Transcript Slide 1
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ادخ مانب
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How to write a successful CV
What is a CV?
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Curriculum Vitae:
usually prepared for job applications . The term “curriculum vitae” comes from the Latin
singular....”
an outline of a person's educational and professional history,
Curriculum
(course) and
Vitae
(life): The course of one’s life.
"It is vitae (not vita) because "life" in the phrase "course of life" ... is in the genitive
A CV is the most flexible and convenient way to make applications.
It can convey your personal details in the way that presents you in the best possible light and can be used to make multiple applications to employers in a specific career area. For this reason,
many large graduate recruiters will not accept CVs
and instead use their own application form. An
application form
is designed to bring out the essential information and the personal qualities that the employer requires and does not allow you to gloss over your weaker points as a CV does. In addition, the time needed to fill out these forms is seen as a reflection of your commitment to the career and the company.
There is no "one best way" to construct a CV;
it is your document and can be structured and presented as you wish within the basic framework set out below. It can be set out on paper or on-line or even on a T-shirt (a gimmicky approach that might work for "creative" jobs but is not generally advised!).
A Curriculum Vitae (CV) resembles a resume in many ways, but is more specifically focused on academic achievements. A CV summarizes educational and academic history, and may include details about teaching experience, publications (books, articles, research papers, unpublished manuscripts, or book chapters), and academic honors and awards. Use a CV rather than a resume for teaching or research opportunities, applying for fellowships or for further academic training. Some research positions in industry may also prefer a CV rather than a resume CV’s are frequently longer than resumes, since the emphasis is on completeness rather than brevity.
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When should a CV be used
?
When an employer asks for applications to be received in this format When an employer simply states "apply to ..." without specifying the format When making
speculative applications
(when writing to an employer who has not advertised a vacancy but who you hope my have one)
What information should a CV include
?
BB Personal details Education and qualifications Work experience Interests and achievements Skills Referees The order in which you present these, and the emphasis which you give to each one, will depend on what you are applying for and what you have to offer. If you are applying for more than one type of work, you should have a
different CV tailored to each career area
, highlighting different aspects of your skills and experience.
A
personal profile
at the start of the CV can sometimes be effective for jobs in competitive industries such as the media or advertising, to help you to stand out from the crowd. If used, it needs to be original and well written. Don’t just use the usual hackneyed expressions: “
I am an excellent communicator who works well in a team……
“ You will also need a Covering Letter to accompany your CV.
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What makes a good CV
?
There is no single "correct" way to write and present a CV but the following general rules apply:
It is
targeted on the specific job
or career area for which you are applying and brings out the relevant skills you have to offer It is carefully and
clearly laid out
: logically ordered, easy to read and not cramped It is
informative but concise
It is
accurate in content, spelling and grammar
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How long should a CV be
?
There are no absolute rules on this but, in general, a new graduate's CV should cover
no more than two sides of A4 paper.
If you can summarize your career history comfortably on a
single side
, this is fine and has advantages when you are making speculative applications and need to put yourself across concisely. However, you should not leave out important items, or crowd your text too closely together in order to fit it onto that single side.
Academic and technical CVs may be much longer:
up to 4 or 5 sides
Tips on presentation
Your CV should be large empty spaces either. Use bold and italic typefaces for headings and important information
carefully and clearly laid out - not
too cramped but not with Never back a CV -
each page should be on a separate sheet of paper
. It's a good idea to put your name in the footer area so that it appears on each sheet.
Be concise
impressive. - a CV is an appetizer and should not give the reader indigestion. Don't feel that you have to list every exam you have ever taken, or every activity you have ever been involved in - consider which are the most relevant and/or
Be positive
- put yourself over confidently and highlight your strong points. For example, when listing your A-levels, put your highest grade first.
Be honest
- although a CV does allow you to omit details (such as exam resist) which you would prefer the employer not to know about, you should never give inaccurate or misleading information. If you are posting your CV,
don't fold it
- put it in a full-size A4 envelope so that it doesn't arrive creased. BB
Fields of Interest or Teaching Competencies:
CVs may begin with a short section specifying Fields of Interest or Teaching Competencies (instead of a statement of Professional Objective with which resumes may begin). If you do include this optional section, make your categories as broad as possible to cover a variety of potential opportunities but don't be so broad that you appear unfocused.
•
Teaching and Research Experience:
On a CV it is appropriate to describe both teaching and research experience in detail (on a resume this is usually not appropriate). If applying for a position that primarily involves research, describe research experience first; if the reverse is true, put teaching experience first.
•
Work Experience:
briefly on a CV. Work experience not directly relevant to research/teaching/academic opportunities should be omitted or described only •
Other:
This may include miscellaneous personal information such as membership in professional or scholarly associations, travel or study abroad, or personal interests. Include only if you feel that some aspects of your personal history may be relevant and of potential interest to your readers.
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•
References:
If you list references, provide title, university affiliation, and phone number •
Your Dissertation:
• If you are working on or have recently finished your doctoral degree, at least include a brief, clear summary of your thesis topic in the Education section.
