Writing An Effective Resume (CV)

What is a Résumé?

 A résumé is a brief document that summarizes your employment history, education, and experiences that are relevant to your qualifications for a particular job.

The purpose of the résumé is to get an interview…not a job!

You have thirty seconds  to impress a potential employer.

Research has shown that it takes an average of ten interviews to receive one job offer.   Your résumé should be as persuasive and well-written as possible.

 A résumé is a marketing documenting tool and may be one of the most important documents you write in your professional life.

It is the sum and substance of your work history and education and indicates a particular career direction

Because your cv is like a personal advertisement, it should convince a potential employer that you are an outstanding candidate for the job and that you will contribute to the organization.

Must Read:

How to be a good planner

henri fayol 14 principles of management

Decision making and problem solving techniques

A CV is a short list of facts about you and your history, skills, qualifications and experience. A good cv is essential when looking for work and it is worth spending time to get it right so it sells you to an employer.

 A résumé  is a TRUE Depiction of personality, backgrounds, capabilities, accomplishments, how to organized you are and your sense of quality.

 A résumé  is an advertisement that helps you sell yourself to an employer.

 The résumé  gets you the interview; the INTERVIEW gets you the JOB.

 Because a CV should convince a potential employer that you are an outstanding candidate for the job and that you will contribute to the organization.

 While you have all the requirements for a particular position, your CV is a   failure if the employer does not in instantly come to the conclusion that you “have what it takes”

 The first hurdle your CV has to pass- weather it ends up in the “ consider file” or the “reject file” - may take less than thirty seconds.

Writing An Effective Resume

 What information should be in a resume?

• Personal Information. Education Background
• Professional Development . Other Training
• Employment Record. Referees/References
• Language ability. Knowledge and Skills. Interests. Publications

 Characteristics of a successful resume.

 Functional or Chronological.
  Scannable resume.

What Information Should Be In A Resume?

 Identify Yourself
 Education
 Continuing Education  Work or Professional Experience  Volunteer Experience  Activities  Computer Skills  Professional Associations
Optional Sections  Objective  Special Skills and Abilities  Reference Statement

Organize your Big List into lots of Little Lists.

(A) IDENTIFY YOURSELF

 Full Name  Marriage status  Religion affiliation  Cellphone number  Email address  Physical address  Date of birth

(B) Education

Where you went/are going to/, school Your GPA Classes you took Any degrees/ certificates obtained Your major and minor, if applicable Begin with the recent/current one
Example:
YEAR LEVEL AWARD

(C) PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

List the short courses, seminars, work shops Forums Put the most recent first
Example:
YEAR TYPE OF TRAINING
DURATION AWARD
020870A01_LT  11
Organize your Big List into lots of Little Lists.

(D) Other Training

List all other training that they are not associated with  your Your GPA Classes you took Any degrees/certificates obtained Your major and minor, if applicable Begin with the recent/current one
Example:
YEAR TYPE OF TRAINING
DURATION AWARD

(E) EMPLOYMENT

All the jobs you’ve ever had (with dates) Volunteer/service experience Any relevant skills obtained… Roles engaged in Start with the current/recent position
Example: Employment Records  3. Current Post  3.1 Roles and Responsibility

(F) Referees/References

Referees must be people who knows your ability and expertise Should not be your relatives Should be your former Boss or your lecturers
Should be contacted in case of any update your career or further studies including your current job position Should be requested to be referees and must know your ability very well

(G) Language ability

List of the languages that you can speak, write, and listen Choose and write from the three whether excellent, very good, or good Even your mother tongue if the job your applying for need people who can speak, write or listen and understand very well the language
Example:
Type of Language
Spoken Written Listening
• Excellent • Very Good • Good
• Excellent • Very Good • Good
• Excelle nt • Very Good • Good

(H) Knowledge and Skills

Computer skills (HTML, CSS, BASIC, etc.)
Knowledge of computer programs (Word, Excel, AutoCAD, Adobe, QuickBooks, etc.) Interpersonal Skills Being proactive Cooperative Counseling skills Career adviser
 Knowledge of any specialized machinery  …anything else that you know how to do that no one has cared about so far  Don’t write the skills that you don’t posses

Organize your Big List into lots of Little Lists

(I) Interests

Write your interests and hobbies Swimming Reading Travelling Playing football Playing volleyball 
(J) Publications List all the publications Knowledge of any specialized machinery Starts with the current

Resume template | Resume Example

Forename Surname | X Graduate
Location: xxxxxxx
Telephone: xxxxxxxxxxx
Email: xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Professional profile

Provide a summary of your abilities including detail on the skills and knowledge you have to offer employers, including your educational achievements (especially your degree), grades, courses and projects. If you have any work placements or direct experience then give an overview here, but if not; simply expand on industry specific knowledge and the transferable workplace skills you have gained throughout your degree such as communication, teamwork, organisation, planning, IT skills etc. Also, if you have any impressive extra-curricular activities then it’s worth touching upon them here.

Work experience

Tip: Be selective with the role you include in first here. Opt for work placements or relevant voluntary work rather than an irrelevant part-time role you may have used to pay your way through university.

mmm yyyy - Present Company Name, Location
Role Title
Outline
Give a high-level overview of the role to show how you fit into the organisation and what the overall goal of your role is. 1-3 lines should be enough.

Key responsibilities

Detail your responsibilities and showcase as much of your skills and knowledge as possible

Use professional language and show how your duties impact the business where possible

Give lots of detail in recent roles and less in old roles as you go down the CV

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Key achievements/projects

If possible, try to add some impressive achievements you’ve made that have had a big impact on the employer or a customer/client

Mmm yyyy – mmm yyyy Company Name, Location
Role Title
(Keep irrelevant roles brief)


Education and qualifications

University name – Dates attended (from – to)
Degree subject – Classification
Add some detail on modules, specialisms, projects, papers etc.

College name – Dates attended (from – to)
-Qualification – Grade
-Qualification – Grade
-Qualification – Grade

School name – Dates attended (from – to)
Qualification – Grade
Qualification – Grade

Awards and recognition

Award and awarding body – Date achieved

Award and awarding body – Date achieved

Interests
Interests: List any interests that could be relevant to the roles you are applying for, or could generally be deemed as impressive, such as competing in contests, fundraising, volunteering, travelling or playing sports.
References available on request