Writing a standard curriculum vitae is perhaps the most desirable achievement of every fresh graduate the very moment they complete their final examination prior to graduation. The importance of knowing how to write a quality Curriculum vitae CV, which is capable of obtaining that dream job for you can not be overemphasized. This is because your curriculum vitae CV is what represents you and makes first impressions about you before your prospective employers or job interviewers, even before they get to meet you in person.
Although there are more CVs circulating in the world today than perhaps all human population put together, unfortunately only but a few know how to write a standard CV that stands out in job interviews and job employment selections.
Interestingly, this post will show you what makes a standard CV and how to write a quality CV that wins you that dream job.. But before we begin to expose the secrets of a winning CV, recall that we taught you of the great importance of maintaining a permanent phone contact, email address etc, as an easy way to get a job after graduation. Ok, let us begin...
FEATURES OF A STANDARD CURRICULUM VITAE (CV)
Presentation
The general outlook of a quality curriculum vitae CV must present a definite pattern, design or arrangement. All the sections must appear in same format. It is recommended that for clarity and ease of reading, the font size should be between 10 - 14. The font style should be either of the common official letters such as the Times New Roman, Ariel, Calibri etc. Do not forget that the recommended line spacing for your winning CV write up should be between 1 and 1.5 using the Microsoft Word.
Now that we are satisfied with how the general outlook of a standard CV should appear, below are the sections that make up a standard curriculum vitae CV;
Basic Identification / Contact Info
Your Personal Career Objectives
Your Personal Bio-data
Skills
Training
Award and Honors
Affiliations / Membership
Education / Core Courses
Professional Qualifications
Extra-curricular / Leadership Positions
Employment History / Work Experience
Dissertations / Thesis / Publications
Any Other Information
References
For greater understanding of what each section of the standard curriculum vitae should contain, we shall analyse them one after another.
- Your Basic Identification / Contact Info
This is the first section that one sees in every winning curriculum vitae. It begins with the Name, written in a bigger and bolder format. It is important to note that your full names should be the most pronounced information on your standard CV. The names are written with the surname first, separated by a coma (,), then followed by first name and any other name one may have.
For instance... Dangote, Aliko
From the name above, you could see that the surname "Dangote" is separated by a coma (,), followed by the first name "Aliko".
Just below the big and bold Names lies the contact address, phone number(s), email address and advisably at least one professional social media link such as LinkedIn.
- Your Personal Career Objectives
In a winning CV, this section comes next after the Header section. Your "career objectives" defines in brief your vision, mission and how you intend to contribute to the success story of which ever organisation that employs you.
The secret here is that when submitting your CV to a particular company or organisation, try to find out some facts about the firm, their motive, passion and philosophy. Ask yourself, "what kind of employee would this company desire to have? if you can answer that question satisfactorily, it would help you to construct a unique "Career Objective" for the particular CV which you would submit to that organisation.
- Your Personal Bio-data
This is where your local government area of origin comes, nationality, age, gender, marital status, language(s) etc are contained. It enables your employer or job interview panelists to know you in further details.
- Skills
Begin now to unfold the package starting from any type of skills you may have. Again, remember that the skills which makes your CV attractive to a particular employer must be those skills relevant to what your employing organisation. that is why you must spend time and resources developing your skills. Examples here may include communication skills, team player stuff, ability to work under minimal or no supervision, computer literacy skills, etc.
- Training
Are there training sessions attended in the past? It does not matter if they were certified or not, as long as you are proficient in those trained areas, kindly add those information to your CV. Here, you begin from the most recent to the least recent. All training sessions are welcome - formal and informal.
- Awards and Honors
Some organisations or job interview panelists may engage you because of one or two awards which give you edge over your contemporaries. You may have obtained awards from an academic institution, religious bodies, social outfits, professional bodies, government etc, they are all relevant in this section of your standard CV.
- Affiliations / Membership
Professional body affiliation or membership or fellowship is one major career booster that employers or job interview panelists do not neglect. Recall that in my previous posts, I highlighted the need for membership of professional bodies as a career booster. This gives you advantage over other job seekers. It tells your interviewers or employer that you are the first among equals. You have got something more professional to offer than just a certificate degree. Begin from the most recent to the least recent.
- Education / Core Courses
You must begin from the highest and the most recent qualifications obtained. Start with the name of the institution, qualification obtained, date.
- Professional Qualifications
Professional Qualification is markedly different from Affiliation and membership. Professional qualifications talk about the different certifications you bagged from different professional bodies in the course of your career advancements with them. They are very important in ascertaining your area of managerial and skilled com,competencies at a professional level.
- Extra-curricular / Leadership Positions
If you have been a leader in any organisation or taken part in any form of leadership setting, bring it in. Be it a social group, religious entity, NGO, private or whatever form of engagement you had been actively engaged with and got some experiences, show it off. You have got the right to add color to your personality.
- Employment History / Work Experience
Your employment history must begin with the most recent to the very first. The name of the organization, address, position held and date are some key information which must be provided.
- Dissertations / Thesis / Publications
Have you written any thesis or publication in the course of your career advancement, bring it to bear. The reasons are obvious. It helps to reveal your research capabilities as well as your level of exposure.
- Any Other Information
Think and think....could there be any other aspect of my career progression that I am missing out? If none, no problem., You have already got yourself a standard and winning curriculum vitae CV. But before you hand up, please provide your references.
- References
Three (3) referees have been advocated for a professional standard curriculum vitae and I do not object to that. However, it is mostly advised that your referees must be one each from the major places you had your largest career growth - your first degree (university or higher institution lecturer), your former workplace, and any other renown personality in government or a religious leader or a credible community leader. You may however field in a senior member of any professional body which you belong to.
I believe by now you may have understood the different sections of a standard CV and you are ready to write one for yourself. It is very important to note that when printing your CV from the computer, it is more advantageous to use a super quality paper which would invariably stand out from a crowded pack of other CVs looking for that same job with you.
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