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How to write a CV guide - Slide del corso della professoressa Sangiorgi
Lingua inglese (75898)
Università di Bologna
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How to
write a CV
For the World-Class
How to write a CV
- What is a CV?
- What are recruiters looking for?
- How will your CV be assessed?
- What can you offer?
- What type of CV should you choose?
- How your CV should look
- Step by step guide
- CVs for other countries
- How to avoid the ‘No’ pile: Common mistakes
- CV language
- CV Gold – the importance of being interesting
- Frequently Asked Questions
You can also find out more about what a type of job typically involves by looking at the following resources: Job profiles on the Prospects website: prospects.ac/sectors.htm (select the sector, then ‘Graduate jobs in...’) Job profiles and interviews with professionals on Inside Careers: insidecareers.co/professions/ Sector information on Target Jobs; targetjobs.co/career- sectors Professional bodies’ websites or other specialist sites – see the Warwick Student Careers & Skills website for links: www2.warwick.ac/services/scs/findingajob/jobsectors/
Step 2: Find out more about the company:
What kind of culture and values do they have? What kind of person would fit in there? What do they do and what industry are they in? Who are their competitors and how are they different? What are their recent / upcoming projects?
You can find out more about this from: The company’s website: look at the information about their culture, mission statement and values, as well as recent projects, CSR model, etc. The recruitment pages of their website will often contain more information about the type of people they look for Contacting people who work there on LinkedIn The Marketline database, which contains detailed company profiles. You can access Marketline through the Warwick University library: warwick.ac/services/careers/applications/interviews/marketli ne Speak to the employer at careers fairs or presentations on campus Make contact with people who work there – the my alumni database has contact details of thousands of WBS graduates in employment. To access the Alumni Directory log onto my and choose ‘WBS Network’ from the tab at the top left
Once you understand what skills and experience you need to do the job and to work at that company, you can tailor your CV.
How will your CV be assessed?
There are several stages to the process of checking your CV – make sure you understand what these stages are so you can pass them successfully.
Your CV is likely to be one of many that the recruiter will be reviewing and recruiters are looking for a reason to screen you out, not screen you in. As a result, it is essential your CV meets the criteria for each stage.
Stage 1: Electronic screening
If you are applying for a company that has an online application process, and have submitted your CV electronically, it is likely that your CV will initially be scanned by software similar to that used by universities to scan students’ essays for plagiarism.
The software will be designed to look for spelling and grammar mistakes – too many of these and your CV will be screened out automatically without ever being read by a human.
It will also look for ‘key words’ – the words used by the company in the job description, for instance. So, if you are applying for a job that requires ‘collaborative skills and the ability to communicate’, the software will be looking for the words ‘collaborate’ and ‘communicate’, or variations of these words. Make sure that you include them!
Stage 2: At-a-glance review
Recruiters will often start by simply glancing at CVs to assess their layout and appearance, before reading the content. CVs that look scruffy, unprofessional, too long or poorly presented will be screened out without even being read.
Stage 3: Skim read
Having eliminated many of the CVs in step 1 or 2, recruiters will normally then skim- read the remaining CVs, spending around 30 seconds on each. It is essential that the important information that they are looking for is easy to find. If the key information is not clearly visible, and if the applicant has not used appropriate vocabulary to catch the recruiter’s eye, their CV will be screened out at this stage.
Stage 4: Thorough review
Finally, once the pile of CVs has been reduced to a more manageable number by stages 1 – 3, the recruiter will read the remaining CVs thoroughly. They will be looking for evidence that the candidate has the skills needed for the job. CVs that do not offer sufficient evidence to prove that the candidate has the right skills will be screened out.
What can you offer?
Doing a Skills Audit can help you work out what skills, experience and qualities you can offer – you’ll need to match these to the requirements of the job.
