HOW TO PREPARE A CV
When do we use a CV?
- When the employer asks for the application to be in this format
- When the employer does not specify the format to be applied
What information should we include in a CV?
Personal information
Personal information usually includes: address, birthday (since the law about age discrimination, this is not so important), phone number and email address.
Job experience
Use words that show action, such as: planner, organizer, developer.
Imply that you enjoy group work, that you are patient and that you have experience on working with clients. Don’t describe or tell about the routine job you have had.
Try to use specific words when explaining the previous jobs that you have had, and that form your main experiences.
Interests and achievements
- Be as concise as possible
- Points may be used to distinguish the interests, such: sports, creativity etc
- Don’t use boring clichés, might be “easy-going person”
- Show different interests of you because the client is not interested in only one
- The most unusual hobbies help you individualize from the others
- Every interest related to the job helps a lot
- Every evidence of leadership should be mentioned, ex: couch in a sports team, representative in a course, leader of any humanitarian organization
Skills
- Languages and computer skills are mentioned usually
- Any other skill that is extra to you
References
- Generally, two references are enough: one academic and one from your previous employer
- Usually the order is set by the institution you are going to apply to, for example Media CV lists job experience at first
- Motivation letter
How long should a CV be?
There are no absolute rules. In general, a CV should not cover more than 2 pages of A4.
If you could do it in a single page it would be better. However, do not forget to mention or exclude important things so that you have a shorter CV. Academic CVs might be 4-5 pages long.
The font
- The standard: TIMES NEW ROMAN
- Arial
- Verdana
- Font Size is 12 points for normal font, for titles and headlines
- Verdana needs text point 10
- 14 points is a very large about normal font, needs too much space, so don’t use it
- 8-9 points is very small to be easily read by everyone, especially when it is about TIMES NEW ROMAN which shouldn’t be used in less than 11 points
Your CV target
If you are applying to an employer who wants you to use a particular format, then you should follow that line. CVs are written differently for different jobs, so you should make changes to your CV, because each time it refers to another employer and another working company. Even if you are using the same CV, you should personalize your Motivation Letter. Before you compile your CV you should think on who is going to read it and what does your CV represent.