HOW TO WRITE A RESUME / CV

WHAT IS A RESUME?

A resume is a one page summary of your skills, education, and experience. The resume acts much like an advertisement for a company trying to sell something. The resume is your advertisement.

INTERCHANGABLE TERMINOLOGY

Curriculum Vitae "a brief biographical

résumé of one's career and training, as prepared by a person applying for a job.“

More common term in the UK

Résumé"a brief written account

of personal, educational, and professional qualifications and experience, as that prepared by an applicant for a job."

More common term in the USA

WHY DO I NEED A CV?

Many employers will ask for one Think of your CV as a brochure designed to

promote you Take some time and effort and create a really

great CV - it will be worth the effort In an application form you are limited in what

you can say about yourself - you can only answer the questions that are asked

In your CV, you are in control. Take advantage of this and show yourself in the best possible light

YOUR CV IS A WORK-IN-PROGRESS

Keep a master CV, which is updated cumulatively as you progress in your career:

add to it only when you have new experience or achievements to record

delete from it only as older items appear less significant in the light of new experience

Each time you apply for a job, make a copy of your master CV:

edit the copy to reflect the specific requirements of the job you are applying for

keep careful records of what was submitted for which vacancies

WHAT SHOULD I PUT IN MY CV?

The past how have you spent your life so far? what have you achieved?The present what are you currently doing? what have you learnt from what you have done in the past?The Future where do you want to end up? how do you plan to get there? It is good to have a career goal. It indicates that you are ambitious and are taking your career seriously. Your goal should be ambitious but achievable. You should be knowledgeable about what your goal

entails, and be prepared to discuss it at interview. You should have a realistic plan for achieving your goal The job for which you are applying should be part of that

plan.

THE PAST

How have you spent your life so far? schools and colleges attended (with dates) qualifications attained (with dates and grades) employers and job titles (with dates) student/vacation work (with dates)

What have you achieved? Do you have any sporting achievements? Do you play a musical instrument? Do you play in a band

or orchestra? Are/were you a member of any student clubs societies? Have you undertaken any voluntary work? Have you ever won any prizes or awards? Have you taken a leadership role or position of

responsibility with respect to any of the above?

SKILLS

Subject or industry specific skills: For an IT professional you might list the

programming languages that you have used - indicating your level of experience in

each. If you are a school teacher you might list the

subjects and levels at which you have taught.

Generic or transferable skills: Can you write well? Can you communicate effectively on the

telephone? Can you fit in to their team? Are you reliable? Can you be trusted with money? Do you have any leadership ability?

HOW SHOULD I ORGANISE MY CV?Use bullet point - or short paragraphs - within each of

these sections. Personal Details - simple, factual information. Career Goal - this section is optional but if you decide

to include it, be prepared to discuss it at interview. Educational History - bullet point your progress (with

dates) Employment History - bullet point your progress (with

dates) Skills and achievements - say when & how you have

demonstrated these Referees - make sure you ask their permission first Leisure Activities - this section should be kept fairly

short unless you have something very interesting to say.

Within each section, put more recent items above older ones

THE PERSON READING YOUR CV IS BUSY

... so use structure, layout and formatting to help him. Keep the structure, formatting and layout simple,

logical and consistent. Use layout such as white space, indentation and bullet

lists: to emphasise important information such as dates to enable the reader to scan quickly to the information he is

interested in. Keep the text of each item brief but self contained. Your CV should normally be no longer than two sides. Do not use a font that is smaller than 11 point Times

New Roman (or equivalent) - 12 point is even better.

USE POWERFUL WORDS I

Communicationskills

Managementskills

Researchskills

Technicalskills

addressarbitratecorresponddrafteditlecturemediatemotivatenegotiatepersuadepresentpublicisereconcilespeakwrite

assignattainchaircoordinatedelegatedirectexecuteorganiseoverseeplanrecommendreviewstrengthensupervisetrain

collectcritiquedefinedetectdiagnoseevaluateexamineexploreextractidentifyinspectinterpretinvestigatesummarisesurvey

assemblebuildcalculatedeviseengineerfabricatemaintainoperateoverhaulprogramremodelrepairsolveupgrade

USE POWERFUL WORDS II

Creativeskills

Financialskills

Salesskills

Teachingskills

conceptualisecreatedesignfashionformillustrateinstituteintegrateinventoriginateperformrevitaliseshape

administerallocateanalyseappraiseauditbalancebudgetcalculatecontrolcomputedevelopforecastproject

sellconvertclosedealpersuadehighlightsatisfywin oversign

adviseclarifycoachelicitenableencourageexplainfacilitateguideinforminstructpersuadestimulatetrain

USE POWERFUL WORDS III

accurateactiveadaptableadeptbroad-mindedcompetentconscientiousenterprising

enthusiasticexperiencedfairfirmgenuinehonestinnovative

logicalloyalmaturemethodicalmotivatedreliableresourceful

self disciplinedsense of humorsensitivesinceresuccessfultactfultrustworthy

WHICH CANDIDATE IMPRESSES YOU MORE?

Candidate 1: "I gained considerable

experience in dealing with the public during my summer job as receptionist for the Ramada Hotel, Portrush. This involved responding to enquiries on the telephone and registering guests on arrival. I feel much more confident in dealing with the public now."

Candidate 2: "I am good at

dealing with the public”

WHICH CANDIDATE IMPRESSES YOU MORE?

Candidate 1: "I want to spend

four years working in web design and development to get experience of the technologies and the business. After that I intend to become an internet entrepreneur."

Candidate 2: "I'm not really sure

what I want to do. I thought about web design but then I didn't know if there would be any jobs. Maybe I'm more suited to management."

GOOD LUCK!