Look at the main sections of your CV: Education and qualifications Work experience and employment Extra-curricular activities and interests, additional skills and achievements
Some of the skills you may have evidence for are:
Teamwork Communication Problem- solving Leadership Resilience Organisation Persuasion & negotiation
Commercial awareness
Decision- making & independence
Adaptability Analytical Creativity
So now you know what skills you have, and what evidence you can give to prove you have these skills.
What type of CV should you choose?
The style and format of your CV, as well as the content, should match the job you are applying to. Different industries and jobs may require different types of CVs.
There are two main types of CV: Chronological Skill-based
Chronological CVs are the most common, and list your education, work experience and other activities in reverse chronological order (most recent first), with information about your skills and achievements included under the relevant piece of work experience or education in which you demonstrated them.
Skills-based CVs are less common and not always popular with employers. They use your skills as sub-headings, and group together various examples of when you’ve shown these skills.
Chronological CVs are normally ‘safer’ as they are preferred by the majority of employers. Skills-based CVs may be suitable for some students (for instance, those who are changing career direction) – speak to the CareersPlus team for advice on which is best for you.
Your CV should also be a set length: One full page, or Two full pages (not one and a half or one and a bit)
Your CV should never be more than two pages – CVs longer than two pages will not be read.
One page CVs are generally accepted by all recruiters and are required by many finance, accounting, banking, consulting and business law recruiters.
Two page CVs are also accepted by many recruiters across most industries, particularly general business areas such as management, marketing, HR, sales etc. Don’t pad your CV out if you don’t have enough to say though – if in doubt, go for a concise and tailored one-page CV.
Make sure you select the right style and length of CV for the jobs that you are applying for.
How your CV should look
First impressions are incredibly important. Your UK CV needs to look well set-out and professional in order to stand out.
Recruiters expect CVs to look a certain way, and CVs that have a strange format or which don’t look clear and professional may be rejected without ever being read.
Font: Avoid Times New Roman and Arial (it’s too academic). Use a plain modern font which is nice and easy to read like Calibri in size 10 or 11 Use the same font and size throughout. Your name right at the top can be in a slightly larger size (around 14) but the same font style
Consistency: Inconsistent layout looks scruffy and unprofessional. E. If you are going to have your sub-headings in capitals and your dates down the right hand side of the page, make sure you do this all the way through your CV
Clarity: Make your sub-headings stand out (use bold text, capitals, or both) so that the reader can find particular sections quickly Leave a blank line between sections to avoid the CV looking cramped You can reduce your page margins slightly to create more space on the page. Do not include a lined border around the edge of your page Avoid large blocks of text (anything longer than two lines long), as these can be off-putting and the reader will avoid reading this
Easy to read: Avoid tables – they look cramped Avoid underlining – use bold text to make things stand out Use bold text sparingly: for sub-headings it’s OK, but don’t highlight everything in bold as it will lose its impact
Professional: Your CV should be black and white only. Do not use colours or shading unless you’re applying to a more creative industry where you know this is accepted There should be no spelling or grammar mistakes Do not include graphics, logos, novelty fonts or a photograph
Education and Qualifications:
Current Education: You should include your current WBS degree on your CV, even if you haven’t finished it yet, as you need to show what you are doing now Include the anticipated finish date of your current course (don’t just say ‘Sept 2013 – Present’) so the recruiter can see when you will be available to start work Use standard abbreviations (e.: you should say ‘MSc or BSc Management’ not ‘Masters degree in Management’) Mention 3 or 4 of your modules across one line, don’t list all of them. Select the ones that are most relevant to the job you’re applying for
Previous Education: Use reverse chronological order (most recent first) and include any relevant previous university education and your A Levels (or A Level equivalents) Also include a summary of main GCSEs or equivalent qualifications across one line if necessary – you do not have to list every single subject and grade, only relevant ones Give the dates you attended the institution to and from (not just your graduation date) as it shows the duration of the course List the name of institution, the country if outside the UK, and the name of course List grades awarded – if you qualified outside the UK, try to provide some context (e. ‘grade awarded: 7 out of 8’ or ‘top 10% of my class’) List any relevant scholarships or awards in this section as well You can also include information about your dissertation but only if it is relevant to the job that you are applying to
If you have professional qualifications (e. CFA, ACCA) you can include them in this section as well.
