Preparing a Curriculum Vitae (CV) or Résumé

8/12/2019 Preparing a Curriculum Vitae (CV) or Rsum.

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VUW CAREER DEVELOPMENT AND EMPLOYMENTPreparing a Curriculum Vitae 1

Preparing a Curriculum Vitae (CV) or Rsum

Curriculum Vitae (CV) and Rsum are terms used by

employers to refer to the professional document that you

submit to them to describe your skills, experience and

personality. For the purposes of this handout, we will use theterm CV. It is essentially your self-marketing tool. It should

demonstrate to the employer that you are worthy of serious

consideration as a potential employee. Keep in mind the

reason you are creating and distributing your CV; to be

offered interviews.

When preparing a CV it is important to remember that there is

no 'correct' format. Every individual you ask, and each bookyou refer to, will have different advice on how to set out aCV. Likewise, each employer will have their own ideas as to

the 'type' of CV they prefer to read. This handout therefore,has been designed to assist you in the preparation of your CV,by providing guidelines.

Some Steps to Follow

BrainstormingTo develop a CV, you will need written information about

yourself available to draw from. This may require you to do aself-evaluation. List all your education, work, community andleisure experiences. For each of these, note down the activities

and tasks involved, the skills you developed or enhanced andany achievements associated with each experience. Don't bediscriminatory at this point even if you think some

information irrelevant, write it down anyway. A good place tostore all this information is in the Education and Experiencessections of Resume Builder or in the e-portfolio on VictoriaCareerHub. Registering on Victoria CareerHub is a good way

to access the tools to help you plan, build and manage aprofessional quality CV. You will then have access to both ablueprint for developing CVs and CV templates for your

present and future needs and a resource for interview

preparation.

TargetingThe next step is to determine your market audience, theperson who will be reading your CV. This will involve

identifying the requirements of your prospective employer,and the type of position, industry, company and culture. Notall the information collected in your brainstorming exercise

will be used in every CV you send out. You will be expectedto highlight experiences and skills that are particularly

relevant to the position you are applying for.

HeadingsHeadings throughout the CV are essential, as they make it

easier for the employer to find the information they require.The information you decide to include will determine theheadings in your CV. Remember, because every person is

unique with different life experiences, CVs can differtremendously in both their content and headings.

It is advisable to place information under each heading in a'reverse' chronological order beginning with your most recent

experience. Another good practice is tohave the most important information tobe included in each sectionimmediately under the heading so thatit cannot be overlooked. If it is not

possible to do both, you may wish tocreate additional sub-headings.

Content

Much of the content will be determinedthrough the brainstorming exercise.Below are some ideas for those sections

most commonly included in a CV.

Personal DetailsName and contact details such as

phone number, email and address areessential. You should also include

citizenship, residency or work visastatus.

Other personal details such as date ofbirth, gender, marital status, healthand nationality are optional.Consider whether your applicationwould be advantaged by adding any

of these details. If so, obviouslyinclude such information.

OKrules for constructing a

CVframework firstthen fill in

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InterestsList additional information about yourself; eg. sporting, socialand cultural interests. Give some indication as to the level ofyour involvement such as coach, committee member or localrepresentative. You may feel tempted to leave this section outof your CV, but employers have stressed time and time again,

the value they place on this information. Employers say that by

having access to this type of information they may get someidea of your personality, and an indication of how you may fitinto their organisation and work group.

RefereesReferees are the people you nominate for the employer tospeak with over the phone about their knowledge andexperience of you. You must check with each potential refereethat you have their permission to be listed on your CV. It is also

sensible to give your referee a copy of your CV and keep themup to date with your job search progress. Referees should notbe contacted by an employer without your express permission

even where you have provided their details in your CV.

References are written statements about you. If you haveparticularly good and relevant references, they may be worthscanning to include with your application. Alternatively you

may prefer to indicate that references are available on request.In the past written references were commonly required by

employers, today however, verbal referees are requested byalmost every employer even if you do have written references.

Ideal Qualities of a Good CV

Unique Accurate Well PresentedBrief Relevant Details Positive Document

Spelling and grammar must be correct. Get someone else todo a final check of your CV and covering letter. One smallmistake may cost you an interview!

CVs must be in an electronic format and choose a font thatcan be easily read. (Vic Careers has a list of companies thatprovide a CV word-processing service).

If you are sending an employer your CV in hard copy it canbe a photocopy as long as the copy is clear and on goodquality paper.

A CV should ideally be no longer than the equivalent of twoor three typewritten pages, unless your work experience

warrants it. You need to tell the employer enough to

stimulate their interest in meeting you. It is not yourcomplete life history and may not be read if it is too long,boring, or full of irrelevant details. However, dont limityour CV to 2-3 pages if this means you will leave outinformation that will advantage your application.

Because you are using the CV as a marketing tool to 'sell'yourself, remember to keep it a positive document, by

focusing on what you have to offer the employer. Ensurethose skills, experiences and qualifications particularlyrelevant to the position stand out. This may require someadjustment to the layout, using bullet points, creating extra

headings, bolding or italicising words etc. If you have goodacademic grades - show them off, if you don't others will!

Don't forget to keep a copy of all letters, CVs anddocuments you send to employers.

Label all documents clearly so that you can quickly retrieveinformation that relates to each application you make.

