effective cv and applications students manual

8/8/2019 Effective CV and Applications Students Manual

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Effective CVs and Applications


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Index:

Starting Point4

What do Employers really look for? 5

Questions to ask yourself7

Items to include and NOT to include in yourCV 8

Create your own Standard CV9

CV Sample 11

Style and layout 12

CV Format 14

Reasons for Rejection of CV15

Cover letters 19

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Starting Point

The Purpose of a CV is to get an interview

Your CV is a very important document; with it rest your hopes and dreams for

the future - that next step up the career ladder, a better position, more money,

new challenges, etc. Your CV therefore has to represent the best you have tooffer if you do not want to miss out on that job you saw which was 'perfect' for

you. So, its a main purpose is to get you an interview; where you can step out

and prove yourself, your background and experience.

The CV must be tailored to the job

There is a perfect CV for each individual job. Your CV should make a convincing

display that you have read the job advert, understood what it is that employer is

looking for and that you can offer the skills and experience to do the job. It

should achieve this with a minimum of fuss. Depending on which survey you

believe CVs get between 15 seconds and 5 minutes to sell you as a candidate.

The CV must tell the employer what skills you have that match

their requirements

When presenting a CV as part of a job application it must be tailored to

emphasise the match between those qualities that you have and what the

employer is looking for. Your "standard" CV is a reference document that you

must amend for each specific application.

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What do Employers really look for?

Your CV is a potential ticket for your job; the first meeting with a potential

employer is through your CV. If it casts a winning impression, then there are

chances that you might be called by the employer for an interview. For online

hiring portals, your CV is the most important piece of document that can get you

a job.

Having said all this, what is it that an employer looks for in your CV?

Is it your name, your age, gender, height and weight?

No. Employer looks for relevant experience or education and skills that make you

the perfect match for their open job. If you have put Curriculum Vitae as the

title of your CV followed by your date of birth, Gender, Marital status etc. you

have committed the most common blunder most Pakistani graduates commit in

their CVs. This information can be helpful to some employers, but it should be at

the bottom of your CV having the least priority.

Let me give you some points to create your winning CV:

Strong opening statement

This is the first thing an employer looks at on your CV; make it relevant to your

expertise. More so, make it relevant to the position you are applying for. Avoid

general statements, tailor your statement to include the most important skills

you have, and your strongest qualifications. If you are confident of your skills,

write them in a compelling manner in this statement.

Employers look for Skills

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If a company has advertised for a software developer opening, they will be

looking at your experience relevant to software development. Highlight your

experience and skills relevant to the job. As a general rule your experience

should be at the top of your CV after your statement. If you are a fresh graduate,

list your graduate project in a professional manner.

Customize your CV for the Job

Remember one golden rule for a prosperous career, customize yourself to the

Job, get the right attitudeand the right skills for the job. Similar is the case of

your CV, if you are really longing for a job in a particular company, then make

the extra effort of know more about the company, their skill and education

requirements and customize your CV according to their required skills. If you

have relevant experience, then that experience should come at the top, right

after your mission statement.

Write what you can do

To put it straight, do not write anything you are not capable of. An employer will

look at your skills and might ask you questions about those skills in the

interview. Your CV is a question paper for the employer, they will probably ask

about everything listed there.

Do not look like a job hopper

Employers do not like candidates who have not stayed on a job for more than sixmonths; it is even true for professions with high turnover rates. You should not

hop jobs often to protect your CV in the first place, in case you have hopped jobs,

you should be able to justify it.

Proof Read and Format

Spelling mistakes and poor formatting are great employer turnoffs. You will look

totally unprofessional if there are spelling mistakes in your CV, or it is poorly

formatted. An employer will justifiably think that if you cannot even write a

correct CV then how come you will be able to perform the duties!

The Bottom line is to pay attention to your CV, take your time out to write it with

your best effort. If you can find professional help to write it for you, it would be

better.

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Questions to ask yourself

The secret to a successful resume is to gear it toward theprospective employers needs.

Your resume is about convincing them you are the candidate they are lookingfor. Read the job posting carefully, determine what would make an exceptionalcandidate and use the following questions to organize your information.

1. What are the most important qualifications the employer is looking for?2. What sort of person is the organisation looking for?

3. What makes you and your background stand out?4. What are your strongest areas of experience, knowledge, expertise and

skills?5. What soft or transferable skills or characteristics do you possess that

make you a strong candidate? (Note things like: excellent writing skills,hard-working, ability to handle multiple projects simultaneously undertight deadlines, etc.)

