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CV / Resumes What are CVs and Resumes for? What is the employer looking for? How to prepare your CV.
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259192ENGLISH ACTIVITYWeek 4
LAST TIME… Job Hunting
Career Paths & Future Directions
THIS WEEK CV / Resumes
What are CVs and Resumes for? What is the employer looking for? How to prepare your CV.
WHAT IS A CV/RESUME FOR? “To get a job” “To market yourself” “To sell your skills, abilities, qualifications, experience…”
An interface between you and a possible job? To keep track of your achievements?
CV OR RESUME? Curriculum Vitae or Résumé
CV <- English… Resume <- Americans…
But are there any other differences?
CV OR RESUME Length
A CV is generally longer than a Resume (A Resume would probably be 1 page)
Purpose A resume is a brief summary of your skills & experience, a CV is a full record of your
career history, in chronological order
Layout A CV is generally static, with customisations made in a cover letter, while a resume is
organized for a particular occasion
Or so they say…
WHO IS GOING TO SEE YOUR CV? The future boss… Me?
If I have a pile of 50 CVs for 1 job, what am I going to do? When I’d rather be down the pub?
I am trying to filter you out…
WHAT TO INCLUDE?45% Previous related work experience35% Qualifications & skills25% Easy to read16% Accomplishments14% Spelling & grammar
9% Education
9% Intangibles: individuality/desire to succeed
3% Clear objective2% Keywords added1% Contact information1% Personal experiences1% Computer skills
PERSONAL DETAILS Name Address Email Address Telephone Number
Date of Birth? Photograph?
What Photo?
WHAT EMAIL ADDRESS? [email protected]
[email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]
QUALIFICATIONS Your degree subject CMU
What grades / GPA? Depends if it’s good! Depends if it is related to the job! Might be worth mentioning the courses you did best in!
High School GPA?
WORK EXPERIENCE Compare:-
“Worked in a restaurant in the evenings”
vs
“Worked as part of a team, providing quality service to customers at ‘ABC restaurant’”
or even
“Part of a team organizing Freshman activities within the Entaneer club.”
WORK EXPERIENCE Relate it to the job you want
Numeracy? Problem Solving? Coding? Analytical Skills? People skills?
Use action words “Developed”, “Planned”, “Organised”, “Lead”
Stick in some keywords “Cross cultural environment” “Team work”
Stick in some results “Ensured daily sales targets were met” “100% safety record”
INTERESTS & ACHIEVEMENTS Compare with Work Experience
As you get more experience that section will grow, while this will shrink…
Think! What will your interests say about you? “Play Computer Games… Play DOTA2”
Hmmmmz! “Sport, sport, sport, sport…”
Can you relate to nonsporty people? “Reading, watching tv, stamp collecting…”
Solo loner?
INTERESTS & ACHIEVEMENTS Something out of the ordinary!
What makes you, you? Sky diving? Traveling? But why did you travel, and what did you learn?
Try to match your interests to the job… Keeping up to date with technology blogs…?
Leadership – were you captain of a team? Employable skills
Team-working, organizing, planning, persuading, negotiating…
INTERESTS & ACHIEVEMENTS These can become talking point during interview…
DO NOT LIE!!!
BULLETS!!! Use bullet points!
We like lists, they are easy to read and keep track of…
But, having complete sentences & paragraphs can be useful too…
SKILLS Languages…? Programming Languages…?
REFERENCES Available on request?
Who should be your reference? Someone who likes you… ;) Someone with a good reputation… ;)
Your advisor / teacher… A former employer…
3 PAGES TO 2? Margins? Font size? Columns? Boxes?
The opposite of the ‘tricks’ you use for your assignments..!
1 PAGE TO 2? Think a bit more – there are things that make you special..!
But 1 page can be good and efficient too.
WHY WOULD CV’S BE AUTOMATICALLY REJECTED? CVs with spelling mistakes or typos 61% CVs that copied large amounts of wording from the job posting 41% CVs with an inappropriate email address 35% CVs that don’t include a list of skills 30% CVs that are more than two pages long 22% CVs printed on decorative paper 20% CVs that detail more tasks than results for previous positions 16% CVs that include a photo 13% CVs that have large blocks of text with little white space 13%
(Career Builder)
WHAT DON’T EMPLOYERS LIKE Spelling and grammar 56% of employers found this Not tailored to the job 21% Length not right & poor work history 16% Poor format and no use of bullets 11% No accomplishments 9% Contact & email problems 8% Objective/profile was too vague 5% Lying 2% Having a photo 1%
TOP TIPS Use a Basic Font Include all your contact info Add a profile / objective Include Keywords (matching job descriptions) Prioritise content Write a custom CV Tweak for latest technology Choose format (chronological or targeted?) Use a template Remember the cover letter
OH… And DON’T LIE!!!
