WEST CENTRAL COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCE INC.

Career Preparation
Module 6: Curriculum Vitae
Learning Objectives:

At the end of this module, you expected to:

• Understand the importance of preparing for a Curriculum Vitae.

• Apply your understanding on how to ace your CV.

What is a CV?

A curriculum vitae (CV) is a document that provides a comprehensive description of your

academic achievements, professional experience, and skills. A CV also highlights your awards, honors,
research interests, publications, fellowships, speaking engagements and grants.

In the United States and Canada, candidates use a CV to apply for overseas jobs or academic
and research-related positions at universities, and in medicine and the sciences. The CV is used for all
applications in mainland Europe, the UK, Ireland, and New Zealand. In Australia, India, Africa and
the Middle East, a CV is interchangeable with a resume. A CV is typically a few pages whereas a
standard resume is on the shorter side, only 1-2 pages.

The following are the elements of a standard CV:

• Contact information including your name, phone, and email address

• Personal profile stating your CV summary or career objective

• Work experience including previous and current duties and responsibilities relevant to the role

• Education

• Skills relevant to the job

• Additional sections, including hobbies and interests where applicable

How to write a CV

Writing a CV involves organizing your content into six main segments. They include:

1. Contact information

2. Personal statement/profile

3. Work experience

4. Education

5. Skills

6. Additional sections (targeted to your audience)

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1. Contact information

Your contact information is the first element of the CV and serves as the header of the document. It
sits at the top so that interviewers can contact you easily. The section should contain only the
following elements:

• Your full name

• Phone number

• Job title

• Personal email address

• Social media handles (optional)

• Professional website (optional)

Do not include the following in your contact information:

• Date of birth

• Physical address

• Your current business contact information such as work email addresses or phone number

• Photograph (unless it is stated in the job posting)

• Personal social media handles

Provide only the information requested in the job description. Also, only include personal social
media handles in your CV if it will boost your chances of landing the position. Consider using a
professional email address, like davistoledo@gmail.com.

2. Personal statement/profile

A personal statement (or CV personal profile) is a concise statement at the beginning of your
CV that describes your top skills and the capabilities you will bring to the role. Mention skills,
experience, and achievements relevant to the job. The personal profile is not mandatory sometimes. If
you include it, keep the profile well-written and original. Include positive words such as confident,
adaptable, self-motivated, and enthusiastic.

Your CV personal profile should:

• State who you are

• Outline top skills and achievements

• Mention the name of your target employer

• Your goals as a potential new employee

The following should not be on your CV personal statement:

• Why you are applying for the job

• Why you left your former employer

• Salary requirements
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Example: “Self-motivated pharmacist with 10+ years of experience. Looking to leverage strong
clinical research skills as a lead clinical test evaluator for Lupin Drug Co. Organized a 20,000
subject clinical study to assess the effect of estrogen supplement on ovarian cancer in women.
Trained 20 clinicians on the use of big data for biopharmaceutical analysis. Leading figure in
Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia.”

3. Work experience

The work experience section allows the interviewer to see your career path and its relevance to
their role. Outline your expertise in reverse-chronological order (most recent first). If you have little
or no practical knowledge about the job, education should come before this section.

Your work experience section can include up to 15 years of experience and state the following
information:

• Title of the role

• Company with city, state

• Dates of employment

• Three to five bullet points outlining your responsibilities and achievements for each job entry

• Research projects

• Lab work

• Field experience

• Volunteer work

• Numbers and metrics to prove your achievements

Your work experience should not include:

• Tables, charts, or images

• Gaps in employment history, if avoidable

• Company addresses

• Professional references or supervisors’ names

• Short-term employment, unless you have less than two years of work experience

• Irrelevant work experience

4. Education

List your education and dates from the most recent to the oldest. You can include your class of
degree, dissertation title, coursework, professional qualifications, and top academic achievements
that relate to the role. If you have more than two years of relevant work experience, you can highlight
all of your post-secondary educational qualifications, including the name of the degree and
institution.

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5. Skills

The skills section describes your accomplishments at previous jobs, like the key skills you
developed and experiences that apply to the job. The skills to include in this section depend on the
industry, position, and your personal background. Research the skills relevant to the industry or
position and read the job description carefully. If you have lots of relevant skills, consider writing a
skills-based CV.

List only 4 to 8 skills relevant to the role including job-specific skills, soft skills, and hard skills.
Some examples include:

• Foreign languages

• Technical skills where relevant

• Certified skills

Consider also mentioning your proficiency level such as Basic, Intermediate, Advanced or
Expert for every skill on your list.

To further illustrate your skills, list projects where you leveraged your talents and the results.

Hard skills are abilities specific to the job and/or industry. Generally, these are more technical
skills that you learn in school, certification programs, training materials or experience on the job.
Hard skills might include proficiency in things like:

• Software

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• Foreign languages

• Operating certain equipment or machinery

Soft skills, on the other hand, are abilities that can be applied in any job. Often, soft skills may be
referred to as “people skills” or “social skills” and include proficiency in things like:

• Communication

• Customer service

• Problem-solving

• Time management

• Leadership

Hard skills are usually teachable while soft skills are much harder to develop because they are
typically personality traits and, therefore, extremely valuable to employers. In most cases, your soft
skills can enhance your hard skills. For example, if you’re a detail-oriented software developer skilled
in a computer programming language, you’ll likely be able to catch errors and correct issues in the
code you and your team create.