EDUCATION & QUALIFICATIONS
Warwick Business School, MSc Business Analytics Sep 2018 – Sep 2019 Modules include: Analytic Consulting, Spreadsheet Modelling, Data Analysis, Strategy Analysis
Bangalore University, BSc Business (GPA 3 / 4) Sep 2015 – Jul 2018 Modules included: Organisational Behaviour, Operations Management and Big Data Analytics Dissertation: ‘Analysis of critical success factors in customer relationship management’
Kadambini Ganguly College, India, X11 Grade (85%) Sep 2010 – Jul 2015
Work & Leadership Experience:
This does not have to be a record of every job you have ever had – select those that are relevant, or those that you need to include in order to account for a gap in which you weren’t doing anything else List in reverse chronological order (most recent first) Give more information about the more relevant jobs, and less about the less relevant ones (even if you worked there for some time) Include name of company, brief location, dates of your employment (month and year), and your job title. You can also include a brief (one line) description of what the company does if you feel it is relevant and necessary and if the organisation is not a well-known brand name You can include voluntary work and working for family businesses in this section as well, or you can have a ‘Voluntary Work’ section if you prefer Use bullet points, not blocks of text – each bullet point should be 1 – 2 lines long Start each bullet point with a verb in the past tense – avoid passive expressions (‘I was required to organise...’ ‘The role involved managing...’) and instead use active expressions (‘Organised...’, ‘Managed...’) Look back at the ‘What can you offer?’ section: don’t just list your duties and responsibilities (this is redundant information anyway – if you’ve worked as a sales assistant, for instance, you don’t need to describe what your duties were. The reader knows exactly what a sales assistant does – they’ve probably been one themselves at some point. What will interest them is whether you met or exceeded your sales targets, what you achieved in your role and any activities that can be used to demonstrate relevant skills) Try and quantify your results wherever possible, e. if you brought on new clients, how many? What value was the business? Recruiters will scan CVs for numbers, % and £ symbols, etc.
Voluntary Work (Optional):
WORK & LEADERSHIP EXPERIENCE
Magical Events, Bangalore, Event Management Assistant June 2018 – Aug 2018 Collaborated as part of a team of 6 to successfully plan and organise a corporate conference with a budget of £20,000 – involved coordinating appropriate logistics including catering, entertainment and guest list Provided creative solutions to problems with the venue, using personal network to identify and secure an alternative venue at reduced cost of 10% of the original value
Enactus Student Consulting Society, Bangalore University, Team Leader Sep 2017 – Jul 2018 Identified a potential consulting project with a local clothing retailer and founded project group of 4 peers Undertook competitor analysis and interviews with company staff to identify ways in which it could improve its marketing at low cost, and increase profits
Ernst & Young, Bangalore, Intern – Audit June 2016 – Aug 2016 Project managed the client site, built good working relationships with client Finance team to gather information quickly and efficiently Adapted to changing timescales and volunteered to join a second project team after the completion of the first project, helping both teams to successfully meet their deadlines
- Include IT skills but not just MS Office – this is a basic skill that all employers would expect applicants to have. Think creatively about any further IT skills which you can include (advanced Excel, VBA, Bloomberg, editing software, coding etc)
- If you mention ‘soft’ skills like teamwork or communication, you must also include an example of when you have shown this skill
References (Optional)
- You can leave this section off (particularly on a one page CV) or simply conclude your CV by mentioning ‘References available on request’
CVs for other countries
There are some small differences in the CV format for different countries, but the key content to include in generally the same. You can view some further information on international CVs at the below links:
Going Global: International jobs database and CV advice: www2.warwick.ac/services/careers/findingwork/workingabroa d/ and click on the ‘Going Global’ link at the bottom of the page – the links mentioned further below under each country are included within the Going Global website and you should be able to access this for free with your University of Warwick IT credentials Target Jobs International Career Guides: targetjobs.co/careers-advice/working-abroad
