Writing CVs and a cover letter BIM 110 Bibuli.Joachim

 A curriculum Vitae commonly known as CV briefly summarises your bio[graghy],training, skills, experience, interests and referees. The key focus however is on education and work experience  It is your personal marketing tool, from it people make a decision whether they want to meet you for an interview or even employ you.

 A typical cv has six sections but it could be modified to include other sections.  Biodata  Name  Address  Telephone (including mobile)   Nationality  Date of birth  Marital status (optional)

 Summary of skills [optional]  This part should highlight as brief as possible you key skills  Education Background/qualification  Includes what you have studies and when you studied it including where you under took the study  This should brief i.e. period, course/award/institution  Other qualifications/additional qualifications  Computer skills[could be independent or under other qualification]  Work experience /employment record  The jobs you have done, when you did them and where you did them at.  It is important to highlight what the job actually entailed and skills attained since same job names may actually in practice do different things  Amongst skills you could also indicate you can drive. It is an added advantage in some organisations e.g.. sales and marketing jobs, NGOs etc.  Other experiences [optional]

 Professional Affiliation  Language  This should highlight the language you can speak and your level of proficiency in both the oral and written form  Conferences and workshops  Highlight the important ones, especially those that relate to a job you are trying to apply for  Publications (optional)  Indicate if any. DO NOT make up publications  Interests/hobbies

 The standard practices is to include two referees including  Their names  Address  Telephone   Other organisation want to know your relationship with your referee i.e. lecturer, employee, work colleague etc.  In other cases you could just say available on request  Note that a referee are usually conducted for recommendations so notify them when you do use them and provide working contacts.

 Always type out your cv  Print on A4 paper, typing on one side only  Stick to white or cream paper  If applying for a job always include a cover letter

 This is the first thing they read  Show the relationship between your skills and the organisation profile and job being advertised  Create the impression that you are an interesting and capable person with relevant skills, experience and qualification which you the most suitable candidate for the job

 Try to achieve a balance being concise and comprehensive.  Avoid gaps and remember to say the most relevant and recent skills and experience  You can give something you did long ago if relevant.

 Never send off a CV full of mistakes in spelling, grammar and punctuation  Always ask someone else to read through your CV since it is easier for one who did not write a piece of work