Professional Documents
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What Is A CV or Résumé
What Is A CV or Résumé
What Is A CV or Résumé
In simple terms, your CV or resume sets out your skills and experience.
Your CV should demonstrate to any potential employer why they should hire
you above any of the other skilled candidates who have presented themselves
for employment.
However, for the sake of this page the terms CV and résumé are
interchangeable.
In India, Australia and other English speaking counties either term may
be used – for the purpose of applying for a job CVs and resumes are
the same thing, it just depends on where the job is!
Start with your name, address, phone number and email address. If your
CV runs to more than one page, then make sure you include an identifier
on every page, probably as a header or footer, and page numbers.
Your statements should be in the form “In situation x, I did this, and the end
result was that”.
For example:
or
or
Concentrate on your personal actions, the precise outcome, and how you
knew the action was a success.
Once you’ve got plenty of work experience, it’s OK not to include the
paper round you had when you were 16 and the summer jobs you had as
a student, but you don’t want any gaps once you’ve started work.
If you’ve taken a career break for some reason, or had a period out of
work after redundancy, say so. Otherwise you’ll be asked about it, if they
don’t just assume you were in prison and bin your CV.
Don’t include every last course you’ve ever done, but do include
everything that’s relevant to the job. If you’re going for a job as a forklift
driver, they won’t want to know about your catering qualification, but your
Health and Safety certificate might be relevant.
Check the essential requirements for the job, and make sure you’ve
included anything that’s mentioned.
Make sure that your spelling and grammar are all correct
Lay your CV out nicely on the page so that it’s easy to read and looks
professional. Remember that it will probably be printed in black and
white. If you’re not sure where to start with design, there are plenty of
free CV templates available online.
You will be found out sooner or later and, if a lie has got you a job, it will
lose you one too.
You may be ashamed that you had to spend time flipping burgers at
McDonald's, and perhaps you don’t think it fits with your planned career
as an astrophysicist. But, especially if you don’t have much work
experience, every bit is useful and you should show what you learned
from it: teamwork or time-keeping, perhaps.
Large gaps in your CV look like you’ve sat around doing nothing instead of
having the initiative to go out and get a temporary job.
Do not start your CV with the dull bits
Many people make the mistake of starting with their education and
qualifications. That’s really dull.
Start with your key skills, and what you’ve actually achieved in life. If
potential employers like your key skills then they’ll read on to your
qualifications.
Unless of course they have developed skills that are relevant to the job.
Nobody really wants or needs to know that you do karate, or like going to
the cinema. If you do include something relevant, don’t be tempted to
show off by including something that sounds impressive, but isn’t really.
Murphy’s Law says that the person reading your CV will be an expert in
that subject
You may consider buying your own domain name; they are inexpensive
and allow you to have a much more professional sounding email
address. So rather than cuddles1982@hotmail.com you could have
jane@smithfamily.com or jane@abc-consultancy.com – depending on the
availability of the domain name you want.
If you are applying for a job in a computer or internet related field then
having your own domain name is particularly important for your image.
Be careful if you use the email address that is linked to your Facebook
page or other social media accounts. It is very easy for potential
employers to search social media sites for email addresses, which could
mean they find out a lot more about you than you would like. You may
however want potential employers to find your LinkedIn account.
Use your CV to tell them what they need to know upfront and clearly, in a way
that looks professional and believable.
Your CV will not get you the job but, if done well, should give you at least a foot
in the door.