6. What have been your greatest accomplishments?7. What buzz words should be used on your resume that people in your

field expect to hear?8. What past experience do I have that demonstrate these

skills/competencies?

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9. Can you provide evidence to match the key competencies?

Your end goal is to convince the prospective employer that you are the

best personto fulfil the qualities that are most important to them. Develop convincingstatements that demonstrate that you are the person they are looking for.

Items to include in your CV:

Name, address,

phone number, & email

Education

Licenses & certificates

Skills & accomplishments

Work history

Job objective

Items NOT to include in your CV:

Age

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Marital status

Height, weight, etc.

Race

Religion

Reasons for termination

Photos

Create your own Standard CV

In order to create your own effective standard CV, it should include certain

important elements. These elements will help you create a bigger picture about

your personality, background, skills and experience; which will help the employer

to decide whether you match the job requirements or not!

A standard CV should include the following:

Personal Details

Name, Address, Tel No, Email address

Objective:

Its your statement of purpose for applying to this company.

Focus your objective

Be specific

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Target particular positions

Education

Start with most recent

Dates, Name of college, Course Title, results (if impressive)

Relevant coursework

Provide details of research projects (if available)

Work Experience

Start with most recent or relevant

Separate relevant and other experience

Provide job title and name of organization

Highlight responsibilities and achievements

Include unpaid work

Honours and activities

Identify key competencies required for position

Provide relevant evidence from previous experience

Skills profile

- Computing be specific, name packages

- Languages what level

- Personal skills, such as: (leadership skills, communication

skills, time management skills etc)

- Driving License

Referees

- Normally 2 referees required: one academic, one work

- Seek permission in advance and provide information

- Include a reference category statement in your CV

References available upon request.

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Check the following CV sample. You dont have to literally stick to it, but sure it

will help you create your own:

John Michael Andrews

Home Address:33 Union Street,Manchester,

M6 3AE.Tel. (0161) 351 4039Email:[email protected]

OBJECTIVE Seeking an entry level position in the field of Networks

and communications

EDUCATION AND QUALIFICATIONS

University of Kent BSc (Hons.) Computer Science 2005 - 2008

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mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


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Subjects include:

- Software Engineering, Compiling Techniques, Computer Networks and

Communications, Digital Systems, Operating Systems and Robotics.

- The project involved the development of a Linux-based networkmanagement system and required independent research skills

WORK EXPERIENCE

Tourist Information Office, Canterbury Summer 2006 - Present

Assisting customers from all over the world with a wide variety of enquiries,

working in the Bureau de Change, booking theatre and concert tickets.

Manchester City Council Summer 2004 - 2005

Temporary Accounts Clerk in City Treasurer's office. Responding to customerenquiries, using computerised accounts systems.

ACTIVITIES AND INTERESTS

- Secretary of the Japanese Society involved booking speakers.

- Other interests include current affairs and reading sci-fi novels.

Skills and additional information:

Computing Skills:

- Knowledge of Linux and Windows XP/Vista.

- Programming skills in Java, Haskell and Modula 3. Good knowledge ofSQL and RDBMS.

Good level of spoken French

Can work effectively in teams.

Good communication skills.

Full, clean driving licence.

REFEREES I am happy to supply this on request.

Style & Layout

A way of presenting yourself in a CV is to write in a passive manner

without using I or your name.

Example:

Keen to pursue a career in Training and currently conducting sessions at

XYZ institute. A work experience placement in How to motivate yourtrainees and help them pave their way towards the future.

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Bulleted lists sound objective and clear, and can steer you away from

the temptation to write a mini essay about yourself.

Before:

In this post, I volunteered to provide IT training to colleagues in mydepartment and others. I also did the induction training for new members

of the team.

After:

Volunteered to provide IT training to administration colleagues and

inducted new members into the team.

Use Positive Language

Before:

My duties included serving customers at the cafe. I had to handle cash and

keep the area tidy. I had to work under pressure.

After:

developed customer service skills

handled large sums of money; responsible for cashing up and balancing

shift takings

worked under pressure during holiday periods

initiated happy hour promotion, resulting in 30 per cent increase in sales

supervisory responsibility for new temporary staff

Use Power Verbs & Adjectives

Such as:

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CV format

Do use:

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Powerful Verbs:

Achieved

Developed

Managed

Demonstrated

Conducted

Planned

Organised

Improved

Powerful

adjectives:

Adaptable

Analytical

Determined

Logical

Resourceful

Precise

Supportive

Capable


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Bold to highlight headings and subheadings.

