thank you so much It's very helpful.
On Mon, Jul 12, 2010 at 9:04 AM, Eduardo Costa <[email protected]> wrote: > Take a look here... > > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > > > *CV* stands for *curriculum vitae* - a Latin expression meaning 'life > story'. (In American English it is called a *resume*.) It summarises your > *education*, *achievements* and *job history* for prospective employers > and so it should be carefully prepared. A CV is usually sent with a covering > letter. > > When employers ask for a CV, they're setting you the task of inventing an > 'original' application for the job. This is different from an application > form, which asks all candidates to fill in the same boxes under the same > headings. The CV really is a unique selling document. It's an opportunity to > make yourself stand out. It will be different for every application you > make. > > The decisions about which CV style to use, what to include and omit, what > to emphasise, and how to order the information, are all determined by what > is the best way to sell yourself to an employer who has a specific vacancy. > Your CV is never 'done'. It's constantly revised and rewritten for each new > application. > > In the US, the term 'résumé' is usually used to distinguish this more > marketed document from an academically focused biography, although in the UK > the terms are more interchangeable. > > The way you present information on your CV is relatively flexible and will > depend on what you have to offer. However, it's generally recognised that > all CVs tend to include the following sections. > > > <http://www.prospects.ac.uk/cms/ShowPage/Home_page/Applications__CVs_and_interviews/CVs_and_covering_letters/CV_content/p!eigadcl#top_of_page> > > Personal details > > Keep this section brief - no more than a quarter of a page. Ensure you're > easily contactable at the address given and if necessary include term-time > and home addresses with dates for availability at each. > > Email addresses are useful. Choose one that reflects well upon you - not > for example, as one graduate employer reported: > [email protected]. > > In or out? > > - Date of birth has been a usual but not mandatory feature on CVs. Age > discrimination legislation made this a less legitimate CV requirement from > October 2006. > - Nationality is not mandatory but can be useful, particularly to > clarify your ability to work in a country. International students may wish > to use this section to clarify their work permit status. Although some > international students choose not to include nationality on a CV, some UK > employers do not recruit non-EU nationals who need work permits, and may > even screen out applicants at a later stage of selection if their > nationality was not previously disclosed. > - Marital status, gender and health status are not included unless this > information is specifically and legitimately requested for the post. > > <http://www.prospects.ac.uk/cms/ShowPage/Home_page/Applications__CVs_and_interviews/CVs_and_covering_letters/CV_content/p!eigadcl#top_of_page> > > Personal profile/career objective > > If you use a profile, keep it brief at three or four lines maximum. Use it > to demonstrate your career focus and/or current aims and perhaps evidence of > two or three main strengths and where they were developed. This is a part of > your CV which is likely to change with every application You may want to > tailor the profile to reflect company ethos and values. Avoid generic skills > statements such as 'good communicator, team worker with strong analytical > skills'. Make the personal profile relevant to the vacancy and employer. > > Profiles are optional and this information could alternatively be included > in your covering letter. > Education > > Details about your education are usually stated in reverse chronological > order, with your most recent experiences first, back to your secondary level > education. Include dates, the name of the institution, and town. Full > addresses are not required. Integrate your education and qualifications into > one section. Think about the relevance of the information. Summarise GCSEs > but market your later education more fully and use language that will be > familiar to the employer. Suggestions include a list of relevant modules, > information about projects and dissertations undertaken, average grades to > date or predicted results, and/or skills developed. For example: > > - data analysis, interpreting statistical information and experience > with relevant computer packages; > - teamworking, communication and presentation skills developed during > group projects; > - creativity, initiative and design ability for artistic studies. > > It can be tempting to try to cover up a poor grade by not mentioning it at > all, but there may be ways of limiting the damage on paper. If you're unsure > about how to approach this, consult your careers adviser. > Experience > > All work experience counts, whether paid, voluntary or shadowing. Aim for > reverse chronological order with rough dates to illustrate how long you were > there. Focus on your responsibilities, achievements in the role, and > illustrations of where skills were used or developed. Try to give yourself a > job title and use terminology relevant to the post you're applying for or > that shows commercial awareness. > > You may wish to create a separate section for experience particularly > relevant to the post you're applying for. Typical headers might be: > 'relevant experience', 'technical experience' or 'legal experience'. > Similarly, as you gain more work experience, it may be appropriate to group > some experiences together. > > An example would be: > > Summer 2004: A variety of customer service roles including bar work, > waitressing and telesales. Developed an awareness of customer relationship > management and improved my influencing skills when working with challenging > clients under pressure. > Positions of responsibility, achievements, interests > > These are all relevant sections to include and can be used to demonstrate > that you're motivated to pursue other activities, have an interest in a > relevant career, and take the initiative to develop your involvements and > skills. Again, try to focus on recent achievements and what your > contributions were, what skills you developed and what the outcomes were. > Employers will not necessarily spend time trying to make sense of your > experience. > Referees > > - Two referees are the norm, one academic and one work-related, or a > character referee if allowed. > - Give their phone number and email along with their title and full > contact address. > - Always ask for their permission first and remember to keep them > informed of your career aspirations and achievements to date. > - If a reference from your immediate manager is not possible, consider > using someone else in the company. > - If using an international referee, it's a good idea to confirm with > them that they can provide a fax or email in English. > - If you're running out of space, and referees' details are not > explicitly requested, it's acceptable to state 'References available upon > request'. > > Aim > > Good and appropriate CV layout is critical to show effectively how your > skills match the requirements for a