The Curriculum Vitae and Resume are very important tools in the job search efforts. To this end, the two are interchangeably used and are primarily expected to secure job interviews for the job candidate or applicant. For the sake of this discussion, we will give a brief explanation of what Resume is, but will concentrate more on the CV.
What is a Curriculum Vitae (CV)?
A Curriculum Vitae (CV short for the Latin phrase curriculum vitae, which means “course of life”) is a detailed document highlighting your professional and academic history); a document used to list one’s qualifications and to apply for employment.
On the other hand, a Resume provides a summary of your education, work history, credentials, and other accomplishments and skills”. There are also optional sections, including a resume objective and a career summary statement.
The curriculum vitae is the job candidate’s marketing piece and gives him/ her the opportunity to present him/ herself in good light. It details the education, skills, experiences, and accomplishments of the applicant. The Curriculum Vitae works in much the same way as a resume and provides detailed information about an individual’s educational and work history; it is much more comprehensive than the typical resume and therefore can be much longer.
Suffice to say, the CV communicates the applicant’s selling points, indicating why he/she should be considered for the job under discussion and how he/she intends to deal with the challenges being encountered by the potential employer. As an applicant, one should understand that the potential employer has challenges and that has necessitated the need for recruitment and one must present him or herself as one who would provide the solutions.
When embarking on a job search, there are options open to you on how best to approach the exercise i.e the right way so that your skills and experiences are put in the fore-front. You should understand that CVs are of different types and should know the reason(s) why and how you should prepare it. Every individual’s career history is different and you require a CV that puts your career in a most marketable and attractive position. It is very important also to think of the CV style to adopt when applying for a job as a carefully thought-out, well-crafted, and targeted CV will certainly impress the Recruiter who would in turn invite you for an interview.
Your particular job search and career goals are different and unique also. So, certain factors will play key roles to influence or determine the type of CV style you should adopt like:
-If this is your first job after graduation;
-the stage you are in your career;
-are you continuing in the same career path or whether you are changing your career?
-have you had fairly standard career development or it has been bumpy and less attractive?
-are you targeting a specific job in a certain company or you are searching for a new and challenging job?
-how long since you last updated your CV or do you think that it is out-modelled?
With all these factors combined and questions rightly answered, you would then be able to decide on the type of CV that would most likely provide you the sought-after interview opportunity, preceding landing your dream job.
Also, in your concerted efforts at creating a good CV, carefully review your previous employment(s) if you have worked for long, articulate the challenges you have had, the skills you used and, how you resolved the challenges and the end results in document format. The end result is your accomplishment which might have been achieved as a team or individual and might have been recognised by the organisation. These should be emphasised in your CV and re-echoed at interviews when invited.
It might be a challenge for fresh graduates to state their achievements, but they are to emphasise their academic, athletic, internship and other accomplishments through their CV.
As a recruiter with over 25years experiences, I search and look at CVs. I have enjoyed doing this all the years and seen different shapes, sizes and colours of CVs – some have been commendable and many others not.
Although a perfect CV is a myth, applicants must be careful in preparing their CVs as Recruiters make it a duty to verify information presented sometimes on the course of interview. They critically review and filter CVs of each potential candidate to look out for information that matches the specified job requirements.
Many job applicants have continued to ask: Why is my CV not noticed? I have not been invited for any interview since I graduated 3years ago and I have submitted my CVs in over 20 organisation? Etc etc. If you are struggling with job-hunt and your CV is not securing you job interviews, sometimes it is not bad luck nor caused by people from your village but oftentimes it is a badly crafted CV.
Considering the volume of CVs we look at on the course of selection, we appreciate the quantity quite well, but we value more CVs that are concise and informative as this reduces time expended at interviews. Recruiters may not be willing to WASTE so much time with CVs that are voluminous, verbose and watery – not making any meaning.
Why Learn How to Craft A Good CV?
We learn how to create CV because every individual’s career history is different and your CV should put you ahead in a most marketable and attractive pedestal;
Your job hunt and career goals is another prime factor that should be considered. In light of this, current career path or you are changing your career path. You should be able to sincerely ask yourself if you have had a successful and eventful career or not? And it is intended to target a specific
TYPES OF CVS:
There are numerous types of CVs but we will be focusing on the underlisted types of CVs:
Chronological CV
Functional CV
Combination CV
Targeted CV and
Capabilities CV
Chronological CV remains the most popular type of CV and many refer to it as “FULL CV”. Like the name denotes, it is for professionals who have spent reasonable years in the same industry and are working assiduously and focused on same career path in the same industry. It lists out experiences in chronological order.
Again, a Chronological CV is most suitable when you want to continue in the same career path instead of changing career. It works well when you have progressed steadily up a standard career ladder. For instance, if you started your career as an HR Officer and later became an HR Manager and hope to be an HR Director, this is the appropriate type of CV you require. You may also use this type of CV if you have been in the same company for a long time, having passed through different departments and it is also good if you are applying for your first or second career job – this type of CV may probably be appropriate considering your experiences.