Font sizes to distinguish between headings and other text.

An 11 or 12 point font size.

A font style that is easy to read.

- Serif fonts are easier to read on paper.

- Times New Roman is a good standard example, but Bookman or

Garamond is effective alternatives.

Tables to align columns of writing (If needed).

Don't use:

Too much bold or nothing will stand out.

Too many variations in font size. It confuses the reader's eye.

Headings entirely in capitals. They are difficult to read.

Bold and underlining together. They serve the same purpose and bold is

generally preferable.

Background images, they distract attention and make the text harder to

read.

Reasons for Rejection of CV

18 Reasons why the resumes get rejected!!

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1. Eligibility Always check before applying for any job whether you areeligible for it or not. Sometimes one may get disqualified for beingover/under qualified. Read thoroughly whether you are fitting into therequirements of the organization or not. There is no good in beingambitious without being eligible.

2. Relevancy Sometimes the profile offered by other company looksfamiliar with what you are doing currently but its not the case always. Docheck if the job you are applying for is relevant and whether yourexperience is of any use for them or not.

3. Incomplete information- Many times the candidatures getrejected because of gap in conveying your dossier and in theunderstanding of the recruiter. Herewith I am attaching some snapshots

from resumes of candidates who have been disqualified because of thegiven errors in their resumes:

Note: the specialization area in PGDM, year and percentage of passing is not

mentioned in the text. How would a recruiter screen the application with

incomplete information if he needs a person from a specific background!!

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Professional Qualification

Post Graduate Diploma in Management

fromInstitute of Management &

Research, Ghaziabad , Uttar Pradesh

(Approved by AICTE ministry of HRD Govt. of

India) 2007-09.

Academic Qualifications:-

B.Com (Program) final year result is awaiting

from Delhi University.

12th, Passed From C.B.SE. Board.

10th, Passed From C.B.SE. Board.


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How would a recruiter come to know that in which year and with what % the

person has cleared these exams or its just a fake education record!!

4. Typing, spelling errors- No matter how hard you look and checkover your work, there always seems to be something that you havemissed. Errors such as these can make you appear unprofessional and assomeone who is careless. Therefore, you should always get somebody elseto check your resume for grammatical errors.

5. Companys preferences- Preferences on the basis of age,gender, marital status, location, expected salary, family background doexist everywhere. Though quite a few things are unethical but we cantpoke our nose in any companys hiring process. So not all the things areunder our control.

6. Your sets of Expectations- Always do a thorough homeworkand then apply for any job. Dont give unrealistic expectation in your coverletter, expected CTC and job profile you are chasing for. Be rational,informed and updated about your profile.

7. Educational Background-Some organizations prefer to choosecandidates who have got the education in the similar field in which theirorganization is working. For e.g. - IT companies prefer to hire HR executivewho have done BE/B.tech and then MBA/ PGDM in HR. If a company isprefer to hire candidates from a selected place, with specific set of skillsand you are not coming under their preferences then dont feel belittled.Look out for other options.

8. Presentation of information- If the potential employer is notable to follow your resume and locate relevant information they will mostlikely not bother to try any harder to find the information and instead justgive up. The best size for your resume is two pages of A4. You should onlymake resume longer if it is specifically required from you to provide thepotential employer with additional or more detailed information. So putyour work experience at the start of your resume, not personal oreducational details, unless you have only just left education.

9. Covering letter/ notes description-If your covering letter isone third or half of your resume, you may lose chances of getting

shortlisted and why would a recruiter spend 10 minutes in reading theinformation, as provided below:

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My major is Finance and minor is Marketing.

I would like to apply for the position of 'Quality

Analyst' in your inspected company. For this I

am attacking my CV. My expected CTC : 13-

15k per month (in hand)


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10.Whats your USP- Focus on your abilities and not on yourachievements. Try to give a detailed summary of your profile and thenmention your qualification.

11.Previous track record-The companies do look for your previousset of responsibilities, the tenure of your jobs and had you been a jobhopper or a stable employee. So try to put yourself into the shoes of thereviewer and then judge where your candidature stands.

12.Photo, document size-Unless and until you have been asked toprovide your photograph and other details like blood group, height,weight, eyesight, dont add these details. Moreover, keep the size of yourresume under 400KB, as large file sizes are not appreciated.

Summary:

13.Too much/too little information

14.Irrelevant Information

15.Poor presentation

16.Spelling mistakes

17.Not targeted to position

18.No personality or enthusiasm

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If you are a job seeker, your resume is the most important piece ofwritten work you will ever create. Make it good or dont be surprisedwhen that rejection letter arrives in your email or mail box.