• Including a separate one- or two- page abstract of your thesis at the end of your resume is recommended, but optional. In this attachment, concisely summarize your thesis work, placing it within its scholarly context, and noting its contribution to the field. Your summary should be comprehensible to people outside your field, but scholarly enough to interest people within your area of expertise. Looking at theses on related topics, in Rotch or Dewey Library, may help you write yours. If you do provide an abstract, write "(See Abstract Attached)" in the Education section of your CV, after the name of your thesis title.
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Fonts
Times New Roman
is the standard windows "serif" font. A safe bet - law firms seem to like it! A more interesting serif font might be
Georgia. Arial
is the standard windows "sans" font. Sans fonts don't have the curly bits on letters. As you can see it's cleaner and more modern than Times and also looks larger in the same "point" size (the point size is simply how big the letters are on the page.) However Arial and Times Roman are so common that they're a little boring to the eye. A more classy choice might be
Verdana
or
Geneva
- these are both common sans fonts.
FONT SIZE
headings. is normally 12 points for the normal font with larger sizes for subheadings and or 10 points. My favorite CV font is 10 point Verdana with 12 or 14 points for sub headings. 14 points is too big - wastes space and looks crude. and 8 or 9 points too small to be easily readable by everyone, especially in Times New Roman. Although many people use 12 points, some research on this suggested that smaller point size CVs were perceived as more intellectual!
Different Types of CV
Chronological
- outlining your career history
in date order
, normally beginning with the most recent items (reverse chronological) . This is
the "conventional" approach and the easiest to prepare.
It is detailed, comprehensive and biographical and usually works well for "traditional" students with a good all-round mixture of education and work experience. Mature students, however, may not benefit from this approach, which does emphasize your age, any career breaks and work experience which has little surface relevance to the posts you are applying for now.
Skills-based
- highly-focused CVs which relate your skills and abilities to a specific job or career area by
highlighting these skills and your major achievements.
The factual, chronological details of your education and work history are subordinate. These work well for
mature graduates
and for anybody whose degree subject and work experience is not directly relevant to their application. Skills-based CVs should be closely targeted to a specific job.
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Targeting your CV
If your CV is to be sent to an applications in this format, you should research the organization and the position carefully.
individual employer
which has requested If your CV is to be used for
speculative applications,
it is still important to target it - at the very least, on the general career area in which you want to work. Use the Careers Information Room or general careers websites such as www.prospects.ac.uk to get an idea of what the work involves and what skills and personal qualities are needed to do it successfully. This will enable you to tailor the CV to the work and to bring out your own relevant experience. Even if you are using the same CV for a number of employers, you should
personalize the covering letter
- e.g. by putting in a paragraph on why you want to work for that organization.
Emailed CVs and Web CVs
Many employers who accept applications in CV format are happy for you to send your CV as an attachment to an email.
Put your covering letter as the body of your email.
It's probably wise to format it as plain text (use the format heading on Outlook Express to do this), as then it can be read by any email reader.
Your CV is then sent as an attachment.
This is normally in
MS Word (.doc) format
, but
Rich Text Format
(.rtf) and
html
(web page format) are acceptable alternatives. Also say you'll send a printed CV if required.
PDF (portable document format)
also quite widely used and you can download a pdf converter such as Cute pdf http://www.cutepdf.com/Products/CutePDF/writer.asp
for free: you install it and then "print" the document to a folder on your PC. If in doubt send your CV in several formats.
Email it back to yourself
first to check it.
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Web CVs and Electronically Scanned CVs
Web CVs use HTML format.
You can include the web address in an email or letter to an employer. They have the advantage that you can easily use graphics, colour, hyperlinks and even sound, animation and video. The basic rules still apply however - make it look professional. They can be very effective if you are going
for multimedia, web design or computer games jobs
your technical skills along with your portfolio.
where they can demonstrate
Electronically scanned CVs
have been used by Nortel, Ford and others. Resumix is the main package used for this. The system has artificial intelligence which reads the text and extracts important information such as work, education, skills. For more information on this see www.kent.ac.uk/careers/onlineapps.htm
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Common Questions about CVs
How long should it be?
synopsis of the PhD.
Generally speaking no more than two sides. One side CVs are perfectly acceptable but most graduates have trouble fitting everything on to one side. Academic CVs from PhDs aiming for research jobs in Universities or Industry can be three sides or even longer with the third side devoted to conferences, publications and a detailed
Do I need to include references?
Not necessarily unless the employer has specifically asked for them, but it is probably a good idea. If you are running out of space, then you could include them on the covering letter or state that you are happy to supply referees on request.
Should I include my G.C.S.E.s?
all your GCSEs with grades. Just the main ones like Math and English unless others will support your application strongly. Do indicate how many you have in total! If however your GCSE grades are mainly A's and your A level results are weak it is probably worth putting in
Do I have to include all the jobs I have done, because I have heard employers are suspicious of gaps in employment history?
skills-based approach variety of jobs before coming to Kent.
Some employers are, but if your recent experience is predominantly as a student this is unlikely. In any case you may wish to adopt a in which case you will concentrate on your relevant work experience only. Skills-based CVs are often particularly effective for mature students who have done a
What color paper should I use?
