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The
words curriculum vitae come from Latin and literally mean "the
course of one's life." Your CV is a biographical summary of your
life and is usually written to describe details of education and achievements
in chronological order.
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Your
CV is very important in the first step of marketing yourself to potential
employers. For some jobs employers can receive hundreds of applications,
so it is vital that your CV has that "something else" that
makes it special and attracts the reader. In the world of graduate recruitment
larger organisations receive thousands of CVs, application forms and
covering letters, so think about what is going to make what you write
stand out from the crowd. A well written CV will be something that paints
a picture of you that will match your skills and achievements as well
as your future ambitions.
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Always
write your CV in the first person e.g. "I have" rather than
"He has." Alternatively you may omit the "I" altogether
if you prefer. Check carefully for inappropriate jargon and substitute
more user-friendly words when you can.
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Ensure
that you write about your achievements. Don't write about things you
are not so good at - it might be unwise to mention things that could
count against you when the employer might not have considered them anyway!
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Always
check and double-check your CV or application form for spelling errors
and punctuation. Having read through thousands of CVs over 20 years,
it is amazing how many have obviously not been spell-checked or grammar-checked
properly before being sent off. Think about the employer's likely reaction
if they feel you have not even considered it important enough to check
your CV or application form properly.
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Check
for common grammatical errors such as spelling "practice"
(the noun) when you mean "practise" (the verb).
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Finally,
remember that however perfect you (and we) may feel your CV is, it will
be still down to the individuals who read it to judge what is valuable
to them. There is no such thing as a 100% perfectly written CV. The reality
is that, however professional they are, whoever reads it will have their
own likes, dislikes, prejudices and preferences. We would like to think
that all the clients who have successfully used Winning CVs have, with
our help, been able to submit quality CVs that were just right for
them.