Be careful!

These examples of common pitfalls were found in differentcandidates CVs

I have a desire to work with commuters

Hi, I want 2 get a job with U

I hate filling in application forms so much that Ill give you details at the

interview

Lurnt Word Perfect computer and spreadsheet pogroms

I am a conscious individual

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Cover

letters

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Introduction:

A cover letter is a letter of introduction to an employer, which is used to formally

submit a resume for employer review. The purposely of the cover letter is to

identify your intent to "apply for" or "seek out" a specific position within a

company. It also formally presents yourself as available for a job position or

range of positions within a company.

Most importantly, the cover letter is an opportunity to quickly introduce yourself

and grab the employers attention. Like the resume, it is another chance to

market yourself to the hiring manager, promoting them to read your resume and

ultimately grant a job interview.

A cover letter is a critical part of the job search process. It allows you the first

opportunity to gain some interest from the employer. In our research, we have

yet to find one career or resume writing professional that doesn't recommend

sending a cover letter with every resume that you submit.

As you review the cover letter examples below, you will find that cover letters

can be written in various styles and formats. Choosing a style or format may

depend on a number of factors related to the utilization of the cover letter. For

example, you may use a cover letter in different situations, such as:

Applying for a position in response to a job advertisement or online jobposting

Submitting the cover letter after being referred from a colleague

Sending your resume cold to employer that you know hires people in your

field and industry

Using a cover letter to introduce your resume for an internal position

Each of these styles generally includes different types of information. You will

use a different introduction on each of them. In internal cover letters, it's wise to

explain that you currently work for the organization. When submitting a cover

letter for a referral you may want to explain who you are being referred from.

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Cover Letter Format

Your Contact Information

Name

Address

City, State, Zip Code

Phone NumberEmail Address

Date

Employer Contact Information (if you have it)

Name

Title

Company

Address

City, State, Zip Code

Salutation

Dear Mr./Ms. Last Name, (leave out if you don't have a contact)

Body of Cover Letter

The body of your cover letter lets the employer know what position you are

applying for, why the employer should select you for an interview, and how you

will follow-up.

First Paragraph

The first paragraph of your letter should include information on why you are

writing. Mention the position you are applying for and where you found the joblisting. Include the name of a mutual contact, if you have one.

Middle Paragraph(s)

The next section of your cover letter should describe what you have to offer the

employer. Mention specifically how your qualifications match the job you are

applying for. Remember, you are interpreting your resume, not repeating it.

Final Paragraph

Conclude your cover letter by thanking the employer for considering you for the

position. Include information on how you will follow-up.

Complimentary Close

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Respectfully yours,

Signature

Handwritten Signature (for a mailed letter)

Typed Signature

Cover Letter Sample1:

April 14, 2006

Mr. William Jackson

Employment Manager

Acme Pharmaceutical Corporation

13764 Jefferson Parkway

Dear Mr. Jackson:

From your company's web site I learned about your need for a sales

representative for the Maryland, and North Carolina areas. I am very interested

in this position with Acme Pharmaceuticals, and believe that my education and

employment background are appropriate for the position.

I have a strong academic background in biology and marketing, and think

that I could apply my combination of knowledge and experience to the health

industry. I will complete my master's degree in marketing in mid-May and will be

available to begin employment in early June.

Enclosed is a copy of my resume, which more fully details my qualifications

for the position.

Would be pleased and honored if you could give me a chance as an

interview, so I could prove myself and my skills.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Lynn A. Johnson

5542 Hunt Club Lane, #1(540) 555-8082

[email protected]

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Cover Letter for

Accountant with

job experience in accounting and finance

positions sample:

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Cover letter sample for Physical Education

Teacher applying for a job position as a high

school teacher:

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References

www.lit.ie/careers

Career Development Module - Destinations

Applications & Interviews

www.selectsimulator.com - online applications

www.bayrozgar.com

www.careeradvice.direct.gov.uk

www.resumebear.com

www.kent.ac.uk

www.resume-resource.com
http://www.ul.ie/careershttp://www.selectsimulator.com/http://www.bayrozgar.com/http://www.careeradvice.direct.gov.uk/http://www.resumebear.com/http://www.kent.ac.uk/http://www.resume-resource.com/http://www.ul.ie/careershttp://www.selectsimulator.com/http://www.bayrozgar.com/http://www.careeradvice.direct.gov.uk/http://www.resumebear.com/http://www.kent.ac.uk/http://www.resume-resource.com/

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