The Three Major CV Styles for graduates Style 1: the traditional CV – sells your track record Most CVs used by students and graduates fall into this category – a chronological or reverse-chronological account of your life and education. Within this structure there are endless opportunities to customise and target the information. 1. Write your name and contact details at the top. 2. If you are are applying speculatively, state your job search objective clearly. 3. At this stage of your career, details of your education may be of most interest to potential employers. Unless you have loads of relevant work experience (or if youd rather not give your grades too much prominence!), list your education at the top of the CV, in reverse chronological order. List any professional qualifications or training youve undertaken separately. 4. Write your work experience and employment history, again in reverse chronological order. Start with your present or most recent position, and work backwards. 5. For each position, describe your major duties and achievements, beginning each point with an action verb (eg Achieved, Increased, Won. Keep to the point and stressed what youve achieved. 5. Keep your career goals in mind as you write and, as you describe your duties and achievements, emphasise those which are most related to your desired job. Style 2: the skills-based CV – sells your potential If you want to draw more attention to the skills you have developed than to the events that have made up your life, then perhaps consider constructing a skills-based CV. These CVs often include a personal statement or career objective near the beginning. For example: ‘Motivated and academically gifted chemical engineer seeking to use his industrial experience in a technical sales career. Only do it if you feel comfortable with approach. The rest of the CV must contain considerable evidence to back up any such assertions. Another common feature of this type of CV is including a list of key achievements. Only do this if you feel that its the most effective way to package your message. The main problem with these CVs is that they can run the risk of sounding phoney or pompous if badly composed. 1. Write your name and contact details at the top. 2. This type of CV is well suited to people starting out in their careers, so you may want to state your job search objective clearly. 3. Write between three to five separate paragraphs, each one focusing on a particular skill or accomplishment, and each one with a relevant heading. 4. List these functional paragraphs in order of importance, with the one most related to your career goal at the top. 5. Within each functional area, emphasise the most relevant accomplishments or results produced. 6. Add in a brief paragraph showing your work experience after the last functional area, giving dates, employer and job titles only. 7. Include your education in a separate section at the bottom of the CV, again in reverse chronological order. Style 3: the combination CV Youre perfectly free to create a CV which includes elements of both traditional and skills-based types. Focus on the major aim of the exercise: to produce a CV that meets your needs. And if this means a wholly original hybrid, fair enough.
Posted on: Tue, 18 Nov 2014 06:38:23 +0000
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