Training Consultants

CV Development

• Introduction to CV writing• A Few Critical Tips For Writing Your First Curriculum

Vitae• CV and Cover Letter for college students• Quick Impress CV• CV keywords• CV Mistakes• Don'ts while framing your Curriculum Vitae

Topics

CVs and CVs are tools used to introduce job seekers to potential employers.

A CV is a relatively short listing of a candidate’s qualifications, employment history and achievements. CV basics tend to dictate that this marketing tool favor brevity, although CV styles can vary. CVs, on the other hands, call for more details about a candidate. CV styles can also vary, but most include work history, achievements, skills and the life history of a candidate. Improving your CV or CV can be an important step toward landing a position. It is helpful to review sample CVs and CVs to get ideas for appearance, content and formatting.

Introduction to CV writing

Introduction to CV writing

Writing a CV is hard work - do not kid yourself that it is any other way. It is not just the way you put together your personal data - but rather the way you arrange that personal and professional data to attract the attention the interest of the prospective employer.

It is an art that has to be perfected with time, patience and practice. It is the most important tool in job searching since it gives the opening line to the employer and thus creates the first impression about you in his/her mind.

Before you write your first Curriculum Vitae, you will need to know what are the basic components of a CV. You would need to draw up the skeleton of what you want it to project and then fill it in accordingly.

A Curriculum Vitae would normally provide the following information:oPersonal information (name and coordinates)oProfessional Experience and achievementsoEducational qualification and skills acquiredoPersonal information (other details)

A Few Critical Tips For Writing Your First Curriculum Vitae

A Curriculum Vitae should be able to give a clear picture on the following aspects:oWhat do I want to convey (my career objective)?oWhat are my core skill/competencies?oWhat are my major achievements?

CV and Cover Letter for college students

Cover letters and CVs for graduates are a very important part of the job search. In fact, without these two things you will not even get a look by a future employer. Your cover letter and CV is your initial introduction to a prospective employer. Being that this is the first thing the hiring manager will see, your cover letter and CV needs to be top notch. The checklist below will help to ensure that your cover letter and CV are up to par.1.Cover letters and CVs for graduates should be put together as if it is a selling tool. Remember to keep both your cover letter and CV concise, and to the point. This will allow for easy readability.2.Target your material to your employer. In other words if you are applying for a sales job be sure to highlight your selling experience, and sales related strengths. On the other hand, if you are applying to be an accountant your CV will be entirely different. Be sure to put yourself in the employer's shoes!

CV and Cover Letter for college Students…Contd

3. The best cover letters and CVs for graduates are specific and goal oriented. Again, this goes back to getting directly to the point so that the hiring manager can easily find what he or she is looking for. Show that you are career and goal oriented!

4. Remember to include everything on your CV. Many cover letters and CVs for graduates are too short, and do not include enough work experience..

5. Bring your strengths to the fore front. If you excel at team building skills, be sure to put that on your CV. It is important to put yourself in the best light possible. Bring out your positives, and try to downplay any negatives you may have.

6. Use action words that show you are a go getter! This makes your CV read much stronger, and puts you in a position of power.

7. Proofread both your cover letter and CV at least twice. There is no reason to miss typos, so do not let it happen to you. One way to ensure yourself of missing out on an interview is a poorly written cover letter and CV. Have someone else check your work out before

Quick Impress CV

Employers receive 100's of CVs in reply to job adverts. So how much time do you think an over worked HR officer or a busy business man, will dedicate to reading your CV?

10 Seconds

A few guidelines on how to convince your potential employer you are the ideal job candidate in 10 seconds:oMake sure the aspects of your career that qualify for this job are on top.oKeep a simple design - Visual appeal.oBold style 3 or 4 key phrases in your CV to highlights your strengthsoYour CV should fit on one page.oKeep it simple .

o No errors - proofread your CV and avoid common CV mistakes.

o Include clear and up to date contact information.o Keep in mind that the reason you are sending your CV is to

get an interview. Nothing else. So design your CV with this fact in mind.

CV keywords

Recruiters and Employers store CVs that have been posted by job candidates in databases. When they look for a person, they look by keywords. Keywords would be the essential requirements for the role this person will occupy. The search programs matches the keywords with text in the CV or CV together with the search criteria.

This shows the importance that core keywords for the jobs you would like to be considered for, are in your CV. You can find these keywords by researching job adverts in your industry, the company website and professional associations.

Your CV is divided into several sections. You can include the essential keywords in your career objective or achievements summary or professional summary. Include the keywords & action verbs in your job descriptions & your responsibilities as well. The 'CV keywords technique' can be used both in chronological & functional CV styles.

CV Mistakes

Websites - Listing inappropriate URL's such as your personal website.Fonts - Using small fonts to save space.Lying on your CV - Careful the risks are too high.Sending your graduate CV - After some years of job experience your CV

has to be re-written.No cover letter - Not sending a cover letter with your CV.Non-professional email address - Your student email address does not

give that professional image required when applying for a job.

CV Keywords - Not including keywords in your CV.Not proof-reading your CV - Always proof read your CV before sending.Industry jargon - Do not assume that whoever reads your CV will know all

the industry jargon.Personal Information - Keep it limited to the contact details and name

CV Format - Use the right format depending on the situationHTML formatted CV

ASCII Text CVEmail formatted CV

Don'ts while framing your Curriculum Vitae

o Title on the top of the page your Curriculum Vitae should not be labeled as such. Do not type 'Biodata', 'CV', 'Curriculum vitae‘,’Resume’ as the title. You should rather put your name and coordinates in that place, so the reader would know whose Curriculum Vitae he/she is reading.

o Do not use jargon or colloquial language The English (or any language, as a matter of fact) should be impeccable and as much as possible simple and without bombastic words and technical terms

o Do not attach photograph, unless specifically requestedo Do not mention your references' name or coordinates; you could

mention that if required, you would furnish the information. As it is this information is relevant only after an offer has been made.

Don'ts while framing your Curriculum Vitae

o Do not 'inflate' your achievements and/or qualifications or skills. Remember, most of the recruiters would run a background check up before finalizing an offer; you do not want to be embarrassed later on - and loose a good offer.

o Do not use any abbreviations in the Curriculum Vitae as these can be very confusing and distracting; always use the expanded form. If you have to use any, explain these through a legend in a footnote

o Do not forget to put a 4-5 line summary on the top of the Curriculum Vitae; many Curriculum Vitaes have been rejected because the recruiter did not have the time to go through the whole thing to get an idea of how capable the person is…