What is a CV?

The term "curriculum vitae" literally means "course of life". It is a document that explains your suitability for a certain job and company. It needs to show how your profile matches the employer's requirements and needs in a methodical way. The CV is basically a unique selling sample that makes yourself stand out.

• Always keep in mind that although your online job application is delivered via the internet, it is still being received by a live human being who is very susceptible of getting a wrong perception based on poor etiquette from your side.

• Sometimes the region or country has a certain standard and order of presentation. Make sure you inform yourself about the right style of performance, because they might not be patient enough to reorganize your style of presentation if they are used to see CV's in some other order.

• The employer will go through hundreds of CV's in an hour, so your goal is to be as much to-the-point as possible. The first 6 seconds will decide if you made an impression or not.

• In order for you to make your CV tailor-made for the job, it is very important to research about the job in general first ( what are the responsibilities, qualifications, goals); to research about the company (what are their goals, products, future projects?)

• Ensure that you pay attention to spelling and grammar. Do not allow silly spelling mistakes or grammatical blunders hinder your chances at filling a vacancy.

All CV's tend to include the following sections:

Personal details

This section should be kept brief, no more than a quarter of a page. Make sure that you can easily be contacted at your home and email address given.

Date of birth has been a not mandatory feature.

Nationality is also not mandatory but tends to be useful regarding your ability to work in a specific country.

Marital status, gender and health status don't need to be included unless this information is specifically asked for the posting.

Education

Details are usually stated in reverse chronological order, you start with the most recent experience. Make sure you include dates, the name of the business or institution and city. Full addresses are not needed. Your education and qualifications should be integrated into one section.

Experience

All work experiences count, whether you got paid, worked as a volunteer or you were shadowing; they should also be listed in reverse chronological order. Concentrate on your responsibilities, achievements and skills and try to give yourself a job title. You may also wish to set up a separate section for experience particularly to the job posting e.g. technical experience, relevant experience.

Referees

Mention two referees, one academic and one work-related and add their phone number and email along with their title and contact address. Ensure that you ask for their permission first and keep them informed of your career plans. If you are running out of space , it is also acceptable to state "References available upon request".

CV layout

Focus

Your CV layout always shows motivation and respect for the employer. Most of the time the person reading your CV will be the person who wrote the job specification. The employer will probably scan your CV than read, therefore it is important that the layout is easy to guide.

How does your CV look good?

• The font size of the regular text should be 11 or 12. You should be able to read your CV comfortably at arm's length.

• Use headings like "Relevant Skills"

• Split details into focused bullet points

• CV's should not be longer than two pages, unless you apply for an academic position

• It is extremely important that you perform a grammar and spelling check

Click here for a sample