Preparing For a Job

How to Built Your CV

Your CV is an employer's first impression of you and it must leave a favorable and lasting impact. A successful CV is one that will appear in the most searches and generate the most interviews.

Source: www.bayt.com

1. How to Built Your CV

2. Resume Rules

How to Built Your CV

Objective

Work Experience if any

Skills

Education

Short\ Training Courses

Important Case studies\ term papers

Memberships if any

References

Objective

Position Sought

Here is where you define who you are in relation to skills and experience. This is a critical part of your CV as it is the first section a potential employer reads and it should portray you in the most relevant and professional light.

Examples:

Marketing Manager

Senior Corporate Tax Accountant

Advertising Executive

Financial Analyst

Pediatric Nurse

Sales Representative

Concierge

Tips:

Include words that highlight your skills and area of expertise

Include keywords of the actual position you are seeking

Objective

This should be a brief and focused statement of what you can do and what you are looking for. Employers will look here first before proceeding onto your resume.

Examples:

Seeking new challenges in (occupation) which effectively utilizes (professional experience).

Looking to join a progressive organization that has the need for (a type of occupation) and offers opportunities for advancement.

To gain first hand (type of experience), using my analytical skills and commitment to perform quality work.

To obtain a position in a (type of target company) using my administrative and programming skills.

To secure an internship with a (type of organization) specializing in (area of expertise)

(Title) with (background) and a passion for (type) pursuing a career with (target company). Skilled at building strong team environments and developing open communications.

Tips:

Describe the job you are seeking. You can include your experience and skill level.

Be focused - vague objectives are less likely to attract an employer.

Emphasize what you can bring to your prospective employer.

The Objective should be one sentence - two sentences if needed, but not longer.

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Work Experience

Unless you are a fresh graduate, your Work Experience is the most important part of the CV. Highlight your skills and assigned responsibilities in each previous job.

Examples:

Managed a team of (number) that established (name of project goal or result).

Successfully launched and marketed (name of project).

Participated in the creation of a (name of product or production) that resulted in (a positive outcome).

Extensive involvement managing client relationships at all levels.

Wrote feature stories and conducted interviews for (type of press); edited copy of other writers.

Trained new interns in (type of department).

(Number of years) of (system) integration experience and implementing solutions to help clients succeed.

Successfully managed and staffed not only business start-ups, but also periods of rapid, sustained corporate growth.

(Number of years) of management experience on industrial projects.

Installed different operating systems, software and hardware.

Compiled and edited comprehensive quality control reports.

Tips:

For each position describe your responsibilities, duties, the challenges faced and accomplishments achieved. Use specific examples eg. Increased car sales turnover by 200% or saved department $100,000 by redesigning performance measurement system.

If you had multiple positions with the same company, remember to list dates of positions to show the prospective employer of your rapid progress and quick learning abilities.

If you have not had much work experience, try including temporary, holiday or voluntary jobs.

Remember to keep it short, positive and use action verbs.

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Education

List your academic background; degrees, certifications and training received.

Examples:

Continuing education classes in (Name of courses).

Licensed (name of certification), (City/Year).

Thesis: (Title of Thesis).

Additional course work in Computational Mathematics, Kuwait University.

Work towards CPA qualification.

Series 7 and series 63 registered.

Tips:

Include your Grade Point Average or General Ranking if it is impressive (Excellent, Very Good).

Mention any Honors, Awards, Scholarships, Internships, and Dissertations received.

Include any information that might be appropriate to your job search. Fresh graduates should include relevant courses, extracurricular activities, scholarships, honors, and GPA (if it is good).

Allow your educational credentials to emphasise your strengths and qualifications. Do not be misleading, as employers will check. It could be awkward and quite difficult to verify a false educational statement made on your CV.

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Skills

Use this section to show a potential employer your overall work-related skills and abilities including languages and technical skills. Please note that your skills are one of the KEY search criteria in Employer searches so make sure you include all technical, analytical, professional and other skills.

Examples:

German- Intermediate.

Microsoft Office software & the Internet- Expert.

MS Word, Excel, Access, Power Point, MS Project, Project Workbench and Lotus Notes- Expert.

C, Cobol, Fortran and SQL- Expert.

Quantitative Analysis- Expert.

Creative Skills- Expert.

