Before you even start with your CV, prepare the following information:
- Dates
Note the dates of your school and work attendance. Usually months and years
are enough to specify when you worked where and when you studied. Find out
your expected dates of graduation if you are currently studying and review your
academic results so that you may state your GPA or other performance metric.
- Names of Academic Programs and Job Positions
The exact names of your academic programs, majors and focus are important for your
résumé, especially if you are fresh out of school. The same applies to your
work positions. Whereas you may not actually use the exact wording or specification
in your CV, you must know what you have been doing.
- Certifications, Special Skills, Experience and Qualifications
Tip: Always be aware to whom you are presenting yourself and which
qualities they might look for in you. Make a good impression and don't waste
words and space. Spend at least an hour reviewing every copy of your résumé
before you send it out to each new addressee.
List out all your strong points and mention everything that might set you apart
from the crowd. Have you received exclusive training or solved an important
problem? Have you participated in a unique project or developed a unique product?
Have you passed expert exams in your field?
Make a list of all the good things you have experienced so that you can highlight
the best special qualifications for your next job or university.
- Languages and Hobbies
Knowing foreign languages is an important skill in this world. Make sure you
clarify which languages you are comfortable with and learn a new one before you
get accepted. Languages are good.
If you have space in your CV by any chance, mention your favorite pastimes, interesting
hobbies or volunteer work. If the skills you practice in free time are potentially
applicable to your job, you may get a bonus point right there.
- Your Contact Information
Tip: Personal information requirements vary from country to country.
European "standard" or templated résumés outline space for your year of
birth and other questionable data. You may decide to omit this information
from your CV and the employers should respect your decision. It is good practice
to limit the amount of sensitive data which may inadvertently discriminate you in
the eyes of the addressee.
The most important part to a CV is your contact information. Should you be
picked for a job or accepted to a school you must make it easy for the organization
to let you know about this. You will state a permanent, non-changing address
on your CV and add a telephone number as well as an email contact.
In most cases, you will not need to share your personal information
(such as marital status, age or birthday, sex, religious or political preferences,
and the like) or picture. If you feel like these may be important to the adressee
of your CV, make sure sharing this information is necessary and legal. Your
age, gender or appearance should simply not matter in most cases.
Be smart about your secrecy though. Make sure that your birth date is indicated
or hinted on a CV that you are sending to competitions or universities which have
age limits. Also, find out whether there is a legal reason for you to include
certain pieces of information. Do not lie in your résumé under any
circumstances. And please do include a picture if you are an actor or a model.
Are you not sure which hobbies to include or how to call your job position?
This is where we come in. We will happily review your wording, order of information,
and the overall presentation and give you objective suggestions for improvement.
Contact us with your CV details!
Attach a file with your draft or with as much relevant information as you can think
of. Don't forget to include links to the websites of your schools and the
website of your addressee if applicable.