Effective CVs Abeer AlKhaldi - Careers Development Officer

What Does CV Stands for? Curriculum Vitae. It’s an overview of a person’s education, work experience, qualification, skills, awards and any other relevant information to the job you are applying for.

What is Difference between resume and cv? Emphasize skills Used when applying for a position in industry, non-profit, and public sector Is no longer than 2 pages, with an additional page for publications and/or poster presentations if highly relevant to the job After 1 year of industry experience, lead with work experience and place education section at the or near the end, depending upon qualifications CV Emphasizes academic accomplishments used when applying for positions in academia, fellowships and grants Length depends upon experience and includes a complete list of publications, posters, and presentations Always begins with education and can include name of advisor and dissertation title or summary.

A CV should... persuade the selector that you are worth interviewing by providing: evidence that you have the knowledge, skills and ability to do the work (CAN) evidence that you are sufficiently motivated to do the work (WANT) evidence that you will fit the culture and lifestyle demands of the work environment (FIT)

What can you use as evidence? Academic background: relevant modules, research training, academic success, scholarships, awards and prizes Research experience: practical work, laboratory or field, research assignments and projects, research skills Research success: publications, conferences, funding, training (research training programme) Work experience: industry placement, teaching, casual, voluntary, commercial. Interests & achievements: committees and societies, positions of responsibility, professional memberships.

How to write your CV or Resume? Great Tip: Match your CV to the position you are applying for. Highlight education, work experience, skills as they relate to a particular industry. Example: Applying for a teaching position? Focus on your teaching skills and experience.

Basic principles Relevance: research the yourself, sector, employer and job description. Order: put the most important information first and give it the most space. Format: make it easy to read, normally use 2 sides A4 Attention to detail: check spelling and grammar, beware of cut and paste! An effective covering letter.

Common Mistakes…. Spelling errors Too much, too little information Irrelevant details (including age) No personality Poor presentation Dull vocabulary Too general.

1. CV Objective: What does the word “Objective” mean? What is your goal for applying for a job? Fantastic education background and skills + poor cv objective = NOT MOVING TO THE INTERVIEW STAGE. Why? Catch the employer’s attention

What A Good Objective Should Look Like? Should be short Reflects what you already have achieved How you are a perfect match for the offered position Because employers care about what they want. Then you should make sure that you are a perfect match to the position. An Unprofessional Examples: Objective: Looking forward to earning more than $120,000 a year at your company.  Objective: My position will have pleasant surroundings, a reasonable salary, low pressure, not require me to bring work home and good benefits.” You need to showcase yourself to the employers. You need to re-tailor it a little bit whenever you apply for a different job.

Good examples: Experienced chef interested in becoming a zoo keeper. Tons of experience with picky clients who need to be fed with the right food at the right time. Want to apply my patience and understanding of complicated clients to taking care of angry lions at the Zoo Professional Dietician and Caterer with 6+ years in the foodservice industry. Highly innovative and efficient at building and maintaining client relationships. Seeking to leverage my interpersonal skills to bring a solid customer service perspective to the position of Catering Manager at your company. An IT System Support fresh graduate with a Diploma of 3.39/4 GPA. Possesses problem- solving and critical thinking skills wants to apply my skills and knowledge to contribute in supporting the company system as well as growing within the company itself.

2. Education: 3. Work experience: Add your most recent degree, include your GPA and graduation dates. 3. Work experience: Add your most recent work title and date. Include work achievements that are related to the position that you are applying to.

4. Awards and certifications Include the period you were awarded at with mentioning what was it for workshops and courses 5. Skills: Include your skills in this section (skills are relevant to the desired position) Awesome Tips: Check the skills mentioned in the job description section or qualifications and look for the targeted skills wanted by the company. Choose the ones that you have Make sure to highlight it!

6. References: Contact details of one or two people know you well and you worked for.

A Cover Letter: A one page document that explains to the hiring manager why you are the perfect candidate for this job. Tips for a good Cover Letter: Show the hiring managers that you are interested and committed to the job. Give them an idea about you.(mention developed characters) It’s your chance to market yourself through emphasizing a specific skill and tell a related story.

Using the CV template on the blog, create your own CV and send it to: Abeer.Alkhaldi@esgsa.com

HOMEWORK: Using the CV template on the blog, create your own CV and send it to: Abeer.Alkhaldi@esgsa.com

We are going to have a great year learning together! GOOD LUCK! Abeer AlKhaldi Careers Development Officer