cv

							What is a Curriculum Vitae?
When you apply for a job you are usually asked either to fill in an application
form or to send in a description of relevant aspects of your experience (the
CV). In addition, you may also be asked to write a letter explaining why you
think you are particularly suited to the job.

A curriculum vitae is commonly known as, and abbreviated to, its initial letters
of CV. Often, these initials only appear within the text of a job advertisement.
Curriculum vitae is a Latin phrase which, literally translated, means ‘course of
life’; it could also be translated as ‘a running account of your life’, ‘your life
story’, ‘a personal history sheet’ or ‘biography’.

Whichever of these definitions you choose, your curriculum vitae is a key
document and a uniquely personal account of all the relevant information
about your achievements to date. So it is worth getting it right, and you
should expect to expend time and effort in preparing a first class curriculum
vitae which can be continually and easily updated as required. This is equally
relevant whether you are seeking promotion in your present job or looking for
a new post: even if you are not specifically asked for your CV when applying
for promotion, you should use it as a basis for making your case to be
promoted. One of the purposes of a CV is to generate the kinds of questions
you would be happy to answer at an interview.

Your curriculum vitae provides you with a unique opportunity to ‘sell yourself’
on paper. If the information you provide about yourself appears ill-prepared,
dull or incomplete, or lacks clarity and directness, you will have no one to
blame other than yourself if those reading your CV judge you to be a person
who is not worthy of further consideration for a management job.


What a prospective employer expects from a CV
When preparing any form of written communication, it is always important to
consider the receiver or the potential audience to whom you are writing. In
the case of a curriculum vitae sent to a large organisation this is likely to be a
personnel or recruitment manager, or a specialist line manager in the area in
which you may have expressed an interest, e.g. in finances, sales, or
production. In a small organisation which has no personnel department, the
recipient could be a more general office or administrative manager.

What you need to keep in mind is that these recipients will be receiving letters
and CVs every day from people seeking jobs; this is especially true in a time
of high unemployment.

The most common shortcomings of CVs are that they:

 •   are boring to read
 •   adopt a staid and unadventurous format


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 •   do not ‘whet the appetite’ enough by attempting in some way to package
     the candidate according to the organisation’s needs or those of the
     actual vacancy.
 •   are hastily put together notes which have obviously been photocopied
     and distributed widely — without care and attention to this particular
     audience.
 •   are not up-to-date; this is guaranteed to promote the negative response
     of merely being filed to gain dust.

The work you put into this session will help you whether your prospective
employer asks for a completed application form or a CV. This is because you
need the same information in both cases. We ask you to produce a CV
because:

 •   it is more demanding than completing an application form
 •   application forms differ, so the preparation of a CV is likely to be more
     useful to you
 •   the information you collect for this assignment will give you a basis for a
     personal CV record which you can adapt to suit applications for specific
     jobs.



What information goes into a CV?
You need to communicate two main types of information:

 •   essential facts and figures about yourself such as your date of birth,
     address and qualifications
 •   a summary of key aspects of your experience such as any previous
     relevant jobs including unpaid voluntary work.

There is no one fixed ‘best’ way to set out a CV. People differ in details of
layout as you will see from the sample layouts and formats on the next pages.

Whatever format you choose, there are certain general guidelines on
presentation you should bear in mind. Your CV should:

 •   be concise and clearly laid out
 •   be easily readable, either in clear handwriting (always use black ink) or
     preferably typed
 •   be a top copy, not an obvious photocopy; this not only emphasises that
     you are applying to other organisations — possibly rivals — but could
     give the impression of being a ‘standard package’ which has been
     prepared with little thought or knowledge of the particular organisation to
     which you are applying.
 •   be informative but enjoyable to read


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 •   be right up to the minute and continually updated
 •   never be forwarded on its own but always sent with a covering letter
     specifically written with some degree of knowledge and information
     about the organisation and, if possible, the person you are addressing.
 •   ‘sell’ yourself to your maximum advantage.



What format should I use?
There are two main formats which are commonly used for CVs:

 •   the chronological format, in which you list your educational and job
     history chronologically
 •   the functional format, which gives brief résumés of your skills and
     experience under a number of headings.




Using the CV Wizard on Word
The Resumé Wizard helps you organise your skills, education, and
experience in a resumé or CV that’s appropriate for the type of job you’re
seeking. The wizard offers several built-in headings that you can place in any
order, and you can add your own headings. The wizard also helps you create
a cover letter and send the CV and cover letter to someone by e-mail or fax.
To send items by e-mail or fax, your computer must support these services.

1.    on the File menu, click New

2.    Click the Other Documents tab

3.    Double-click Resumé Wizard

4.    Follow the steps in the wizard


Note: You can also use any of the CV templates as the basis for a CV.




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