the professional cv writing

the professional cv writing

The Art of Crafting a Professional CV: Strategies and Techniques

1. Introduction to the Importance of a Professional CV

However, it should be remembered that a CV offers a favorable impression of the individual as someone with the right skills, experience, and hard work. It is not an actual mirror of the skills you have, rather, it should be seen as an advertising device which actually does the selling for the client. However, the important factor when writing your CV is that it should emphasize your work-related abilities, your unique qualities, and how valuable you could be, not how clever you be at writing advertising puff.

In this chapter, I will focus on the design of a CV, concentrating on the actual content of what should be written and how to write it. But before I start outlining the key content necessary for writing a CV, I wish to focus on the importance of a CV in the selection process of a job. The importance of the CV should not be underestimated. It is the client’s ticket to job interviews. At this point, it is important to mention that you should always keep one principle in your thoughts, “First Impressions Count”. This holds good in relation to presenting a good CV. Your CV gives the potential employer first impressions regarding your qualifications and likings.

2. Key Components of an Effective CV

h. Professional Affiliations and Memberships, Publications, Presentations, Citations, and Recent References: Although these are not a must, these help strengthen your resume or CV.

g. Special Training: These include certificates and special training. For degrees, only the highest degree obtained in a particular area of expertise is expected to appear on a CV, in some cases even the most recent degree obtained in the area of expertise is optimal for professional role.

f. Awards, Honors, and Accomplishments: If you have received any awards for excellent performance or achievements that show your company is proud of your contributions, be sure to include them. If you list your company’s accomplishments, make sure you have a few extras in your pocket to use. Knowing how to inject that into your job history on your resume might help build a more compelling case for your candidacy.

e. Skills and Knowledge: It is important to list technical skills, knowledge of software applications, or programs you can work with. Personal skills specific to the job opening may help you differentiate yourself that will benefit from the position. Some job seekers list personal skills or areas of knowledge in this section of their resume, marking them out of the crowd for some hiring managers. These skills can include your ability to work in teams or independently, your problem-solving abilities, your credibility, your ability to work in groups, and a drive to make the company successful. Strengthening your CV for a certain job opening can show that you have thought through what skills are required for this targeted position, understanding for the employer how your experiences will be beneficial to the company.

d. Professional Experience: For those of you who had a job at some point (even if only a part-time job as an adolescent), now is the time to make those jobs relevant. Behind each task, regardless of the fact that they may seem average to you now, are skills and responsibilities that will help you be successful in the corporate world. Your professional experience is one of the first things that a future employer looks at when deciding whether to set up an interview or reject your resume. Although the chronological order reflects the most recent activity or a first part of your work history, level of importance, hours worked, use of skills, and suitability for the job should trump chronological order. During a job interview, expect to find quick questions on your work experience (meaning many of your skills come from past experiences) that will relay to an interviewer that you are aware of – and you are interested in – the job at hand. Use meaningful action statements to convey the experience listed on your CV in response to an invitation for interview.

c. Educational Background: Provide the reader with facts about your educational background including high school education, college, graduate, and postgraduate education if required to do so for professional reasons.

b. Introduction: Use a small initial sentence or two to grab someone’s attention. It can be simply a statement about your unique skills, a summary of your professional experience, skills, and educational background with a career objective, or a catch statement solidifying your interest in the job alongside a glimpse of your skills.

a. Contact Information: This is straightforward and includes your first and last name, a phone number (cell or home, your choice or both), and an email address. For privacy and security reasons, recognize that some job seekers set up free email accounts for job searches. This may not be necessary for some of you, but how you handle that information is up to you.

Now that we have established the importance of having a CV, let us delve into what an effective CV looks like. An effective CV will include most or all of these key components.

3. Tailoring Your CV for Different Job Applications

Ensure your CV is no longer than two to three pages. When ordered to do so, gear your work to specific requirements, such as “ASAP,” “urgent,” “special,” “immediate,” and “special attention.”

Use plain language. Imagine that the employer does not know what your degree or volunteer work involves. Try to be generic. Identify roles rather than list names of employers. Fairly assess a potential employer’s assessment of your past performance by presenting each position in the same way.

Demonstrate how your skills, knowledge, or experience match the selection criteria, that is, address the employer’s needs. Demonstrate how your involvement (degree, committee membership, voluntary work, part-time work, etc.) relates to the sector or industry of the employer and how it has helped you develop both your skills and knowledge.

Before you start, get a clear idea about what you are trying to communicate to your employer. Show how qualified and experienced you are for the advertised position. Use personal details of your experience or achievements to convince your employer and give evidence of why you are the person for the position. Focus on what you can do for the employer and how your experience, qualifications, and personal qualities fit the job.

Tailor your CV to show your qualifications and experience meet the selection criteria. If a job advertisement or job application package mentions a key selection criteria and you don’t have the qualifications or specific experience that the employer has asked for, consider showing where you do have relative experience and transferable skills that would enable you to provide what the employer is looking for.

Start the process by looking at the qualifications, experience, personal qualities, and skills mentioned in the job advertisements/specifications and job descriptions and person specifications especially prepared by prospective employers. Highlight the qualifications and experience most relevant to the selection criteria – see section on highlighting selection criteria followed by samples of detailed outlines used in selection reports.

Try to tailor your CV every time you apply for a new job. Employers will be impressed if your CV is specifically designed for their organization and shows that you have put some thought and effort into it. Most of the CV can be the same. The only part you really need to change is the bit where you outline your most recent job and the sorts of things you did in this role.

4. Formatting and Design Tips for a Professional Appearance

In addition, you should use headers and/or bullet points to highlight different sections. This will make the document easier to read quickly, which is necessary because most employers are inundated with resumes and only read them for a matter of seconds. You will want yours to stand out. In terms of general design of the résumé, you should use only one font; a sans serif such as Helvetica or Arial is best. At the very least, even if your résumé is attention-getting, it should be conservative. It will be considered a turnoff if it is difficult to read and understand or appears unprofessional.

Careful formatting is a key way to ensure that your résumé presents a professional appearance to the potential employer. You should aim to have your résumé be clean, clear, and easy to read and understand. You may accomplish this in a number of ways. Begin by using large enough type: If your name and contact information are in large bold type, as they should be, use at least 10-point type. For the body of the résumé, use no fonts smaller than 10-point and no more than 20-point.

5. Showcasing Achievements and Skills in Your CV

Remember that your CV should point to the skills that you have acquired, not only those which are obviously developed as part of the course or experience. You need to avoid producing a list of taught skills; instead, you should refer to the skills that you have actually developed. The example of a waiter who is self-funded in saying that ‘knowledge of the industry’ belongs above ‘education’ in the waiter’s list of skills suggests that the waiter is likely to be happy working in the chosen field and to be knowledgeable about the ‘ranks’ and likely appointments in terms of work duties and payment. The skill of an ability to manage a budget is highly relevant in this context, and the use of an idiom to match this sign of familiarity does the waiter no harm at all. The point is that the list of what could have been (but is not) the skills that any waiter might acquire instead reflects the attitude and character of a waiter who is likely to be easy and enjoyable to manage the establishment of any family in the hospitality industry concerned.

Your CV should provide examples of what you have achieved in the past and an indication of the skills and competencies you have acquired. These examples of what you have done can provide evidence of how you have performed, whether in your educational studies or outside the formal academic environment. They will also begin to convince potential employers that it is worth their while reading your CV in detail.