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The Curriculum Vitae (CV)

 

Introduction

A résumé (brief, one to two pages) or curriculum vitae or CV (longer and more detailed, two to eight pages, often requested in Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and Asia) is a summary of your abilities, education, experience, qualifications and skills. It is a critical tool in evaluating each potential candidate's match with the requirements of a position. In addition to education and academic qualifications, CVs also include doctoral thesis details, publications, professional associations, presentations, awards, honours and accreditations.

The P-11 form is the UN equivalent of the CV. Your CV should be tailored to the position you are applying for and aim to attract attention, create interest and provoke a reaction: an invitation to be interviewed.

As previously explained under the "Vacancy Announcement" section, often, employers and Personnel Officers spend only a few minutes (or less) reviewing a CV, searching for keywords and phrases. To get someone to look at your CV longer, it has to be appealing in its visual presentation and perfect in the quality of the writing. The more thoroughly you prepare your CV, the more likely someone is to read it.

It is in your interest to provide a 'zero-mistake' CV. The assumption is that if you make a mistake on your own CV, a very important tool for your own interest, you will probably make mistakes on the job as well. Since your CV should be flawless, proofread it and review it several times. Then have someone with good language skills do so as well.

Your CV is a quick summary of what you have done with just enough details to let the readers know the depth of your skills. You should find out which skills the employer seeks by closely analysing the vacancy announcement and showcasing them in your CV. They will find out the rest in an interview. Less is more. If you drown the readers in words and details, you might not get to the interview.


Anatomy of a CV

Contact Information

Lead the document with your contact information: full name, address(es), phone number(s), including country code, area code, and extension(s), email address(es), UN and non-UN, and URL, if any (especially if this is relevant for the position). The objective is to be reachable, so the contact information will have to be updated as necessary.

Content

It depends on your experience and objective. Use headings to highlight the main topics. The order of the topics is based on experience. For example, students and recent graduates should highlight their studies by putting Education first and include relevant courses. Experienced workers should begin with Experience.

Education

Usually means post-secondary and can include special seminars, summer school, night school, e-learning and certification courses, as well as college and university.

When presenting the information, split the education in two, differentiating university or college degrees from complementary courses or training.

Use reverse chronological order. Begin with the most recent learning experience and work backwards. List degrees, dates (month and year obtained or expected), institution names and locations and major or academic concentration and dissertation, if any. A brief summary of the most important courses you have taken might be helpful.

Professional / Work Experience

Consider dividing your experience into subtopics such as research experience, training, organization / coordination, counselling, etc. Include: full-time paid jobs, academic research projects, internships (state if paid or unpaid), part-time jobs and volunteer work. List name and location of employers, job titles, dates, scope of responsibility and results or outcomes of your work.

Briefly give the employer an overview of the work that has taught you skills. Use Action words to describe your job duties. Use the active voice with simple, present tense for current assignments (mobilise, ensure, manage) and simple, past tense for previous positions (accomplished, improved, supervised).

Awards and Honours

List academic awards, scholarships or fellowships, e.g.

  • Dean's List, 2005, Cum Laude, Columbia University, New York;

  • Erasmus Mundus Scholarship, 1998;

  • World Bank Robert McNamara Fellowship Program, 2000.

List professional memberships, e.g.

  • Charterholder Member, Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Institute;

  • Member, New Zealand Society of Civil Engineers;

  • Fellow Member, Chartered Institute for Personnel Development (UK).

Awards, honours or recognition. Name the awards, issuing organizations and dates, e.g.

  • Recipient, Her Majesty's Golden Jubilee Medal, British Columbia, Canada, 2005;

  • Manager of the Year, Group on Equal Rights for Women in the United Nations [GERWUN], Department of Management, June 2005.

Community Service

Demonstrate your leadership skills and care for others through participating in community activities. List academic, professional or community organizations, in which you hold office or are currently a member, e.g.

  • Treasurer, United Nations Gay, Lesbian or Bisexual Employees (UNGLOBE);

  • Member, Rotary International, Sao Paulo Chapter.

List professional and community activities, including volunteer work, e.g.

  • Construction Manager (Volunteer), Global Crossroad's Tsunami Reconstruction Project, Dadalla, Sri Lanka (October 2005).