As a job seeker, it’s important to highlight your best hard and soft skills to position yourself as a
well-rounded candidate. It’s also helpful to consider how the two types of skills relate to one another
and the job so you can speak to this in your next interview.

6. Additional sections (targeted to your audience)

Additional sections targeted toward your audience can include professional certifications,
publications, industry awards and extra training—anything that is relevant to who’s reading your CV.
This is a chance to stand out so use the space wisely to showcase your unique achievements.

If you are a student, you can list your volunteer experience and academic achievements.
Mention things you can discuss in further detail at the interview.

It may be appropriate to include hobbies and interests on your CV if you have limited work
experience. You can mention specific non-work activities in an entry-level CV if they portray you as a
good fit for the employer, such as activities that demonstrate your dedication to a cause the employer
works with or allow you to practice skills you use on the job.

Some employers may not need references, so their inclusion may not be necessary. You can
give employers the option to ask for references, which can show them that you are willing to reach out
to your network to those who can vouch for you.

Tips on writing an effective CV

Use these tips to improve your CV writing and formatting skills.

• Fonts and colors: Use legible and standard fonts such as Calibri, Georgia, Open Sans and
Cambria. Use font sizes 10 to 12 point and be consistent with the style and size throughout your
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CV. Use larger fonts (size 14 to 16 point) for section headings. This helps to break up your CV
while making the sections stand out.

• Formatting: Be consistent with the use of italics, bold, bullet lists and font style. Leave
enough white space and maintain a minimum of 0.5-inch margins on all sides. This will
improve the organization and readability.

• Structure: Outline your CV entries in reverse-chronological order so the first thing the
recruiter sees are your most recent accomplishments. Use bullet points so recruiters can skim.

• Content: Make your writing powerful and concise. Use strong, active verbs throughout. Be
sure to edit, revise and proofread your CV before sending.

• Verb tense: Use present tense for current jobs and past tense for former jobs. Proofread for
consistency.

Top 10 Things NOT to Include on Your CV

There can be no denying the fact that we live in an increasingly tough world nowadays.
Increasing populations across the world and rising rates of unemployment mean that more and more
people are applying for the same types of jobs you are interested in. This means it is truly imperative
for you to take the matter of your CV as seriously as possible. There are certain things that should not
show up on a CV in order for it to be an effective reference piece, as opposed to a document that has
the employer run in the other direction from you. The following are 10 things you should never
include on your CV:

1) An objective that makes no sense or is completely insane:

A crazed objective will have the employer not take you seriously and in the end have your CV
lying in the comfort of a rubbish bin.

2) Irrelevant job experience:

Having times of the past that you truly enjoyed is a nice memory to cherish.

If it has nothing to do with the job you are applying for, it’s best to leave it out and focus on the
jobs that have direct experience with your current interest for work.

3) Achievements that are not exactly achievements:

Because you were the Secondary School Team Captain is not an achievement relevant to the
job you are applying for! Professional achievements or even community service are notable
achievements.

4) A physical description:

A description about what you look like or even images of yourself should never be included on
a CV. It isn’t professional and will be viewed as a mockery if it includes this information.

5) Proper hobby listing:

If you have hobbies that will have you viewed in a strange light, they might be better kept to
yourself. Common hobbies of reading or writing, even working out are acceptable choices. Hobby lists
should be kept short and precise.

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6) Private information:

Whether it is your religious belief or your sexual orientation these are things that are irrelevant
on a CV and are best kept to yourself. There is no reason to put this information in the open for
observation.

7) Bad grammar:

Bad grammar immediately shows carelessness and laziness. The last thing you want a potential
employer to feel you will be verified immediately once a mistake like this is found.

8) Contact information that will raise flags:

If you have an inappropriate email address then simply don’t use it. Or if it is essential to have
this information included, create a new one via the use of Google to have an appropriate one on hand.
An inappropriate email will only bring you attention and not the kind that will contribute to a path of
success.

9) Social Security Number/National Insurance Number:

While in the world of information this is the biggest factor that can lead to endless scams, this
is not the information that you supply on a CV ever. It could be left out or disregarded and if the
wrong person should get this information then you could be in quite a bit of trouble. Have it on hand
for the employer, don’t feel the need to hand it out initially.

10) Colourful text and creative fonts:

No employer wants to have a staring match with your CV to try and figure out what it says. Nor do
they want to have a potential seizure due to the colorful daze you have compiled in your information.
Keep it simple and normal and stick to the pure facts.

Activity:

1. What should be included in the Curriculum Vitae?

2. What should not be included in CV?
3. Construct your own Curriculum Vitae.

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Well done! You are now ready for your next Module.

“You fail only when you give up.”

Apple O’Bryan

Source: https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/resumes-cover-letters/what-is-a-cv
https://theundercoverrecruiter.com/10-things-not-cv/

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