How to write a Curriculum Vitae (CV)?

Every application requires a proper CV. Even if you apply for an internship. In Europe there are several different approaches of creating a CV. Every European country has its own kind of style. So be careful of the requirements of the country in which you are applying. The following table gives you an overview about the facts that are needed from applicants in the different European regions.

This is a standard European CV, called Europass

And here are the small differences:

An employer needs facts about your skills, experience, qualifications, and some personal insight. If they like what they read then they will require contact information to get in touch with you.

The order in which these facts are documented is important. Convention states that contact details should be at the top, then a brief introduction, then employment history, followed by qualifications and personal interests.

Contact details

Often CV's are kept on file for long periods so any contact details you give have to remain accurate in the long term. A daytime phone number is most important, include your mobile number if you have one. Include an e-mail address, a Hotmail address is good because you will have it for life. If you have your own URL domain name put it down for added class, for example contact@blabla.com.

Date of birth and nationality

Employers are not allowed to discriminate, but putting these details down saves them having to ask you. If you are not a citizen of the country in which you are applying special arrangements may have to be made.

Introduction

Write a brief and powerful introduction last thing after you have written everything else. Sum up your key qualities and include your aims. There is no need to head this section as it is self-evident.

Previous employment

Write in reverse chronological order, including starting and leaving dates for each position. Include concise details of what the job entailed, your responsibilities and what you achieved in the role. If there are any time gaps between employment explain what you were doing in that time, for example travelling, at college, carrying out charity fund raising work.

Use active verbs to describe your achievements, for example "I have experience in... I am trained in... I managed... I developed, I co-ordinated etc. Bullet point these at the start of a sentence for maximum impact.

Qualifications

There is no need to list all of your O-Level/GCSE subjects, simply write something like, 10 GCSE's A-C including Mathematics and English. A-Level and degree qualifications can be listed, the grades do not have to be included. List only the academic centres where a qualification was earned in reverse chronological order with dates.

Hobbies and interests

This give an insight into your personality. Consider carefully what you are putting down and its implications. Team events indicate that you are a team player, other activities such as Scouting, CCF, Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme show commitment and the fact you are not adverse to a challenge. If you like reading say who your favourite author is.

Keep this section very brief, do not list ALL of your interests and hobbies. You do not want to give the employer the impression you would rather be doing your hobbies, or travelling around the world than doing the job you are being considered for.

References

Unless you have a reference that you are particularly proud of, for example a letter written by Richard Branson saying that you are the 'bees knees', then it is advisable not to include references in the CV. Instead simply write "References available on request".

Don't over play or under play your achievements

Format

• Use a word processor to write your CV, sometimes a company may specify that they want a hand written covering letter but the CV should always be typed - remember quality of presentation should never be ignored.
• No longer than two sides of A4 and put the most important information on page one. Do not print on both sides of the paper.
• It is crucial to keep things concise because you will probably find that two pages provide not a lot of room to include all of your details, intelligent formatting is required. Make the layout clear logical and not cluttered, use sensible margin spacing.
• Use the best quality paper you can get hold of, but use common sense, do not send paper that is too thick.
• Bulleted paragraphs are a good way to save space and add impact to statements.
• Titles are required so that an employer can instantly see just what he/she wants to read. But try to avoid using formulaic titles such as Skills, Objectives, Profile, Introduction etc. Instead use a few sensible broad headings, 'Career', 'Personal', 'Professional'
• Talented design and layout with flashy type settings cannot fail to impress, however do not over do it, smart design cannot be considered a substitute for quality content. Another problem with complex formatting is that when it comes to posting your CV online, often the format is lost. Ideally have two versions, one flashy CV which can be snail mailed and e-mailed in Word, or PDF format and one which is txt. format which can be cut and pasted into online CV fields.
• Tailor your CV to each separate position when possible by carrying out some research into the company (the easiest way to do this is to look at their website) - see section on tailoring your CV.

Do not quote your previous salaries, and do not state why you left previous jobs

Points for those new to the rat race

If you are fresh out of university, college, or school it is possible that filling two sides of A4 with details of experience could prove tricky. Describe what skills you have learned and put into practice during your studies, for example working in-groups, presentation skills, perhaps you have carried out some unpaid work experience. Do not worry about your CV being thin to begin with, everybody has to start somewhere.