Tips:

Focus on skills that match your target job and target company.

Use this section to include industry keywords that match an employer's keyword search. For example: Knowledge of encryption theory

Describe your interpersonal skills, (an experienced presenter/ public speaker / sales person, organizer or teacher).

Use action verbs

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Short \ Training Courses:

Date	Name of Course	Institute	Location
?? – ?? May 200?	????????	?????????????/	???
?? – ?? March 200?	?????????	?????????	??
? Jul – ?? Aug 200?	?????????	???	?

Important Case Studies\ Term Papers:

Title of Paper	Name of Course	Instructors	Date
?????	??? ??	???? ??	???
?? – ??	??? ??	???? ???	??

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Memberships

List any professional affiliations, associations or memberships of interest to employers.

Examples:

Active member (name of association).

Speaker/Treasurer (name of association).

Appointed to serve as (position).

Past Chairman/President.

Elected to serve as (position).

Tips:

Being part of any association shows a potential employer your interest and involvement in a related professional field.

Adding this information is completely optional, but it may help show a potential employer things about you that may not be clear from the rest of your CV such as your hobbies and your eagerness to participate in contributing to and developing your society.

This is particularly relevant and important for fresh graduates or candidates seeking to make a career switch.

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References

Listing references is optional but it is always a good idea to include them. List the name and contact information of references.

Tips:

List the contact information of your last employer. If you have been out of the work force for a while, list the name of an old family friend or physician.

If you would rather not include any references, make it clear that the potential employer can obtain a reference if required by adding References available upon request.

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Source: www.bayt.com

Resume Rules

	Resumes generally should be only one page in length. Resumes should not be detailed. It is not necessary to list every job. Resumes need not include a complete job history. Do not tell everything, only what is relevant to the job being sought.
	The resume heading should indicate your name in large, bold type. Use the name by which you are commonly addressed. Include only one address. Include the area code with your telephone number. You may also include your e-mail address.
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	Do not devote undue space to company's address (city and state only). Do not devote undue space to dates of employment (years only). Keep the company name and job title simple. Do not include supervisor's name. Do not include company's telephone number or zip code. Do not include references on your resume.
	Every entry on your resume should include a description of the duties, responsibilities, activities and skills associated with the experience. There is no need to differentiate between paid and non-paid experiences. All descriptions should be stated in terms of their transferability and relevance to the job being sought. Avoid technical or job-specific jargon unless it is related to the job you are seeking. Otherwise, use generic or general terms.
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	Arrange information on your resume so that the most current, most important, most impressive or most relevant information is presented first.
	Information should be presented in list format, not paragraph format. Avoid using full sentences or excessive wordiness. Don't use any personal pronouns (I, me, my, his, her, their). Short phrases, beginning with action verbs, stated in single lines, work best. Language patterns, information groupings, verb usage and tense should be consistent.
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	Format, layout and organization should be consistent, easy-to-read and appropriate to the specific occupational field. Make your resume visually appealing. Presentation should be clean and clear. Balance blocks of text with white space. Margins should be wide and even. Avoid using font or type style that is too fancy or exotic. Utilize emphasizing techniques for impact and easy reading: bold letters, capital letters, italics, bullets, dashes, indenting and font size variations. Do not use underlining. Use indenting sparingly and consistently.
	Do not include personal data that is irrelevant or meaningless: age, gender, weight, height, health, marital status, social security number and hobbies. Be careful with references to race, ethnicity, nationality, politics, religion and lifestyle. Do not include a photograph unless requested. Do not include your grade point average unless it is very good. Do not include any details that are negative or that might otherwise minimize your experience (Avoid words like part-time, temporary, seasonal, pending, expected). Emphasize your job description instead of the company's logistical information.
	Proofread for typographical errors, misspelled words and poor grammar.
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	Resumes should be printed on high-quality paper stock. The envelope (business size) should match. The cover letter paper should also match. Tri-fold both documents together, with cover letter on top.
	A cover letter should always accompany the resume (but do not staple). It should be personal, and directed to a specific company with a specific job in mind. No form letters. The cover letter is a good place to state your professional objective (instead of on the resume). Don't forget to put your signature on the cover letter. (Back to top)

Source: http://www.careercenter.uab.edu/gethired/resumes/resrules.htm