It is helpful to have a master CV. This will contain themost comprehensive information about you. This canbe quickly referred to or copy and pasted from, when

you are customising a CV to reflect and address the

skills and interests relevant to the particular positionyou are applying for. Your master CV will also be

invaluable for job interview preparation.

CareerHub - Rsum Builder and e-Portfolio

The Rsum Builder allows you to follow a CV templatein order to make your own CV. You will need to fill in

your CareerHub details and records and then these will beautomatically added to your CV. You can add recordsunder Education, Experiences (to include all types of

work), skills and referees. Once your personal informationis in these sections, you can create different CVs withouthaving to input the data each time. You edit and add other

relevant content according to the job you are applying forand you save the CV to your own computer files. As youmake changes or gain new experiences, it is important to

update the appropriate CareerHub sections.In addition, thee-Portfolio function on CareerHub (describing, interpretingand evaluating your experiences) helps you to develop adeeper understanding of your skills, how you dealt withsituations and what you learnt. All of this is of course ishelpful when writing your CV!

Sample Curriculum Vitae

The sample CV in this handout is straight forward and

chronological. Depending on your background and thetype of position applied for, other formats may be used

such as functional or combination CV. These formats giveyou the opportunity to emphasise experience rather thaneducation or to group together certain types of skills or

achievements. You can find samples of these in theCareers Resource Library and on Victoria CareerHub inthe Info Sheets section. The following SAMPLE CV ISONLY A GUIDE to help you get started. There are many

different ways of setting a CV out.

Prepared by:

Victoria University of WellingtonCareer Development and Employment,

PO Box 600, 14 Kelburn Parade, Wellington

Tel: 0-4-463 5393

www.victoria.ac.nz/careers/RP0510

Assistance with career planning and

job searching techniques is available

from Vic Careers staff.
http://www.victoria.ac.nz/careers/http://www.victoria.ac.nz/careers/http://www.victoria.ac.nz/careers/


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VUW CAREER DEVELOPMENT AND EMPLOYMENT Preparing a Curriculum Vitae4

SAMPLE CURRICULUM VITAE

Personal Details

Name: Candy Date

Address: Flat 25, 14 Kelburn Parade, Kelburn, Well ington

Phone: (04) 463 5393 or 021 463 5393

Email: [email protected]

Other Information: NZ CitizenFull NZ Drivers Licence

Career Objective

Seeking a practical part-time role which complements my university studies and that will add to thepractical skills gained during university projects. I offer a proven work ethic, flexibility, an enthusiasm foracquiring new skills and customer service experience.

Skills and Attr ibutes

Organising data and information and presenting it in reports and summaries Undertaking small research projects and analysing qualitative and quantitative data Using MS Office Word (advanced), Excel (basic), PowerPoint (basic) and Outlook (advanced) for

day to day tasks including; recording data, completing assignments and reports andcorresponding with project team members

Using basic HTML for routine website maintenance Writing persuasively for a variety of audiences Presenting research findings to peers and audiences at seminars Communicating in other languages Maori (basic) and Cantonese (intermediate) Managing and prioritising my time and commitments effectively

Education

2004 2008 Victo ria Universi ty of Well ingtonBachelor of Commerce and Administration in Marketing and Public PolicyCurrently taking final year papers in: Strategic Marketing Management; Direct Marketing;Social Marketing; Public Sector Economics

Other relevant papers completed:Maori and the Media (A); International Marketing (B); Buyer Behaviour (B+);Market Research (B); Institutions and the Policy Process (A); Statistics for Social Science (B); AppliedStatistics (B-)A ful l academic transcript is avai lab le on request

2002 2004 St Bedes College, WellingtonNCEA Qualifications and University EntranceNCEA Level 3 in Maths, Statistics, French, ScienceNCEA Level 2 in Maths, Statistics, English, Science, Economics, Geography


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Work Experience

January 2007 - presentEmployer: The Great Outdoors - Equipment and Clothing Role: Retail Assis tant (part-time up to 30 hours a week)

Duties:

Maintaining knowledge of the stores 1400 products in order to provide reliable productinformation

Providing good customer service by understanding individual needs and preferences Processing cash, eftpos and credit sales transactions Maintaining the store environment and assisting other team members during busy times Wrapping and boxing sold items and if required, arranging delivery

February 2005 - December 2006Employer: Scape Gallery, WellingtonRole: Gallery Assistant (volunteer, part-time)

Duties:

Promoting and selling art pieces original paintings, drawings, etchings and sculptures Answering patron queries in person, over the phone and via email Displaying artworks within the gallery and in the gallery window

Achievements

Achieving a B - for Applied Statistics this year I had never studied statistics before Keeping within budget for my education my student loan after 3 years of university is still under

$10,000 the average student loan is over $35,000 Being invited to take Honours in Marketing Completing a marketing plan for a friend who has a small business she has since used it to

secure a government grant of $22,000 for her business

Extracurricular Interests

Have recently enrolled for the Public Sector Knowledge course (State Services Commission) Teaching myself to play the guitar and write songs Playing social hockey weekly Visiting the gym for a work out twice a week

Referees

Chris Church Ken TarberryManager Senior LecturerThe Great Outdoors School of Marketing, Victoria [email protected] Phone 463 0000Phone 463 5393

Note: All information in this CV is fictional and only intended to provide you with brief examples of possible layout

and content. Please do not reproduce sections of this document and present it as your own.
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]

Documents

Preparing a Curriculum Vitae (CV) or Résumé