White A4 size paper is perfectly acceptable - you don't need to buy some very expensive paper as the content and layout of the CV are the most important aspects. A pale pastel color is also acceptable such as pale blue or cream if you want to be a little different, but don't use garish colors!
Should I include my nationality?
On the whole, yes.
What difference does it make what sex I am? Surely there is no need to include this?
If your name may confuse an employer then you may wish to clarify your sex. For example Robin or Alex can be male or female names.
What do I say about the potential Class/result of my degree?
Especially if you know the employer will get many applicants.
Be optimistic and assume you will get the Class of degree you hope for.
Who do I send it to?
A vital issue! You must have a name, and that name should be repeated on the covering letter. It is often wise to phone or email the organization to clarify the name of the person (together with correct spelling of their name and title) before you send your CV BB
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Covering Letters
The covering letter is vital to your CV .
This is why it is the first page and not an addition. "Please find enclosed my CV" won't get you very far .
The covering letter puts flesh on the bare bones of the CV .
It points out to the employer the information showing that you have the qualities the job calls for, and makes a statement about yourself and your suitability for the job. It should give the personal touch that your CV will intrinsically lack .
Plain white photocopier paper is fine
.It's OK to print your letter on expensive cream or pale blue paper, but content and layout are far more important! Use the same colour for your CV. Don't use lined paper or file paper with punched holes !
If emailed
put your covering letter in the body of the email. If you just attach it along with your CV, with nothing in the email body it may be misidentified as spam .
Don't make the employer work to read your letter !
Keep it clear, concise and to the point .
Try not to go over one side of A4
a useful rule of thumb is a maximum of three sides of A4 for CV and covering letter together .
Use your own words
rather than formal long-winded clichés .
Spell-check
and then double-check your spelling and grammar. Spell checkers won't pick up
form
instead of
from
or
sex
instead of
six !
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You might include your understanding of the work/knowledge of the company
,and how you fit the criteria required. "I have a real interest in working as a ...." will not do alone, you must say why you decided to pursue this career, what first brought it to your attention, why you as a History student should be interested in a career in finance .
Relate your skills to the job .
Show the employer, in a clear and concise manner, that you have obtained the organizing, communicating, analytical, problem solving, etc. skills that are appropriate for the job. You may do the same highlighting from your background to show your team working abilities or ability to work under pressure .See our Skills pages
Say when you're available to start work
) and end, if it's a placement): be as flexible as possible .
Try to find the name of the person to write to .
Research by Forum3 found that
those who included a letter with their CV were 10% more likely to receive a reply
and those who addressed the covering letter and envelope to the correct named person were 15% more likely to receive a letter of acknowledgement and 5% more likely to gain an interview. They also found that 60% of CVs are mailed to the wrong person, with the managing director being the main beneficiary of the unsolicited mail .
If you start with a name (e.g .
“
Yours sincerely”
.
you should end with : If you start with
" Dear Sir or Madam
"you should end with
" Yours faithfully "
Here is a possible structure for a covering letter:
First Paragraph:
State the job you’re applying for .
Where you found out about it
) advert in The Guardian newspaper etc. organizations like to know which of their advertising sources are being successful
When you're available to start Second Paragraph:
work (and end if it's a placement
Why you're interested
in that type of work
Why the company attracts you
) if it's a small company say you prefer to work for a small friendly organization(!
Third Paragraph:
Summarize your strengths
organization .
and how they might be an advantage to the
Relate your skills to the job.
Last Paragraph:
Mention any
dates that you won't be available for interview Thank the employer
and say you look forward to hearing from them soon .
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STANDARD COVERING LETTER
Mrs.. M Foster, Graduate Recruitment Manager, Elsewhere Bank plc, 39High Street, Manchester. M2 1RS Dear Mrs. Foster My name is John Andrews and I am writing in response to your advertisement for a University of Kent vacancy database .I enclose my CV for your consideration.
Graduate Trainee on the I first became interested in retail banking during an "Insight" course which I attended during my second year at University. Since then, discussion with my careers adviser and my own research have confirmed my belief that this is a career which will enable me to use not only my interest in business and finance but also my skills in working with people, both in an advisory and a managerial capacity.
I am particularly interested in a career with Elsewhere Bank, because of the high reputation of your graduate training scheme, and your commitment to giving new recruits early responsibility .
During my time as a student I have had a variety of part-time and vacation jobs, all of which have required me to work as part of a team and to deal directly with the public. I found my work at the Tourist Information Office particularly valuable in teaching me the importance of ascertaining customers' needs and providing clear and accurate information in response to those needs.
As part of my degree course, I chose to carry out a final-year project which involved a statistical analysis of 150 questionnaires sent to local employers .
To process this information, I taught myself to set up and use a database and felt great satisfaction in completing this project well ahead of the end-of-term deadline .
Although my overall degree result was a 2.2., this particular piece of work was awarded a high 2.1.
I will be available for interview at any time apart from the 12 - 24 August when I have arranged a holiday in Italy .
I look forward to hearing from you shortly.
Yours sincerely BB
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