  • Fundraiser (Volunteer), Washington Free Clinic, Washington, DC.

Generally, hobbies or travel are listed only if they relate to your job interests.

Languages

Include foreign languages (especially if it is related to your job interest) that you would feel comfortable demonstrating in an interview. You may want to indicate your proficiency level, where or how you learnt it and how often you use it.

Computer skills

List your computer skills (especially if related to your job interest), stating proficiency level.

References

Do not include your reference information on your CV. Instead, prepare a separate list of references, with complete name, title, company name, address (postal and e-mail) and telephone numbers for each individual. Be sure to ask for agreement before you put a person's name as reference.


Writing a Good CV

Get Prepared

Before starting to write, take time to make a self-assessment on paper. Outline your skills and abilities as well as your work experience and extracurricular activities.

Remember that writing your CV is a process. The CV is not 'done' until you have retired and stopped volunteering. To minimize the burden of job searching, keep it updated with every job or job function change. When applying for a job, one size does not fit all; you will want to carefully check the vacancy announcement for keywords, etc. and make any necessary adjustments. Also, ensure that your accompanying cover letter is well crafted and perfect.

Draft Your CV

  • Highlight qualities that set you apart. They might be used as a Headline.


  • You may consider 'selling' yourself with a strong but short career objective: think about the specific value you offer the employer and state it concisely in your career objective. A good objective might look like this: 'Accomplished and talented elections expert seeking to leverage extensive background in elections planning and operations and transitional democracy into a senior role in an NGO. Extremely motivated for a career change and eager to contribute to an organization's elections planning division'.


  • Use words wisely: use minimum words to provide maximum information and avoid repeats.


  • Use numbers to your advantage: numbers and concrete examples can validate your achievements. Quantitative data is easier to remember; use it instead of just listing your skills to make your case. Include the number and kind of people you were responsible for or indicate timeframes, e.g.
    • Project scheduled for four months completed in three;


    • USD 3 million mobilized from the European Commission for a local governance programme;


    • Preparation and roll-out of streamlined process for programme implementation support, resulting in a 20% increased programme delivery in 2005.
  • Concentrate on key words and use them to emphasize your achievements. Key words vary from one sector to another and must be carefully and appropriately used in your CV (as well as your cover letter).


  • Keep your paragraphs brief. Two different formats may describe your experience:
    • Functional: emphasize skills and talents, cluster your experience under headings that highlight your competencies and skills, e.g. leadership, communication, research, etc. Best for those with little relevant job experience;


    • Chronological: emphasize work experience, beginning with the most recent.
  • Focus on outcomes and find out what aspects of your education, experience or skills will be most attractive to your potential employer. List coursework, area(s) of specialty, specific skills or knowledge that would be of interest.


  • Highlight the details in your education, experience, skills and activities that demonstrate your capabilities and match an employer's needs in key areas.


  • Showcase your role: Did you work on your own? As part of a team? In a supervisory position? As a team leader? Remember, timeframes count, so be sure to address these questions: What were the dates or length of time you worked on a project or job? Did you work full-time or part-time? If part-time, what percentage of time did you spend on that work?


  • The best way to present your experience is to use examples. Consider word choice carefully. Choose adjectives and nouns that describe you positively and accurately, e.g. able to, analytical, bilingual, capable, competent, effective, efficient, experienced, flexible, fluent, handle stress, motivated, reliable, responsible or work well with.

    • Evaluate your Résumé / CV

    Hold your résumé / CV at arm's length and see how it looks. Ask yourself questions like:

  • Is the page too busy with different fonts (Courier, Times New Roman, Arial), type styles (bold, italics, etc.), sizes (10, 11, 12), borders, lines, bullets or boxes?


  • Is the information spaced well, i.e. not crowed on the page? Margins should be 2.5cm / 1 inch.


  • Is there too much white space? Is it too text rich?


  • Is important information easy to find?


  • Does every word count or add value? (If not, delete it).


  • How would your eyes feel if you had to read it many times?

    • When you have reviewed your CV, have it proofread and reviewed by someone else. The more people see it, the more likely that misspelled or unnecessary words and awkward phrases will be corrected or removed.

    For more information visit:

    www.jobweb.com

    www.usajobs.com

    www.cvtips.com