Differences from the UK format:
China Generally a one page CV which outlines your personal information and list of career objectives at the top
SKILLS, INTERESTS & ACHIEVEMENTS
Languages: English (native), Hindi (native), French (intermediate) IT: Advanced Excel, VBA, SPSS Interests and achievements: Basketball: represented Bangalore University in numerous inter-university championships and won regional competitions. Horse-riding: volunteer administrator at the Horse Trust, an animal welfare and rehabilitation charity; teach horse riding classes to children at Warwick Riding School Music: achieved Grade 7 piano, member of a band at University of Warwick
You can include a passport sized photo, your date of birth, gender and residency status – check with the recruiter if you are not sure. Personal information such as your hobbies and marital status can also be included You could include a section called ‘Awards and Achievements’ in which you list your academic awards and prizes Academic training and information is highly important – list specific projects, courses and training programmes that you have completed Include the rankings information of your universities (use the best rankings from either the Times World Rankings, QS World University Rankings or Shanghai Jiao Tong University Rankings), the ranking of your course (if it is ranked) and where you ranked in your course (e. ‘ranked 3 rd out of a class of 200’) If the recruiter doesn’t specify, submit both an English version and a Mandarin version of your CV online.goinglobal/guide/china/page/resum%C3%A9cv-guidelines
Hong Kong Information as for China – rankings are very important BUT don’t include a photo on your CV if applying to Hong Kong
Singapore All CVs and cover letters should be written in the English language unless otherwise stated. Note that British spelling should be used rather than American spelling e. ‘organised’ rather than ‘organized’ Job seekers should include any external links to websites such as their LinkedIn profile or any online portfolios Concentrate on including more personal information – include photo, age, nationality, gender, interests and languages. Also include a career objective and your expected salary range as well as date of availability Always submit in a digital PDF format – hard copies are usually not accepted by employers online.goinglobal/guide/singapore/page/resum%C3%A9cv-guidelines
United Arab Emirates One page of standard A4 information is the required length Photo is usually required by recruiters, but check before sending your CV Include date of birth, gender, nationality, marital status and visa status – international applicants will need to include sponsorship details Avoid mentioning alcohol or gambling (e. hobbies such as wine tasting or playing poker) online.goinglobal/guide/united-arab-emirates/page/resum%C3%A9cv- guidelines
India Two page CV is usually normal – everywhere possible, mention personal specific achievements using actual figures and statistics Include a photo, date of birth, gender, marital status (your spouse’s occupation is sometimes required as well) – check as some recruiters also
Instead, tell them what you achieved and include what the results of your actions were Recruiters are looking for people who will add value to their business. The best way to show you have the potential to do this is to show how you have made a positive impact in previous jobs and activities
Not being selective Recruiters do not expect your CV to be a record of everything you have ever done – they want the edited highlights, and they want you to do the editing Don’t expect the recruiter to sift through all the information and identify the relevant bits – they won’t have the time to do this, and irrelevant information will dilute the impact of the relevant information Including every single activity, prize and part time job will suggest that you are unable to select relevant data; this may mean you don’t understand the job, or that you have not taken the time to tailor your CV. In either case, it will not impress the recruiter Stick to more recent achievements – an award that you won ten years ago at school does not tell the recruiter much about who you are now
Not getting to the point You need to be as concise and clear as possible in your CV. Overly wordy or vague descriptions will not stand out, and may look like you are trying to disguise a lack of real content Recruiters will skim-read CVs very quickly initially, so the information needs to be clear and to-the-point. Do not make them guess what it is you are trying to tell them: they don’t have the time, and will simply reject CVs that do not give them the information they are looking for Avoid jargon, slang and buzzwords
