How to Write a cv (Curriculum Vitae)
Edited byNick Hardman and 28 others
When applying for a job, many employers request that you submit a CV. What is a CV and what purpose does it serve? How do you make your CV stand out over the others? A CV is a short concise document which summarizes your past professional skills and experiences. The purpose of this document is to demonstrate that you have the necessary skills (and some complementary ones) to do the job for which you are applying.
Edit Steps
1
Make a list of jobs you have held in the past (include dates).
2
Make a list of qualifications you have obtained.
3
Make a list of hobbies and interests.
4
Use these lists to draw up a list of key skills which set you apart from other candidates.
5
Reference each key skill to a job you have performed in the past. Keep in mind that key skills don't have to be obtained from paid employment alone; teamwork, for example, can be demonstrated through many sports activities such as football. Leadership skills can be demonstrated by referencing that holiday you organized or some other event you arranged.
6
Use as many verbs as possible.[1][2] Here is a list that should get you started:
achieved, acquired, adapted, addressed, administered, analyzed, anticipated, assembled, assisted, audited,
budgeted,
calculated, centralized, changed, collaborated, composed, condensed, conducted, constructed, contracted, converted, coordinated, created, cultivated,
demonstrated, designed, developed, devised, discovered, doubled, drafted,
edited, eliminated, enforced, established, evaluated, expanded, explained,
forecast, formed, founded,
generated, guided,
hired,
implemented, improved, informed, insured, interpreted, interviewed,
launched,
maintained, managed, marketed, minimized, mobilized, motivated,
negotiated,
obtained, operated, organized, originated, oversaw, out-performed,
performed, planned, prevented, produced, promoted, provided, publicized, published,
recruited, reorganized, reported, researched, resolved, reviewed,
selected, separated, set up, simplified, solved, surveyed, staffed, supervised,
targeted, tasked, taught, tested, trained,
utilized.
7
Next is your ‘Personal Information’ section – this is normally two, three or maybe four bullet points creating a summary of who you are and what you can offer the organisation. The first bullet might point will say – who you are (eg graduate, experienced barman) and the role you are applying for. If you apply separately it might be nice to include the company name here. The second bullet will briefly outline you skills and experience relative to the role. The third bullet point will be your general skills such as motivated or ambitious and will say how they help you become a valuable asset wherever you work. A fourth point might explain why you are leaving your current role for this one but isn’t really necessary. In this section you really need to sell yourself – keep it short but make yourself sound like the ideal candidate.
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Next is the ‘Education History’ session; here you will have the dates to the left and the qualifications and place you studied to the right – the more recent and relative the education the more fleshed out you will be – don’t list all your GCSEs for example but maybe just Maths and English.
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Now comes your ‘Work Experience’ section– again date on the left and a brief summary of where you worked and the role you undertook. Underneath this you might list the skills and experience you have developed which is relative to the new role.
10
Next you may include an ‘Interests’ section and/or and ‘Other Important Skills’ section – in bullet point form make yourself sound both qualified and interesting – if you’ve run a marathon or worked for a charity this shows your motivation and hard work – tell the employer this (keeping it concise of course).
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Do not lie. This is critical. It is acceptable to exaggerate to make things sound a little more impressive than they actually were, but if you tell blatant lies your potential employer could ask you questions which you are unable to answer. More importantly, you can be fired later if it is discovered that you lied on your application or resume.
12
Make a list of key sections or categories (these may be different for each job you apply for depending on what you wish to emphasize): Personal Information, Education and Qualifications, Skills & Experience, Technical Skills, Employment, Hobbies and Interests, References.
13
Submit your CV to an employer for whom you have no intention to work. Ask him or her to review your CV and provide any feedback.
14
Ensure your CV is no more than four pages long. It is a summary, not your life history. If your prospective employer wants to know more, they will ask!
15
Provide contact details along with the dates and times you are available to work. Be as flexible as possible!
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A good idea would be to look at the company’s website if they have one.
What is their missionstatement?
What kind of people do they employ?
Would you fit in well with this company?
Do you have the required skills and experience?
Do you know the company inside out?
Are you passionate about what they do?
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Another tip is to look at the job advertisement and the things that the company expects from an employee. Of course it is essential that you do not lie or fabricate experience just to make it fit in with what they are lookingfor as this is dishonest practice and will soon be found out by an employer ifthey call you for interview. You must always be truthful about yourqualifications and experience, but this method of checking all job requirementson an advertisement is effective as it may have mentioned some things that youwouldn’t have thought were important, but you know you can do. It may also actas a springboard for you to pick out other qualities that you possess thatwould be useful in that role.
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It is also important to not just write out the requirements of the role as it is written on the advertisement as this will appear lazy to an employer and they will suspect that you are merely copy and pasting skills that you don’t necessarily have. If you find it difficult to express yourself in a different way and are trying to say the same thing, you could try a good thesaurus tomake your sentences ‘active’ and full of buzzwords. Or perhaps you could get one of your friends or your family to read over it and give you their opinions. It is always best to have as much feedback on your CV as possible so that youcan pick and choose what are good and bad ideas. Try to be subjective about your CV and not take advice and comments personally. See it as a piece of work that you have to analyse and try to be as picky and negative as possible as this will only be to your benefit in the long run. If you eradicate as many weaknesses as you possibly can at this stage then you will only have a better chance of gaining an interview. Be critical with yourself to be good to yourself.
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When asking friends or family to read over your CV, get them to answer a few questions that will help you to understand the strengths and weaknesses of your CV better.
How is this CV different fromothers that you have read?
How would you make it stand outform hundreds of others?
What is boring and predictableabout my CV?
What are the negative andpositive aspects of my CV?
What was your initialimpression of my template?
Do you think that it isrelevant and targets my chosen industry/job role?