A Plan For Success
To put YOU on
the road to a
promising
career!
CV vs. Resume.
What is a CV. When to Use It
CV as a Selling Point!
Evaluate Your Skills.
Types Of CVs
CV Structure.
Doe’s and Don'ts
Final Tips
A résumé
CV
tends to be It offers a more
tailored for a detailed synopsis
specific purpose of your
or target background and
audience. skills.
Curriculum Vitae (CV) means “course of
life”.
Detailed (up to two or more pages).
Resume means “summary”.
Briefer summary of your skills and
experience.
Shorter (Not more than two pages)
If you were a product what would we
use to market you?
How could you advertise yourself
to stand out?
Selling tool.
Outlines your skills and experience.
Opportunity to present yourself in the
best possible light.
Demonstrate your strength.
Team Working!!
Hide your most important background
and skills from the recruiter.
Stop your resume from being read
fully.
Convey a poor standard of work
impression in the mind of the recruiter
just from content.
Ultimately, STOP your application from
going to the next stage.
Attract the HR professional in the moment
your CV is received or before other
applicants.
Communicate that you have skills needed
for the position and beyond by just what is
described in the text of your resume.
Instantly give the recruiter a positive feel
about you.
Ultimately get you that first interview.
Consider your experience
in and outside university.
Break it down- what does it show about
you?
I can…
I am good at…
I know how to…
People say I am…
What do I have to offer? - what am I
selling?
List down:
Technical knowledge “Computer”
Problem Solving
Team Work
languages
Personal strengths & interests etc……
Bad: Sold books to clients located in Slovenia
Good: Increased sales by 17%
Chronological
Skills based (Functional)
Targeted
Chronological
Highlights your work and education history in
date order (latest first).
Skills based (Functional)
Highlights the skills you have gained from any
of your jobs or education.
Targeted
Can be chronological or functional, but is
tailored especially to one particular job.
Most effective when you’re applying for
jobs in the same line of work.
People with a strong, solid work history.
Employers prefer it because it's easy to
see what jobs you have held and when.
Most useful for fresh graduates and first-
time job seekers.
Focuses on skills, strengths, and
experience, not on Work history.
People who are changing careers or
have gaps in employment history
Customized so that it highlights the
experience and skills you have that are relevant
to the job you are applying for.
It's well worth the effort when applying for
jobs that are a perfect match for your
qualifications and experience.
Think about your education, training,
experience and skills. Then the type of job you
apply for.
You write different versions of your CV then ask
someone to look at them to see which one
highlights your strengths better.
Remember to change CV for every specific job
vacancy you apply for.
1.Contact Information
2.Objectives
3.Education
4.Skills
5.Experience
6.Honors and Awards (Optional)
7.Interests
8.Personal Information
9.References (Optional)
Name
E-mail/ Personal Web Page
Telephone Number - Mobile
Phrase a realistic objective or leave blank:
Example:
“Desire a position in the office
management, secretarial or clerical area.
Prefer a position requiring responisbility
and a variety of tasks”.
Can be reverse Chronological order –
most recent first
1. Postgraduate study
2. University education
3. Pre-university education
4. Any relevant courses
Continuously update!
BSc Mechanical Engineering (The Chinese University
of Hong Kong)
- Practical experience of programming:
CNC machinery
Robots
BA English Translation (The Chinese University of
Hong Kong
- Simultaneous translation Chinese to English
- Experience with publication English to Chinese
NAME
Email Address and/or Personal Web Address
Campus Address: College Box # City, State Zip Code Phone Number
Permanent Street: City, State Zip Code Phone Number
OR
Address: Permanent Address:
College, Box # Street
City, State Zip code City, State Zip code
(Area Code) Phone number (Area Code) Phone number
EDUCATION:
Institution: location -- College: Anytown, ST
Degree, Major (and concentration if appropriate), date -- Bachelor of Arts in Political
Science, Expected May 2003
Cumulative GPA/GPA in major (optional) - list if 3.0 or higher with academic honors
and awards
Optional: relevant coursework, foreign study programs.
CAREER OBJECTIVE:
If you have a cover letter, you generally do not need an objective. If you decide
you want one anyway, it should be a concise and meaningful statement describing
your career goals. Be as specific as possible without being too restrictive.
SKILLS:
Computer Skills:
Even if it is only word processing skills, list familiarity with computer
systems, applications and programs. If you don’t have it, assume you don’t
know it.
Language Skills:
state degree of proficiency in reading, writing and speaking.
Other Skills:
Project Manage Report Preparation
Written Correspondence Accounting/Bookkeeping
Front-Office Operations Professional Presentations
Creative, efficient, proficient,
systematic, hard worker, prefer to act,
well versed in..., willing to take
initiative, like to work in one place,
enjoy challenging experience,
persistance to work underpressure,
first-hand knowledge of..., having a
desire to learn
Reverse chronological order!
Employer name, location
Full time, part time, voluntary work
Dates
Job title
Description of duties involved
Main achievements
Responsible for ...:
Planning, implementing, reviewing,
negotiating, managing, coordinating,
evaluating, directing, facilitating,
inspecting, training, producing,
providing, informing, executing,
developing....
Put recognizable, significant awards.
If you are a international student, you
may need to do a little explaining.
HONORS & AWARDS
List academic, leadership and athletic honors.
If you only have academic awards you can list them under your
GPA in the Education section.
Nationality
Date of birth
Gender
Travel
Membership of clubs or societies
Music/ Sports
Hobbies and other activities
The names of referees
Name and job title
Address
Telephone number and fax number
E-mail address
1. Avoid a lengthy resume
2. Do not fake
3. Do not be too loud and ornate
“Avoid color paper and uncommon fonts”
4. Avoid slang, jargons, abbreviations.
Avoid all. Keep the language simple and spell where
necessary
5. DO NOT USE Funny e-mail addresses.
Make sure that you create a professional-looking e-mail
6. DO NOT Use Improper Photos
Make sure to use a RECENT, professional-
looking photo whenever requested. DO NOT
use cropped photos, old photos, or poorly
scanned ones.
7. Repetition of words.
8. Do not get personal.
9. Avoid criticizing past employers.
10. Do not misrepresent skills.
.
Age
Ethnic identity
Political affiliation
Religious preference
Marital status
Sexual orientation
Place of birth
Height, weight, health
There are exceptions to some of these items !
Think outside the box, but
not too outside to get
your resume noticed. In
most cases a cover letter
should be attached.
Print final copies of your
resume on quality paper
that photocopies well.