Understanding and knowing how to string together the other types of CVs will be of great advantage as you progress in your career and as you come across different job opportunities. The Chronological CV is most favoured if you think of changing your career dramatically.
Functional CV:
The functional CV is a better choice if you are looking for your first job or you haven’t been involved in different jobs which are not similar or when you are seeking for job opportunity in a new sector/ industry because it emphasises on your skills rather than your experiences. Here you arrange your work experiences according to the requirements as spelt-out by the current job advert by closely linking similar experiences and achievements to the new job you intend to apply for.
Again, it is also good when you are making a fairly major career change. If you have changed jobs frequently or followed a less traditional career path or your career history has not been smooth, the functional CV may be most appropriate.
Functional CV is not dated and emphasises your professional achievements in descending order of importance and maintains other aspects of a CV like Skills, Personal profile etc.
Combination CV:
The combination CV is recommended when you intend to showcase to the Recruiter the stuff that you are made of – your skills, training and experience. This type of CV positions your skill and experiences to meet the prospective job(s) you are applying for. It mixes the chronological and functional CVs.
Even when you have not had experiences in that role or similar role, using the combination CV could be your best bet as you can use your profile, qualifications as per education, trainings to convince the Recruiter that you are the right person for the job.
For fresh graduates without professional experiences, the length of your CV should not be more two (2) pages and whatever that you have got to write, should be contained therein.
Targeted CV.
This type of CV is advisable to be used when you are certain about your job direction and when you want to make an impressive case for a certain job. It may be difficult writing this type of customised CV especially when you are applying for several job vacancies; but it could make you and your abilities standout from the crowd.
Capabilities CV:
When you are aiming at a specific job or appointment within your current employment environment, the capabilities CV is the best to use.
Always remember to create time to customise your CV for situations. This is not to say that you need to create all these types of CVs for yourself. The fact is that when you have created a type of CV for yourself with a standard format (chronological or functional) and opportunity comes up for which one of the other customised CV (targeted or capabilities CV) is a better option.
What is a Job Search Objective?
Some years back, the job search objective was a must-have in all CVs. The job search objective is a “short paragraph at the top of your CV explaining exactly the type of job you are looking for”. This is useful if you are writing to someone speculatively; it is not always appropriate to include it. If you have to add it to your CV, it should be concise, direct and in all senses honest. E.g. “Seeking for job in the banking sector” as such will not do you any good. An improved version could be:
An experienced banking professional with over 10years hands-on experiences is seeking for opportunity to make full use of an in-dept background as a Banking Officer, Customer Relationship Manager and Operations Manager. I am looking for a challenging Regional Manager position that will afford me the opportunity to use and expand my business acumen and international experience in the banking industry.
What are the features of a good CV?
Size: Some job applicants think that the volume/ weight of the CV determines the possibility of invitation or secures you a job interview. This is not totally true. I have seen a 53-page CV and personally took time out time to go through it. Seems unimaginable?! It was full of repetitions.
Prospective employers or Recruiters may not be willing to spend their precious time, going through this type of CV nor would be interested in taking it home to study. CVs should be between 3-5 pages with meaningful and relevant information.
Font: The layout should be nice and legible – Arial, Calibri, and size between 10-12 would be okay. Some job applicants chose to prepare their CVs in BOLD letters all through. This is really not acceptable. I personally appreciate job applicants who foreground important information in their CVs for emphasis or aesthetics.
Emphasize your skill matrix in your CV, so that your prospective employer could see it at a glance. Avoid the temptation of listing all the software you have read about in the newspapers, magazines, online or heard about as part of those you are well versed in. Only list those that you have used, relevant to the job on offer, and are conversant with.
Mini-format: One of the most annoying things of all time, don’t put buzz words into the footer of your CV in font size 0.5 so that it gets indexed by the bots on the Monster or job site engines. It’s certainly not big, and really isn’t clever as you end up with recruiters scratching their heads as to why they are looking at your CV all the time, and in the end they’ll just stop clicking on it in searches!
Format: Ensure that your CV looks nice, and that the fonts are of the same size.
I must WARN sternly here those in the habit of changing information in their CVs sent to every job position advertised, you must have a rethink. Most of these changes are effected on age and work experience. You are strongly advised to have only one honest CV in your job search efforts. This limits the incidence of multiple CV circulation and misinformation.
Again, some job applicants have more than three birth dates! Birth date cost a cousin a job opportunity at the defunct Fortune Bank Plc. He had more than two birth dates. Luckily for him, he had passed the preliminary tests and secured second round of interview. At the final stage where he met with the Managing Director of the bank, he did well but failed in just one question: when were you born and how old are you? He looked up and down for an answer and said he was born on September 10, 1975 as against September 10, 1972 the real date. He rued the miss for a very long time. The first birth date is not the true one while he used the second one (the one I call the edited version) because the bank specified in their job advert that candidates must not be more than 25years of age as at the time of application.
If these guidelines are religiously followed, you soon be invited for an interview and will hit your dream job.
Contributed by Agolo Eugene Uzorka, CEO/ Lead Consultant, Eugene + George Consulting Limited
