What is a CV?
What is a CV? (see an example)
This is the definition of a CV as supplied by Merriam Webster’s online dictionary:
Curriculum vitae - A short account of one's career and qualifications prepared typically by an applicant for a position.
A strong CV:
- provides a professional introduction to a potential employer.
- has a clean, professional appearance.
- uses action verbs.
- uses present tense for current work, past tense for former experience.
- encourages an employer to want to know more about you via an interview.
- provides an employer with a “first impression” of your skills and the value that YOU bring to a job.
- is your personal marketing tool – your first opportunity to sell yourself to an employer.
A strong CV does not:
- provide a check list of everything you have ever done (whether it is of value to the potential employer or not).
- require more than two pages, especially for new graduates. More than two pages takes too much of the employer’s time.
- look too crowded and difficult to read.
- contain grammar or spelling errors.
REMEMBER…
Your CV will be one of many – sometimes hundreds that an employer receives. Most employers spend less than 15 seconds looking at CVs for the first time.
Your work experience/internship/extra-curricular activities are important to employers. It is work experience. List it at the beginning - usually right after your education.
A two-page CV, when done well, will effectively market you - as long as the information you provide is related to the employer’s goals and objectives.