Not giving evidence Everything you say you are able to do needs to be backed up with an example – simply listing skills and qualities without any evidence of how or when you have shown these skills will not convince the recruiter Anyone can write a list of adjectives that they claim apply to them – you need to prove that you have these skills
Under-selling yourself Be positive about your achievements – if you don’t ‘sell’ them and explain how they are valuable, the recruiter will not be able to see the value in them Don’t apologise (‘although I don’t have much experience in this area...’; ‘although this job was not very relevant...’) – focus on what you can offer, not what you can’t
Not explaining what you did When describing an activity you took part in as part of a team, make sure you focus on your contribution. Avoid saying ‘we...’ as it’s not clear from this what you did and what the other team members did
Avoid passive expressions such as ‘the role required me to...’ or ‘my job involved...’ Just because it was required doesn’t necessarily mean you actually did it! Use verbs in the past tense (see page 16 for a list of words that have an impact on your CV)
Not paying attention to detail If at first glance your CV doesn’t look appealing, it will never be read! Professional, clear, consistent layout and attention to detail are essential Check spelling and grammar (anything you are no longer doing should be described in the past tense, not the present) Check that your dates match up – recruiters will spot gaps and want to know what you were doing during these un-accounted for periods
CV language
These are words that you can use to describe your activities – action words like this will catch recruiters’ attention and help your CV stand out.
Communicated Persuaded Negotiated Advised Presented Liaised Trained Recommended Encouraged Demonstrated Influenced Worked in a team Collaborated Co-ordinated Co- operated
Supported Contributed
Facilitated Enabled Assisted Networked Mediated Leadership Motivated Co-ordinated Managed Initiated Defined Directed Supervised Allocated Delegated Approved Had an impact Achieved Implemented Ensured Completed Proved Resolved Identified Attained Represented Prompted Improved Revised Increased Reduced Expanded Updated Restructured Eliminated Enhanced Transformed Cut Set up Devised Developed Created Initiated Introduced Established Launched Started Designed Produced Found out / Researched Discovered Identified Focused Interpreted Studied Investigated Researched Tested Defined Analysed Organised Planned Structured Timetabled Scheduled Budgeted Administered Prepared Reorganised Conducted Arranged
Other tips: Wherever possible, try and use the same vocabulary as the recruiters use in their job adverts (e. if they use the words ‘initiative’ and ‘creativity’, try and
might have a base 1-page CV to apply for banking roles, and a base 2-page CV to apply for professional services roles). You can then modify the appropriate CV each time to fit the specific requirements of the job.
This will take ages – can’t I just send a generic CV and then when I get to the interview I can explain how suitable I am?
No. If you send a generic CV you are unlikely to be offered an interview. It is better to send out a smaller number of tailored CVs for jobs you are really suitable for, than a large number of generic CVs.
What if the company I am interested in is not advertising any jobs, and I want to send them my CV anyway?
This is called a speculative application and can be very effective. However you will need to be clear about what kind of job you are interested in doing for this company
- sending a generic CV and saying ‘I’ll do anything’ will not make a great impression. If there is no job description to work from, you will need to look into what that job would normally involve (see page 4) and find out about the company culture so you can try and show how you match it.
Can I have my CV checked?
Yes – the WBS CareersPlus can help review and provide feedback on your CV or cover letters and applications. We cannot write it for you – your CV must be a realistic representation of you and your skills – but we offer loads of help and advice. Before booking an appointment for a CV check you should make use of the CV information available, including our online CV platform and attend a CV workshop.
What about CV-writing services – I have seen some online
You do not need to pay someone to do this for you – you can do it yourself. Someone who has not met you will not be able to describe your skills, experiences and strengths as effectively as you can anyway, so it’s important to learn how to do this yourself.
How to write a CV guide - Slide del corso della professoressa Sangiorgi
Corso: Lingua inglese (75898)
Università: Università di Bologna
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