Curriculm Vitae Writing

8/9/2019 Curriculm Vitae Writing

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CVs Writing

Prepared by: Amira Heikal

Human Resource Manager


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content

Overview

Objective

Resumes vs CVs

CV Outline

CV Format/style

Action Words


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Overview

A Curriculum Vitae (Latin for course oflife) is used mainly in Europe.

Resume is French and means summary.

In the US, the term resume is usedinstead of CV. Its an American-style CV.

They may take on a number of differentformats or styles.

Regardless of the style, make sure thatthey flow logically and are error free


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Overview (continued)

They should be able to give a clearpicture on the following aspects:

What do I want to convey (mycareer objective)?

What are my coreskill/competencies?

What are my major achievements?


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Resumes vs CVs

However, there are a few basicdifferences:

CVs represent an in-depth and structured

information about the professionalexperience and qualification of a person;

The resume usually is the same thing in avery short form.

This is why typically a CV would be two tothree pages while the resume would not

normally exceed one page.


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Resumes vs CVs

The Curriculum Vitae is the mostaccepted form for job applicationsall over the world.

The resume, on the other hand isthe most accepted form for job

applications in USA. Here, theCurriculum Vitae would be usedexclusively for jobs in academics.


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Resumes vs CVs

The main difference between CV &resume is the lengths.

The standard CV is between 2 and 8pages long where the standard resume isbetween 1 and 2 pages long.

Resumes are a reflection of your main

accomplishments only, while CVs aredetailed accounts of your education andwork experience to date.


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Approaches in various countries

In German-speaking countries, a picturewas a mandatory adjunct to the CV for along time.

Indian employers prefer lengthy rsums.

Including a photograph of the applicant isstrongly discouraged in the U.S. as itwould suggest that an employer would

discriminate on the basis of a person'sappearance age, race, sex,

attractiveness, or the like.


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Approaches in various countries

In Korea, rsums always include a picture of theapplicant, and other information, such as religion,family information, military information , andother information .

y In Canada, by Canadian Charter of Rights andFreedoms, applicants may refuse to put downrace, national or ethnic origin, colour, sex, age ormental or physical disability on the resume even if

the employer instructed the applicants to do so.


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Personal Information

Your personal information shouldbe written clearly right at the topof the page.

Use a different font (from the bodyof the CV) if you like, but abstain

from using other color ink ordividers. Too much of it willdistract the reader.


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Work History (Professional Experience)

Use the same terminology as in thejob requirements, particularly theessential skills.

Keep in mind the saying, 'You areas good as your last job' - hence,give as many details as needed inthe first two employments listedand then reduce the details as yougo down the time.


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Objectives

In this part, you are telling theemployer why you want the job.

Write the objectives sectionshowing a clear reason based on acareer track motive like I want to

gain direct experience as part of my

management studies

It should not exceed five lines.


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Work History (Professional Experience)

List your professional experience inreverse chronological order.

Clearly mention the employing

company's name, your position anddescribe in bullet points what you haveachieved there.

The CV should have quantified activeverbs, which show that you were aperson who made a difference andhence, you would be ready to make adifference in your new work place aswell.


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Achievements

Achievements added to the workhistory as part of each job

description are a real positive,particularly when you show obviousrelevance and value to theemployer.

Use examples that are clearlyrelated to the new job application.


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Skills

Any job for which you can apply willinclude a range of skills you can use.

You may not have all of them, but you

must include all the required skills asmuch as possible. Use exactly the same description of these

skills as used in the job ad. Skills may be classified as such:

Organizational skills

Managerial skills Technical skills, and so on for clarity and better

focus


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Others

Leisure activities: hobbies, sportsand interests can give an insight

into your personality. References


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Styles of CVs

1. Functional CV

2. Keyword CV

2. Performance CV3. Targeted CV

4. Combination CV


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unctional CV

This is the best style to use when there are gapsin the employment and you want the recruiter tostay focused on your expertise/skills rather thanbeing deflected by the gaps visible in the career.

This is also great way to write your cv when yourskills are more important than your qualificationand employment history.

This style usually concentrates most on skills youhave acquired in the past and how you have used

these in the previous jobs.


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Keyword CV

It is designed to meet the demandsof electronic scanning and electronic

applicant screening & tracking. It is often called an electronic

resume

It is a new resume style, utilizing

power words and phrases.


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Keyword CV

It must contain an adequate description of the jobseeker's characteristics and industry specificexperience presented in key word terms in orderto accommodate the electronic and/or computer

process. Keyword CVs are designed to be scanned, to be

computer friendly, to produce hits (a hit is whenone of your skills matches the computer searchkey word or phrase), not necessary for visualappearance or to be read by humans. This iscontemporary most powerful resume.


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Performance CV

This style usually focuses on the pastperformance.

This is an excellent CV writing style when

you want to be seen as a major achieversince it will focus the attention of therecruiter on your performance/achievement during each job listed inyour employment history.

This is usually efficient when the careergraph has stayed more or less in thesame profession for a long time.


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Targeted CV

This style works best when youremployment history is too versified tomake the right impact.

This type would focus on the requirementof the job and exclude most of the other

traits and experiences that could distractthe recruiter from judging your matchwith the job applied for.

Though the skills acquired would haveenriched your professional capacity, theseare not directly applicable to the job andhence would not really help the purpose.


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Chronological Resumes

The chronological resumes formats,lists job experience starting withyour first job and ending with yourmost recent position

However, employers tend to preferthe reverse chronological order,because the format lists job historybeginning with the most recent joblisted first.


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Action Words

One of the most important things whenwriting a resume is to use action words asa specific resume words. Not only willthese action words increase the impact ofyour resume in the eyes of the employersbut they might help your resume getselected when recruiters use resumescanning software. Usually used todescribe skills, experience and

achievements, action words shouldn'thowever be "stuffed" in your resume asyou need to make sure your documentsounds natural.


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A few critical points you should

remember

The Curriculum Vitae should notexceed two pages;

The sentences should be short and

crisp; Use, as much as possible, bullet

points with active verbs that arequantified with achievements;

Choose the right style (functional,targeted and Performance )for the jobyou are applying;


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remember

Ensure that the best that you have tooffer is on the first page; the recruitermight not bother to look at the second

page otherwise;

Study well about the company andtailor-make your Curriculum Vitae to

exactly match those requirements;


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remember

Ensure that all statements are true;you might be asked to provide prooffor your claims or the company might

run a background check-up on you

Check the spellings and punctuationscarefully.


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remember

Your contact information should beclear and correct; this should haveyour address, telephone number , cell

phone number, email id,

Use an easily readable font - it shouldnot too small - Arial/ Times NewRoman/ Tahoma 10/12 point would be

a good choice


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remember

Use high quality paper

The Curriculum Vitae should be laserprinted for high clarity and neatness

Use light colored (if you want any othercolor than white) paper for a stand-out

effect

Use an easy-to scan format - avoid too

much italics, highlighting and underlining


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Cover Letter

Attach a brief cover letter explainingwhy you think you would be the bestcandidate for the job you are applying

for Always keep a copy of the Curriculum

Vitae you sent to each company - this isvery important, since each CV would bespecifically tweaked to match the job

and hence, you might not rememberexactly how it was presented when youare called for the interview

Documents

Curriculm Vitae Writing