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LESSON III
WRITING AN IMPRESSIVE CURRICULUM VITAE

Curriculum Vitae, or CV for a short, is called resume [rzz my], bio data, or datasheet.
Curriculum vitae or resume is a summary of somebodys educational and work experience,
for the information of possible future employers. Written before your application letter, the
resume provides a clear, concise, and factual summary of your background and
qualifications. An effective resume will influence a prospective employer to interview you.
While CVs are an expression of the individual and will vary from one individual to the next,.
Broadly, the CV should be clear and concise and should "sell" the candidate in a positive but
truthful manner.

Structuring a CV
There is no particular way of writing a CV that can be noted to ensure that the CV has the
best chance of being seen. As long as the essential information is there, it is up to you. How
you design and create it says something about you and reflects your character. There are
two most popular ways of organizing a CV; a conventional chronological CV and skill based
CV.

Chronological CV Skill Based CV
Write your name in large letter Write your name in large letter
Contact details (address, telephone number,
email address, and so on)
Contact details (address, telephone number,
email address, and so on)

Education section (outlining main academic
qualification-university name, degree, and
graduation date)
It is also possible to include coursework that
is relevant to the job, academic honors or
reward
Personal statement/career profile (it is just a
couple of sentences that summarize your
value to the employer. it is not a bad idea to
write one even if you decide not to use it, as
just writing one will help you decide how
you want to present yourself and what you
want out of your career.
Work experience (starting with the most
recent- with date, duties, and the key skills
you gained in each position)
List of key skills (decide what transferable
skills that the employer is looking for, and
then break these down into similar groups
and provide evidence that youve got these
skills.
Activities and interests section (focus on the
skill relevant for the job that activities and
interests help you to develop)
Work experience details
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Additional skills such as languages,
computer skills, and so on (just include the
things that are relevant for the job)
Education and professional qualification
Reference Interests
Reference

Below are the examples of conventional chronological CV and skill based CV. Complete
the CV using the past form of the verbs in the box.
achieve complete coordinate develop Hold
organize persuade represent research work






























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Adaptability or resourcefulness Communication and teamwork
Energy and motivation Research and computer skills






































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Avoiding common CV mistakes
There are at least five mistakes that people commonly make when writing a CV.
1. Sending the same CV for all the jobs they apply to.
2. Making spelling mistakes.
3. Including information that are not relevant.
4. Providing too much information so that the CV is too long (more than two pages).
5. Using a bad layout or design; including lies.

Activity 1
The information above mentions the important of correct spelling. Look at the following
extract from CV. Identify and correct the spelling mistakes (the number of mistakes is
given in the brackets) and use a dictionary to help you.
1. In my prevous job I was responsable for dealling with my bosses correspondance,
passing on their telephone massages, and arrangeing apointments with visitors. (7)
2. Apart form the academic beneffits, the experiance off studing abrod enabled me to
practice my foriegn language skills and develope my strenghts in non academic areas.
(10)
3. During my time as an assitent in the personal department, my main acheivement was
when I lead a project witch focused on improveing strategy busines planing. (9)


Creating a strong first impression
Writing a personal statement
A personal statement is a brief statement of the type of person you are, your skills and your
achievements. It always comes near the top of the CV before the main body, and presents
the facts in the most positive way. A well written personal statement will immediately
capture the attention of the employer and make them want to find out more about you.





Read a personal statement from skill based CV above and find words/phrases which
demonstrate the following points.
1. Education ____________________________________________________________________________
2. Character ____________________________________________________________________________
3. Knowledge ___________________________________________________________________________
4. Experience ___________________________________________________________________________
5. Success ______________________________________________________________________________
Well-organized, highly motivated communications strategy adviser. Geography graduate
with recent professional experience developing communication strategy for positive
change. Currently completing Masters in Development Studies with specific focus on
sustainability. Fluent spoken and written English. Self motivated, resourceful and able to
motivate others, with excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
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Each sentence in a personal statement above has a different main function. Write the
sentences next to the questions.
1. What sort of person he is? Self motivated, resourceful and able to motivate others, with excellent
communication and interpersonal skill.
2. What is his personal expertise? _______________________________________________________
3. What is his most important qualification? _____________________________________________
4. What is his most relevant skill for the job? ____________________________________________
5. What is he doing at the moment? _____________________________________________________

Complete the following personal statements using the phrases in the box.
confidently and effectively
proven ability
well-organized experience in
full time professional

1.

