A guide to CV writing that will get you the desired job.
A friend who is a recent university graduate submitted his CV(Curriculum Vitae) to three different well-established firms across the country, and we were breathlessly waiting for callbacks. Guess what? We never received one. He was frustrated, but he never gave up. This experience is peculiar to job seekers. You might have experienced the same scenario probably once or twice.
In my friend’s case, I concluded that two major things must have happened; either the CV wasn’t good enough, making recruiters jump it over or the CV wasn’t read at all. Maybe this is related to your recent case, causing you a lot of headaches and sleepless nights. Let’s work together to make the CV better with simple steps and samples.
In this article, we have
- What CV(Curriculum Vitae) and Resume is.
- Steps with sample and example of writing a CV(you might have to open a link for CV examples).
- Tips on how to write a CV with no experience.
- What Cover letter(CL) is and what it entails?
What is Curriculum Vitae (CV)
A CV, short for Curriculum Vitae, is a thorough document that presents your education, professional experiences, abilities, achievements, and other applicable qualifications. AI Bard, explains CV to be a Latin phrase meaning “course of life.” It is a document summarizing your professional and academic history in English. CVs are typically used when applying for jobs, fellowships, or grants.
In the US, Canada, and Australia, a CV is a document used for academic purposes. The USA academic CV outlines every detail of your scholarly career. In other countries like Nigeria, London, etc a CV is the equivalent of an American resume and is used to apply for a job.
Resume and Curriculum Vitae(CV)
Is there any difference between a Resume and a Curriculum Vitae? In the hiring company nowadays, there is not much difference. The only difference is the name. Americans call it a resume while the British call it a CV just like the way they do with fall and autumn. However, a CV is said to be longer and more detailed than a resume, but it serves the same purpose as a job application. So, if you’re applying to a European or African company, you should create a CV. But if you’re applying to a US-based company, you need a resume.
Steps in writing a standard CV.
- Pick the right CV format
A disturbing thought for every job seeker is this: Every time you’re looking for a job, you compete against 350 other candidates on average. You read that right. Just imagine you are the recruiter and you have to review 350 job applications. Do you thoroughly read all of them? I guess the answer is no. This is to tell you that recruiters only spend 6 to 10 seconds on an employee’s CV. With this, you should know that a wrong format CV will not take the recruit team 3 seconds to look through, thus a need to have the proper format CV. You should go for a CV format that has this order of arrangement.
- CV Header with Contact Information
- Personal Profile: CV Objective or CV Summary
- Work Experience
- Education
- Skills
- Additional Sections.
While filling this section of your CV, never forget the 5 CV format rules, which are clarity(legible fonts), consistency with the CV layout, no creaming of the CV layout with colors other than white and black, brief and relevant and passport-free except if requested by the recruiting team of the company you are applying for.
2. Add your name and contact information
If you are qualified for a job, how will the recruiter get in touch with you? This, among many other reasons, is the major reason you should put your contact information on your CV. The contact info section usually includes the following,
- Full name
- Professional title
- Email address
- Telephone number
- LinkedIn profile
- Home address
3. Start with a personal profile and your title
Your profile will either be a CV objective or a CV summary which is always small with a snappy paragraph of 100 words showing the recruiting teams the reason you are the perfect candidate needed. CV objectives show the skills you have mastered while a CV summary highlights your career progress, achievements, experiences, and skills. A CV summary is usually more detailed than CV objectives, and it is used mostly by seasoned professionals. A sample of CV objective and CV Summary.
4. List your relevant work experience & key achievements
Always bear this in mind that the recruiter knows what you do but he wants to know how well you did it and can do it. So, you need to list your relevant work experience, the same as the key achievements. You can follow the steps below to list your relevant work experience and key achievements.
- Read the job posting and description, check through the task of the job, and then tailor your CV accordingly.
- Focus on your relevant achievements and not just duties.
- Never forget to use action words in this section of your CV. Action words like ‘created’, ‘acted’’, analyze’ and not words like ‘responsible to create’ or ‘acting to analyze’. They are not suitable for your CV.
5. Build your academic and education section
Here are little tips on building this section of your CV.
- Don’t include your high school (secondary school ) except that is your highest degree of education
- Enter your graduation(if you are in school)/graduation year(if you are done in school)
- Your degree
- Institution name
- Honors (if stated)
If your honor is not compulsory by the recruiter, don’t put it unless it is a distinction or a 2.1.
What if you are a fresh graduate with no work experience?
It is simple. Follow these steps
- Put your education section above your work experience section in your CV.
- Give a clear shot of your academic experiences such as dissertation title, your favorites, relevant course works, your best achievement, and your extracurricular activities.
6. Put relevant skills that fit the job opening
As stated earlier, make sure you go through the company job description before writing your CV. It will save you from a lot of mess. Your skills must be relevant to the job description. For instance, a company with the job description data scientist is expecting a CV with SQL skills, data visualization skills (Power BI, Tableau), communication skills, and others. A candidate with a UI/UX skill on the CV might not be considered.
7. Include pertinent information in additional sections(not compulsory)
Including additional CV sections is a way of impressing the recruiting team of any organization. This section can include, as Zety.com.web listed it,
- Industry awards
- Professional certifications
- Publications
- Professional Affiliations
- Conferences attended
- Additional training
What If you are a fresh graduate/ undergraduate with no experience as listed above?
There is always a way out. Yours will have a list like
- Volunteer experience
- Hobbies and interests
- Projects
- Freelance work
- Academic achievements
- Personal blog(if you have any)
8. Organise these on a professional CV template
9. Complement your CV with a covered letter
Your CV isn’t complete without the creation of CL (cover letter). A cover letter is a one-page document that must accompany your CV/ Resume while applying for a job in any organization. It is an opportunity to introduce yourself to the recruiter and why you think you are the best candidate for the job. CL usually contains
- Salutation- Dear hiring manager,
- Introduction- who you are and your purpose of writing
- The body- highlights skills and experience closely related to the job.
- Closing- state your interest in the position again, and say thanks.
- Sign your name and never forget to include your contact.
In conclusion, a CV and a Resume are both documents that summarise the work experience, education, and skills of a job applicant. A resume is said to be more lengthy than a CV. Steps in writing a CV include picking the right CV format, adding your contact information, building the personal profiles section, listing relevant work experiences and achievements, building the academic section, putting relevant skills related to the job, and submitting to the recruiting team with a cover letter. A cover letter is a one-page document that explains to the hiring manager the reason you are interested in the position. Meaning that your cover letter matters just as the CV matters. Go and get the dream job with the right format CV.