisely, for ease and clarity of reading.

·      Start sentences with strong verb (‘Taught….’ Not ‘Given responsibility for teaching……’)

·      Give most details to items that match employer’s interests (areas of work/skills sought)

·      Indicate levels of responsibility and level of skills gained.

·      Remember low-level jobs often indicate valued skills, e.g. energy , tact, rapport, communication. 

 

Skills

This is a must for technical positions, and often unnecessary for nontechnical positions. This section should list any software, programming languages, foreign languages, or other specific skills you know. To avoid a lengthy, disorganized list, it is useful to divide up this list into appropriate categories.

However, just as a native English speaker would never list “English” as a skill, you should not list “obvious” skills such as Microsoft Office. It’s assumed. Likewise, familiarity with Windows and Mac can be left out unless you are also listing something less obvious, such as Linux.

The summary of your educational background and training is one of the most important parts of your CV. It informs the reader, in brief, the education and training you have received to date, starting from the most recent.

Leave out irrelevant details from your CV’s Education section. Always remember to keep your sections in your CV clear and to the point. The education and training section of your CV should usually come straight after your work experience and employment. Don’t assume the reader will understand your qualifications!

Try giving examples of where you've shown your skills! Talk about your skills sensibly. Remember, the employer does not expect you to have wisdom and expertise at this point. Make a list of your top five skills, and find examples where you demonstrated it. If you want to say you have leadership skills, you could talk about an event you organized.

With so many graduates now on the market, employers will look for evidence of skills and work experience, which will make you stand out from the crowd. Start gathering them now or work on what you've got so you are ready to impress recruiters.

Graduate employers place a lot of emphasis on finding candidates with the right skills and competencies for their organisations. Depending on the career sector and profession you choose to work in, there could be very specific skills, abilities and knowledge needed to do the job. However, complementing these are general competences and behaviors’ that are essential for successful working. These are often overlooked by candidates, but they are the things recruitment professionals want to see evidence.

Here some examples for you below. When you're brainstorming your CV you can remove these examples, or change them to make them true for you.

Analyzing & Investigating

Gather information systematically to establish facts & principles. You need to display an ability to take a logical and analytical approach to solving problems and resolving issues. It's also good to show that you can approach problems from different angles.

Numeracy

Multiply & divide accurately, calculate percentages, use statistics & a calculator, interpret graphs & tables.

Verbal & Written Communication

This covers verbal, written communication and listening. It's about being clear, concise and focused; being able to tailor your message for the audience and listening to the views of others. Able to express ideas clearly & confidently in writing and speaking.

Strong Customer Service

Developed through retail work experience. Excellent telephone manner (built up through work experience involving reception work and answering phones)

Initiative/ Self Motivation

Able to act on initiative, identify opportunities & proactive in putting forward ideas & solutions. Employers want people to have a bit of get-up-and-go. Working life presents many challenges and you need to show employers that you're the kind of person who will find a way through, even when the going gets tough... and stay cheerful.

Time Management

Manage time effectively, prioritising tasks and able to work to deadlines. Able to take on any responsibilities (given extra responsibilities at school in the form of co-ordinating school assemblies and clubs and helping out at lunchtime. Past babysitting work experience required being in a position of responsibility, as did being given extra responsibilities at school like helping out at lunchtime)

Teamwork

You'll need to prove that you're a team player but also have the ability to manage and delegate to others and take on responsibility. It's about building positive working relationships that help everyone to achieve goals and business objectives.

Global Skills

Able to speak and understand other languages. Appreciation of other cultures.

·                     Study and work placements outside the Bangladesh

·                     Working Abroad

Lifelong Learning

Continues to learn throughout life. Develops the competencies needed for current & future roles. Quick learner, keen to learn and improve skills.

Commercial Awareness or Business Acumen

Interested in how and why business operate and become successful; understanding clients’ and customers’ requirements.

·   Interest in current affairs; listen to /read business news

·   Financial role in extracurricular activities (quantified)

·   Any shops/sales/service experience giving understanding of customer needs

·   Involvement with company sponsorship, from financing, student art exhibition to funding final year of degree

·   Adding value improving an existing situation/ service/profitability

·   Dissertation/thesis title to reflect commercial implications (where possible) in simple layperson’s language

·   Following the stock exchange

Drive

Determination to get things done. Make things happen & constantly looking for better ways of doing things.

Planning & Organizing

Good organization, with attention to detail (organized a charity fundraising event). Able to plan activities & carry them through effectively. You can prioritise, work efficiently and productively, and manage your time well. It's also good to be able to show employers how you decide what is important to focus on and get done, and how you go about meeting deadlines and what steps are needed to achieve particular goals and then implement these.

Flexibility

Adapt successfully to changing situations & environments

Negotiating & Persuading

Maintains effective performance & ability to work well under pressure. Able to influence and convince others, to discuss and reach agreement. Keeping calm in a crisis and not becoming too overwhelmed or stressed. Able to put forward your way, but also being able to understand where the other person is coming from so that you can both get what you want or need and feel positive about it.

Leadership
Able to motivate and direct others. You may not be a manager straight away, but graduates need to show potential to motivate teams and other colleagues that may work for them. It's about assigning and delegating tasks well, setting deadlines and leading by good example.

·      Chairing a committee

·      Organising an activity e.g. co-ordinating publicity for an event, directing/producing an event

·      Starting a society; initiating change, e.g. in college organization; expanding society membership

·      Running a campaign (political, charity, evangelical)

·      Editing a paper/ magazine/book

·      Working with younger people (teaching, holiday camp etc)

·      Captaining a team; training others, e.g. in sport, student counseling, handing on to successor

Computing Skills

Word-processing, using databases, spreadsheets, the Internet & email, designing web pages etc.

Technical Skills

It's quite common to include a short section on your IT skills, whether or not you have a full, clean driving license or even if you have a First Aid qualification. People often include their level of ability in languages too. This section can be a useful round up of all the skills that don't quite fit into any other part of the CV, but the general rule of 'keep it relevant and provide evidence' still applies.

Self Awareness

Awareness of achievements, abilities, values & weaknesses & what you want out of life.

Personal Impact/ Confidence

Presents a strong, professional, positive image to others which inspires confidence & commands respect.

Integrity

Adheres to standards & procedures, maintains confidentiality and questions inappropriate behavior.

Independence

Accepts responsibility for views & actions and able to work under their own direction & initiative.

Developing Professionalism

Pays care & attention to quality in all their work. Supports & empowers others.

Decision Making

Determines the best course of action. Evaluates options based on logic & fact & presents solutions

Interpersonal Sensitivity

Recognises & respects different perspectives. Open to the ideas & views of others.

Creativity

Generates & applying new ideas & solutions