Professional, _______________________ individual. Communicates
_________________________ at all levels, demonstrates initiative and confidentially both
independently and within a team environment.
2. Enthusiastic PA with three years _____________________ experience. Excellent written
and oral communication skills have enabled me to establish a strong network of
professional contacts in your area. _________________ to meet deadlines and prioritize
whilst maintaining consistently high standards. Substantial ___________________
organizing meetings and conferences gained whilst providing PA and secretarial service
to main board director.

You can create impressive sentences for your personal statement by choosing a word or
phrase from each column in the following table. Complete the table using the words in
the box. In pairs, try and add more words and phrases to each column.
ability to

broad
professional
consistently high
team leader

enthusiastic
motivator
interest in

Modifier Adjective 1 Sort of person
with
Adjective 2 Experience/skills
Extremely
Highly
creative accounts
manager
______________ ______________
customer
oriented
English speaker ______________ communication
skill
______________ ______________ deep experience in
experienced recent graduate excellent ______________
______________ sales
professional
extensive knowledge of
resourceful self-starter proven range of
transferable skills
result focused ______________ recent skills in

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Find an advertisement for a job you would like to apply for. Make a list of the key points
that the employer is looking for. Plan your personal statement with those key points in
mind.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________

Identifying your key skills
Key skills may form the body of your CV (in a skill based CV) or they may be demonstrated
throughout (in a conventional chronological CV).

Look at the following list of transferable skills. In pairs, discuss how you could
demonstrate these skills in your CV.
Communication skills (written and oral)
Foreign language skills
Intellectual skills (e.g. critical, analytical, and problem solving)
Interpersonal skills (e.g. working with or motivating others, flexibility)
IT skills
Numeracy skills (e.g. statistical skills, data handling)
Organizational skills (e.g. working independently, meeting deadlines)
Research skills

Look at the following extract from a skill based CV. What kind of words are missing?
entire excellent fully in depth international
substantial Successful (3x) successfully top wide

1. I assisted in organizing and managing 12 ___________________ events.
2. In September 2007 I __________________ completed an eight-person expedition to Austral
Andes in Argentina.
3. Three months of training and fundraising preparation resulted in the __________________
crossing of the remote central part of the Southern Patagonian ice cap.
4. I devised a number of sporting tournaments for the summer school students and
motivated the children and the staff to get ______________ involved, culminating in an
____________________ volleyball competition.
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5. I handled a ___________ variety of tasks and projects throughout the six-month project.
6. The ____________ approach was adopted by the ___________ team across the country.
7. I researched _________________ international universities for my degree courses.
8. I am currently completing _________________ research on reforestation techniques.
9. Research for my dissertation includes _________________ use of the internet.
10. I have an ________________ command of Microsoft Office Suite.

Highlighting your work experience
This is the section the CV where you highlight your professional achievements which are
directly relevant to the position you are applying for. As well as highlighting period of full-
and part-time employment, the work experience section may also include professional
training, voluntary work, and any extended periods in which your life focused on a
particular activity (e.g. travelling abroad).

Study the layout of work experience section of a CV.
Chronological CV With this approach, your work experience is listed in chronological
order, starting with your most recent job. Your main achievements and
skills are tied to a specified job, at a specified time, in a specified place.
Skill-based CV With this approach your relevant achievements are listed separately
under skills headings at the top of the CV. The names, dates and
locations of your work experience are listed towards the bottom of your
CV.

When you give information about past work experience and achievements in a CV, use verbs
in the past simple without a personal pronoun (e.g. chaired weekly meeting NOT I chaired
weekly team meeting). Look at the following list of action verbs commonly associated with
professional experience.







Select five verbs and write sentences suitable for CV that are true for you.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
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__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Rewrite the following sentences using the verbs in brackets. Leave out any information
that is implied by the verb itself or is simply irrelevant.
1. There were five employees in my team. I was their boss and it was my job to keep an eye
on them and help them when they needed my support. (managed)
______________________________________________________________________________________
2. I enrolled on and successfully finished a financial management course in order to
improve my knowledge in this area. (completed)
______________________________________________________________________________________
3. When I arrived, the company website was only in Polish. As well as Polish, my mother
tongue, I also speak English, German, and French, and so I decided to write the website
information in English, German, and French. (translated)
______________________________________________________________________________________
4. The companys database system had a problem, which I found. Afterwards I talked to
my boss about a different way of doing things, which would solve the problem.
(identified/recommended)
______________________________________________________________________________________
5. While I was working at the hotel I noticed that there were some ways in which the
customer feedback system wasnt working effectively. Therefore I developed a new
system and put this in place. A result of this was that customer satisfaction levels
increased by 20%. (designed/implemented)
______________________________________________________________________________________
Think of a job you would like to apply for and write the work experience section of your
CV. Use words and phrases from this section to help you. Demonstrate only the skills and
experience required for the position.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
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Detailing your education and qualifications
If your education and qualifications are your strongest selling point, then youll want to put
this information close to the top of your CV. This is especially true if you are recent
graduate, obtained excellent academic results or have gained a professional qualification
which is a prerequisite for the job you are applying for.