particular post. In the first instance, > the employer is looking at your ingenuity in addressing the challenge of > making the connection between yourself and their job. > Focus > > Your CV layout itself demonstrates motivation and respect for the employer. > The person reading the CV will usually be the person who wrote the job > specification or newspaper advertisement. If your layout is focused on the > information they provided, they will be more likely to shortlist you. The > care you take to target, interpret and prioritise your experiences also > demonstrates effective written communication skills. > Accessibility > > The employer will probably scan rather than read the CV, so it's essential > that the layout makes it easy to navigate. This means a strong internal > logic with headings and consistent use of effects. Make sure you're giving > the reader strong visual signals about how the CV should be read. > To make it look good > > - Ideally the font size of regular text should 11 or 12. Don't be > tempted to cram in more text in a smaller font. You should be able to hold > your CV at arm's length and still read it comfortably. > - Use headings likely to engage the employer such as 'Relevant Skills & > Experience'. > - Better still, use headings taken from the employer's original > advertisement or job specification. > - Avoid large blocks of text that won't be read. > - Split information into individual focused bullet points. > - Start sentences with competency-based words that emphasise the skill, > quality or attribute you're presenting. > - CVs should be two pages maximum, unless you're applying for an > academic research position. > - Use good quality paper. > - Always check spelling and grammar. Ask a careers adviser or third > party to read through the final version. > - In the main, graphics and gimmicks are to be avoided. > - Using tables and charts can make a CV look cluttered and detract from > the information given. > - Overall, try to use a consistent style and format and don't overdo > underlining and capitals. > - Try a different or larger font for headings and use bold for > emphasis. > - For some creative roles, an alternative approach may be appreciated > but keep it original and professional. > > *Covering Letters* > > Your CV should always be accompanied by a covering letter. This gives you > an opportunity to give your CV some context. > > The covering letter is the principal way in which you can demonstrate your > understanding of the employing organisation and how you relate to its > values, ethos and aspirations. While your CV sets out the skills you have > for the post, your covering letter more explicitly presents your motivation > and adaptability. A covering letter should: > > - demonstrate to the employer your interest in and knowledge of the > company; > - highlight particular parts of your CV that are your unique selling > points; > - draw attention to additional information that does not fit easily > into a CV; > - explain any personal circumstances or anomalies in your application. > > Well-written covering letters are also particularly effective for > speculative applications outside a recruitment cycle. > > Style > > - Address your letter to a named person. Especially with speculative > applications, you should phone the company and find out the name of the > person who deals with recruitment. This will ensure that it reaches the > right person. It also gives you a contact name for a follow-up call or > email. > - Think from the employer's perspective rather than your own. Tell them > what you can contribute to the organisation rather than how it can benefit > you. > - Ideally your covering letter should be no more than one page long and > with short and clearly themed paragraphs. > > Content > > The following format provides a useful overview for a letter: > > - Briefly introduce yourself, state what position you're applying for > and where you saw it advertised. For a speculative letter, specify the type > of work you're looking for. > - Explain why you're interested in this type of work, demonstrating an > understanding of what it's likely to involve. > - Explain why you're interested in working for this particular > employer. Demonstrate enthusiasm and evidence of research into such aspects > as their successes, involvements, values or clients. > - Highlight the ways in which you're suitable for this position. > Provide evidence of your key strengths by referring to experience listed on > your CV. Aim to show that your key strengths reflect the requirements of > the > employer and position. > - Take the opportunity, if necessary, to explain any anomalies in your > background, such as any time gaps or any ways in which you don't match the > selection criteria. Perhaps explain how any hurdles you've encountered have > helped you develop in a positive way. > - Indicate availability for interview. > > Disclosure of disability > > You may feel that your health or disability doesn't affect your ability to > do the job for which you're applying, and that the employer won't view you > objectively if the disability is declared. This is your choice. At the same > time, disclosure can be positive when it shows how you've developed skills > in adverse circumstances or have overcome significant obstacles to reach > your current level of achievement. > > Disclosure also improves your access to equal opportunities and training > schemes in place under current legislation. There may be a health and safety > implication, e.g. a requirement for workplace adaptations, which the > employer needs to know from the outset. Failure to disclose the truth on an > application form when asked, or on a medical form, could give rise to > dismissal later on. > > A covering letter may refer to disability in terms such as: > > 'My enthusiasm and determination can be demonstrated by voluntary work. As > a member of the National Diabetic Association, I help to raise funds to > increase awareness. Having diabetes and achieving high academic grades, > working part time throughout my studies and raising large amounts of money > through organising sponsored events, has developed my flexibility and > ability to meet targets and manage my work effectively'. > > -- > "... As of tomorrow, employees will only be able to access the building > using individual security cards. Pictures will be taken next Wednesday and > employees will receive their cards in two weeks..." > > ************************************************ > Fred Dales, Microsoft > ************************************************ > > - > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "ESL Podcast". > To post to this group, send email to: [email protected] or just > reply this message > For invite your friends, visit: > http://groups.google.com/group/eslpodcast/members_invite > Know how help us, visit this FAQ at: > http://groups.google.com/group/eslpodcast/web/frequently-asked-questions -- Mohammadreza Abdollahi -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "ESL Podcast". To post to this group, send email to: [email protected] or just reply this message For invite your friends, visit: http://groups.google.com/group/eslpodcast/members_invite Know how help us, visit this FAQ at: http://groups.google.com/group/eslpodcast/web/frequently-asked-questions
