CV Basics (Samples Attached)

It's time to rewrite your CV.

What may feel like the world's most tedious task - puffing yourself up and bragging about your accomplishments on paper - doesn't have to be so painful. Just remember one thing: your CV needs to stand out.

Employers, especially those who have posted openings on large websites, may receive hundreds of CVs for a single position. You must express your qualifications for the desired job in a concise, clear and aesthetically appealing manner. Here are a few ways to get your CV to the top of the stack.

1. Organise your life
It's all about function versus chronology. In functional CVs, you group your skills into categories and then briefly list your past job titles at the bottom. This format is usually reserved for career changers who want to de-emphasise huge gaps of unemployment or a lack of direct experience. Recent graduates and others on a consistent career path usually opt for the chronological format. These CVs list your jobs (and duties for each) in reverse chronological order. If you're a typical graduate, we suggest the chronological format. Most employers expect to see that format and it best highlights your education and relevant work experience.


2. Categorise your achievements
When organising a chronological CV, you should outline sections of your experience, education, and skills to communicate what you have accomplished. HR representatives and employers (a.k.a. impatient executives who couldn't care less about your passionate interest in yodelling) may take less than a minute to scan your CV, so showcase and organise items into several concise and relevant segments. If you've just graduated from university and have not yet been employed, place your Education section first, directly below the letterhead. In addition to the basics - university name, degree and graduation date - you can include relevant coursework that applies to a desired position, academic honours or awards. If you skated through university with anything over a 2.2 feel free to put it on your CV. Other categories might include Relevant work experience, Volunteer experience, Computer skills, Publications, Activities and honours, Language skills and so on.

3. Make it look good
Along with effective organisation, appearance can make or break your CV. When creating a . CV, keep these points in mind:

· Fonts. Whether you email, fax, or post your CV to prospective employers, you should try to keep your font plain and easy to read. And select a reasonable size - anywhere between 9 and 12 points should be acceptable. We suggest using a sans serif font like Arial or Verdana, not Times New Roman. These will come out much more clearly in faxes.

· Formatting. Just because you have Microsoft Word and all of its formatting capabilities, your CV doesn't have to look like a Costa Brava holiday brochure. Myriad fonts, colours, and graphic embellishments don't really help, so use minimal and purposeful formatting. Simple bullets will best separate your duties and skills; use bolding and italics sparingly. Formatting should highlight your accomplishments, not draw attention away from them. Less, in this case, is definitely more.

· Paper. Even if you don't snail-mail your CV to employers, you should have hard copies on hand to bring to interviews. These copies should be on tasteful CV-quality paper. White, off-white, cream, and grey are the easiest to read. Just like your socks, your cover letters, mailing envelopes and CVs should all match.

4. Content
Now that you know how to organise your CV and what it should look like, you need to know what to put in it.

· Action words. When describing your prior job experience and duties, use active language. Instead of starting your sentence with a noun, start with an active, descriptive, impressive verb. For example: "Customer Service Representative. Assisted customers with product selection, trained and supervised 15 new employees, organised special promotional events."

· Numbers. That's right, we said numbers. Always include numbers, percentages, and amounts in your job descriptions to back up your achievements. How many people did you supervise? How much money did you raise? How many wild bears did you feed during your stint at the zoo? How much did sales increase under your direction? This approach immediately highlights the kind of impact you've made.

· Length. Keep it to one page. No one wants to scan through two or more pages of your long-winded accomplishments and experience. If it doesn't all fit - which it won't, unless you're a graduate with 15 years of professional experience - cut it down to the most relevant and impressive items. You should tailor your CV to match the job description, so be sure to cut and accordingly.

Now your CV should dance its way across the employer's desk, leaving the rest behind like a stack of graceless wallflowers. And if your skills match what an employer is looking for, you'll be snatched up for an interview. From there, it's up to you: show them you're as good as that pretty piece of paper says you are.

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[Culled from Guardian Jobs UK]

Thanks Yinka, I really appreciate this imformation.
Okeme

a sample would be nice.

Thanx lots for this piece, its highly educating.

Pls lets v a sample .Thank you

Hi, Solidwaste and ntogha, i've attached a reference document that can serve as a template aid in building a CV depending on skills, chronology or whichever approach u are planning for ur CV. It's in acrobat reader format.
It's a template that u can tailor around ur own unique achievements, work experiences, etc, it isn't set in stone.
Hope u find it useful.

Wishing u the best.

I fear o!
The document is so long please just tell me the one that applies to engineering graduate
Are you a student of this school?
if yes do they run PhD in engineering (Mechanical or metallurgy& materials or materials).
Hope you'll reply.
GOD BLESS

;D :) It's long for the sake of those looking for detailed samples can take their pick.

There are a number that are applicable to an engineering background: A technical CV (if ur work experience outweighs ur skills/education), a skills CV (if ur skills/educational level is ur major strength).
The catch is that almost any may apply cos everybody's unique. U may have experience is a specific post that u want to use when applying for a particular job...in that case u can go for a targeted CV. I think it's best to analyze what the brief of a job is and then adjust ur CV as u think would be best to match that particularly application.

No, i'm not a student there, but u can access any info' about their postgraduate courses/prospectus on http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/prospectuses/postgrad.html

Thank you sir
GOD BLESS

A pleasure ma.
God bless

Wishing u the best..

Thank u a lot for this hint, u wouldn't know how much you have enlightened me on this issue. Once again i say kudos.

Yinka,

Though this topic is relatively old, I being moreorless new to this site, really appreciate your candid and timely advice to our/my myriad plethora of questions, problem(s), & confusion(s). Once again thanks a quadrillion!

Thank you so much broda.

A friend of mine was asking for a current format of writing a CV. I just forwarded this to him.

Yinka u're the bomb, keep it up

Thanx a lot brother.

We would get there by the grace of God.

Thanks a lot! at least now i can make a better cv, and stand a better chance, i keep saying yhis is the best family,let,s keep it as close knit as as possible.God bless you.Ada.

thanz man
but will like 2 c sample of ur own

Thanks alot

please send a sample to my box.
[email protected]

pls send a copy to my mailbox [email protected]

Hi...the samples are already attached...u can download them....all the best

This is Great! Thanks

thanks a lot man. will also like u to send a copy to [email protected].

thank yinka, i really appreciate this. God bless

1 luv sir..


silas

Hi,thanks for the info. pls can i get the format i mean already made one for sample to see and put mine up.i will appreciate so much.my id is [email protected]ks so much

thanks a lot this is beautiful and timely

send a copy to my box

[email protected]

MAN YOU ARE TOO GOOD TO BE DESCRIBED WITH WORDS.THUMBS UP FOR YOU THERE!

BRO YINKA U TOO MUCH.THANK YOU.THANK YOU FOR THE ENLIGHTENMENT ON CV WRITNG.

Yinka u did a onedaful job,tanx

pls i need a copy of CV SEND TO M Y BOX [email protected]

nice one! Thumbs up!
Cheers!

thx a lot yinka.

well i for one really think pple like u should be made public icons.at least somthing good is coming out of this naija. keep it up my broda. u can as well forward it to my box.
[email protected]

peace.

Yinka, thank God for guyz like you, that was a onedaful job u did, pls i need a copy of the sample, my email is [email protected]

Thanks yinka, That was a good one on CV basics.

thanks for the CV,pls forward a copy to my mail box
[email protected]
http://code4wealth..com

focus, hardwork and God. W

hey bro u are too large, i hail o but sha i wan ask u 2 send me copy of the sample i beg i need am....na my email be this [color=red][email protected] :-* ;D 8)............................... A MILLION THANKS 2 U YINKA baba