Read the article about how to write about your education in your CV and answer the
following questions.
1. Why should recent graduates put the education section near the top of their CV?
2. What term does the author use to mean just the main pieces of information, nothing
more?
3. Under what two circumstances would you include youre A-level result in a CV?
4. What qualification should you mention first?
5. What should you do if youre searching for employment in the IT field?












Discuss the following questions.
1. What are the equivalent qualifications from the article above in your own country?
2. Would the advice in the text be relevant if you were applying for a job in your country?
Study the extract from the education section of a CV.




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Will you need to explain any of your qualifications? How?
What other details has the writer included in this section?
What else could you include in the education section of your CV?
Think of a job you would like to apply for and write the education section of your CV.
Use the examples above to help you.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________

Demonstrating your interest
The things you like doing in your free time say a lot about you as a person, and your
personality is relevant to every job application.

Match the skills and personal characteristics in the box to the interests.
intercultural
awareness
creativity self-motivation intelligence analytical skill
interpersonal skills language skills leadership skills resourcefulness determination

1. Team sport (football, volleyball, etc.) _______________________ __________________________
2. Individual competitive sports (cycling, climbing, etc.) _______________ ___________________
3. Travelling (backpacking, expeditions, etc.) ____________________ ________________________
4. Mind sports/activities (chess, Sudoku, etc.) ____________________ _______________________
5. Artistic interests (painting, photography, etc.) __________________ ______________________

It can be more effective to present your interest in terms of who you are, instead of what
you like doing, using adjectives and nouns to describe yourself.






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Write the interests section of a CV for the following topics. Use the adjective and noun
combinations, the phrases in the box and your own ideas.
Active member of
Particularly interested in
Currently attending
Recently completed
Excellent working knowledge of
Responsibilities included

1.

Reading

Avid reading: Economist subscription. Particularly interested in
reading about recent developments in science and technology.
2. Walking
3. Photography
4. University Social
Coordinator

5. Mountain climber

Think of a job you would like to apply for and write the interests section of your CV.
Highlight the skills that are relevant for the job.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________

Providing references
References provide further evidence to potential future employers that you are who you say
you are, and that you have done what you claim to have done for previous employers. It is
highly likely that your referees will be contacted if you are shortlisted. So it is essential to
select them carefully.

Study the following questions and answers about references.

1. Why are references important?
References provide confidential information about your character, skills, and experience.
A positive recommendation will greatly support your application.

2. How many references do you need? Who should you choose?
Usually two an academic one and either an employer or a personal/character referee.
They should be of professional standing so that they can comment on your suitability for
the job. Do not use a relative; a family friend is OK. Always ask permission before using
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someone as a reference. Provide them with a copy of your CV and indication of the jobs
you are applying for. Let them know how you got on, and thank them afterwards.

3. When is a referee no longer useful?
When they dont remember who you are or become uncontactable.

4. What happens if you dont get on with the most obvious choices for your referees?
Choose another who will represent you in the best light.

5. Is it Ok to use someone you know well who works for organization where you are
applying for a job?
Yes, but they may feel uncomfortable, so be sensitive. They are putting their reputation on
the line

6. Do you have to give your current employer?
It is normal to ask for your current employer not to be contacted yet. Offer another
referee. Ask to be alerted before your employer is contacted.

7. How can you find out what a reference says about you?
You cant easily thats the point of a confidential reference. If you suspect a poor
reference is causing you problems, try changing your referee.

Think of a specific job you would like to apply for and using the models presented in this
unit, write your CV. Remember only to highlight only your skills and experiences that are
relevant for your job.

In pairs, evaluate each others CVs. Think about the following questions.
Is the English natural and accurate?
Does everything make sense? Do you get a good idea of your partners life by reading
their CV?
Is the language impressive or persuasive? If not, how can you improve it?
Is the layout attractive and logical? If not, how can you improve it?
Does you partners CV demonstrate a wide range of transferable skills? If not, where
could you add more proof?
Does you partners CV demonstrate that your partner is suitable for the job they
want? If not, why not?
Is the CV too long? If so, which words/sentences/sections would you delete or edit?

When you are happy with the feedback you have received, rewrite your CV. Repeat the
process until your CV is perfect.