Demonstrate on paper the benefits you could bring to the employer's organisation

Language

• Try to slip in some relevant industry buzzwords, because it is a fact that employers scan read CV's and you want them to think that you know what you are talking about.
• Use simple language, you are not trying to impress anyone with your verbosity. · Back up your statements with evidence, for example 'Excellent organisational skills, I single handedly transferred all the company records onto CD ROM.' Similarly, try to quantify every statement, for example 'launched new marketing initiative which resulted in additional revenue of 45K'.
• Some things just don't need to be said, for example if the employer has read your covering letter and CV, then it should be evident to them that you are a good communicator. There is no need to state it separately; you don't want to come across as being naïve. Similarly you don't need to write CV at the top.
• Write a positive objective statement clarifying where you want your career to go, avoid any negative language in your CV.
• Try to avoid using 'I' too much. A page of I did this and that is a big turn-off - it says to the employer you haven't thought about them, only about yourself.
• An employer is not going to be interested in someone who has apparently drifted from job to job, perhaps across sectors. There should be some consistency and progression so that your career seems planned. Employers want candidates who are targeted and focused, ambitious types who know what they want and where they are heading. Your CV should reflect this considered progression.
• Always be honest, do not write anything in your CV that you would not feel comfortable talking about at an interview.
• Get someone else to read your CV for a second opinion, you may have missed some grammatical or spelling errors.

The TOP 10 Mistakes in a CV:

1. Typos and Grammatical Errors

   Your CV needs to be grammatically perfect. If it isn't, employers will read between the lines and draw not-so-flattering conclusions about you, like: "This person can't write," or "This person obviously doesn't care."

2. Lack of Specifics

   Employers need to understand what you've done and accomplished. For example:
   

   • Worked with employees in a restaurant setting.
   • Recruited, hired, trained and supervised more than 20 employees in a restaurant with £2 million in annual sales.
   Both of these phrases could describe the same person, but clearly the second one's details and specifics will more likely grab an employer's attention.

3. Attempting One Size Fits All

   Whenever you try to develop a one-size-fits-all CV to send to all employers, you almost always end up with something employers will toss in the recycle bin. Employers want you to write a CV specifically for them. They expect you to clearly show how and why you fit the position in a specific organization.

4. Highlighting Duties Instead of Accomplishments

   It's easy to slip into a mode where you simply start listing job duties on your resume. For example:

   • Attended group meetings and recorded minutes.
   • Worked with children in a day-care setting.
   • Updated departmental files.
   Employers, however, don't care so much about what you've done as what you've accomplished in your various activities. They're looking for statements more like these:
   • Used laptop computer to record weekly meeting minutes and compiled them in a Microsoft Word-based file for future organizational reference.
   • Developed three daily activities for preschool-age children and prepared them for a 10-minute holiday program performance.
   • Reorganized 10 years' worth of unwieldy files, making them easily accessible to department members.

5. Going on Too Long or Cutting Things Too Short

   Despite what you may read or hear, there are no real rules governing the length of your CV. Why? Because human beings, who have different preferences and expectations where resumes are concerned, will be reading it.

   That doesn't mean you should start sending out five-page CVs, of course. Generally speaking, you usually need to limit yourself to a maximum of two pages. But don't feel you have to use two pages if one will do. Conversely, don't cut the meat out of your resume simply to make it conform to an arbitrary one-page standard.

6. A Bad Objective

   Employers do read your CV's objective statement, but too often they plough through vague pufferies like, "Seeking a challenging position that offers professional growth." Give employers something specific and, more importantly, something that focuses on their needs as well as your own. Example: "A challenging entry-level marketing position that allows me to contribute my skills and experience in fund-raising for nonprofits."

7. No Action Verbs

   Avoid using phrases like "responsible for." Instead, use action verbs: "Resolved user questions as part of an IT help desk serving 4,000 students and staff."

8. Leaving Off Important Information

   You may be tempted, for example, to eliminate mention of the jobs you've taken to earn extra money for school. Typically, however, the soft skills you've gained from these experiences (e.g., work ethic, time management) are more important to employers than you might think.

9. Visually Too Busy

   If your CV is wall-to-wall text featuring five different fonts, it will most likely give the employer a headache. So show your CV to several other people before sending it out. Do they find it visually attractive? If what you have is hard on the eyes, revise.

10. Incorrect Contact Information

    I once worked with a student whose CV seemed incredibly strong, but he wasn't getting any bites from employers. So one day, I jokingly asked him if the phone number he'd listed on his CV was correct. It wasn't. Once he changed it, he started getting the calls he'd been expecting. Moral of the story: Double-check even the most minute, taken-for-granted details -- sooner rather than later.

Example

More Information: http://www.workgateways.com/resume-howto.html