Writing a successful Curriculum Vitae (CV) in English

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Do you want to stand out of the crowd? In this post we are going to give you some tips on how best to present your skills and experience on paper. You will learn how to make a well presented CV that will stand out from the rest.

Your CV is a summary of your qualifications and experiences. It is not enough to be the right person for the position but you’ll need to prove it with your Curriculum Vitae. The purpose of your CV is to get an interview. In thirty seconds or less, most employers decide whether or not to consider applicants for employment, so your CV content must be clear, concise, convincing and up-to-date with current employment and educational information. Tailor your CV to the specific position for which you are applying and present your most relevant skills, experience, and achievements. Make sure that your CV is free of misspellings and grammatical errors.

Tips for writing a great and appealing CV:

  • Personal details and contact information:

    • Most CVs start with contact information and personal data. Required details include your full name, current address, primary phone number,  email address and Skype. If you have a professional Web site or social media profile that features work samples, you may include it but remember you should always be aware of how you present yourself online.
  • Review your history:

    • Make a list of your previous jobs and educational qualifications. The most widely accepted style of employment and education record is the chronological curriculum vitae. Your career history is presented starting with the most recent work experience   in the document, while the oldest experience appears last. Achievements and responsibilities are listed for each role. More emphasis/information should be put on more recent jobs.
    • Include company information, position titles  and responsibilities,  certificates, degrees and also include specific achievements.
  • Express your objectives:

    • At the beginning of your CV you can include a heading tittle “Objective” or “Personal Statement.” Briefly, clearly and concisely state your career goal or summarize your professional experience so that employers immediately know what you seek. For example: “To use my skills and experience to contribute to a dynamic HR team.”
  • Consider your achievements:

    • Mention the things that you have reached in your previous roles.
    • List some pertinent examples that show you’re worthy to fill the position and that are related to your career objective.  It helps the employers to learn about your interests, motivations, and skills.
  • Adjust the grammar:

    • CV writing standards allow to abbreviate sentence construction in order to save space. It is possible to leave out sentence subjects (e.g. “I”, “my manager”), possessive pronouns (“my/mine”, “his/hers”), and sometimes even articles (“a”, “the”). Also, if you are listing more than one accomplishment in a sentence you can replace “and” with a semicolon. For example: “I designed and implemented an important strategy and the manager gave me a bonus award” would become “Designed and implemented a key strategy; received company bonus award.”
    • After you have written your CV read it aloud and check if you have typos and grammatical errors. Then ask someone else to review it for you – it’s often hard to catch our own mistakes.  Revise it until you are sure you have presented your skills and experience in the best way possible.
  • Include your skills:

    • Mention your computer skills, foreign languages skills, and any other recent training that is relevant to the role you apply for.  
  • Target your hobbies and interests:

    • What you do in your spare time says a lot about your natural motivations. Some employers think that there are logical connections between your hobbies and the types of jobs you gravitate towards. In these cases there is often an implied interest and enthusiasm that the job expects from candidates. Bear this in mind and think about prioritising hobbies that are more significant to your job application.

    • Society memberships, voluntary aid, community work or even local council involvement are great things to include if you’re looking to prove your commitment to good causes. An active interest in travel beyond the normal package holidays suggests a keenness for culture, but also how suitable you could be if the job requires international awareness.

  • Include exciting words:

    • Include words that capture the attention of a potential employer and don’t let your CV become boring. Some powerful words are: “launched,” “initiated,” “directed,” “created,” “led,” “generated,” etc.
  • Be honest:

    • Be honest with yourself. Check out your CV and ask yourself: Would I hire myself? If the answer is ‘no’ or ‘maybe’ then it will be time to revise or rewrite your CV. If the answer is ‘yes’ then it’s time to prepare for your interview.

Now that you have learned how to present yourself in a great and appealing way on paper, it is time to practice your professional English skills with our expert English teachers before your next interview. Our teachers will help you practice and gain new vocabulary and will help you build your speaking confidence, whatever your English level.

Schedule your Free Trial Lesson and experience our excellent teaching methodology.

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