| A CV (from the Latin Curriculum Vitae) - 'Resume' for | | | | means that on most occasions your employment |
| our American friends has only ONE purpose. It aims | | | | history should be before your educational |
| to win you an interview. Once you're at the | | | | qualifications on your CV. |
| interview, the interviewer may use the CV as a basis | | | | Often people make the mistake of emphasising what |
| for discussion, but it won't determine whether or not | | | | they're proud of rather than emphasising what's more |
| you'll get the job. With this in mind, what are the | | | | likely to be the most important thing to your |
| most important aspects of a CV? | | | | prospective employer. Try your best to view things |
| 1) Don't make your CV too long | | | | from a neutral perspective and highlight your skill set |
| Two pages length is perfect. There are some | | | | that relates to the job description of the position |
| exceptions - some employers from countries such as | | | | you're applying for. |
| South Africa prefer as much information as possible, | | | | 3) Personalise your CV for every job application |
| but on the whole, anything more than three pages | | | | If you have your CV saved on you computer, it |
| may have a negative impact on your interview | | | | doesn't take too long to optimise its relevancy for |
| chances. | | | | your potential future employer. Once you've viewed |
| Think of yourself as being the one having to | | | | the company's website and read the job advert you'll |
| discriminate between over 100 different CV's for the | | | | be able to determine whether or not there are |
| one job role. Would you really be interested to read | | | | aspects of your previous experience that don't |
| everything about somebody's previous employment | | | | presently feature on your CV. |
| or simply have them summarise 5 bullet points of the | | | | Simply delete the bullet points in your previous work |
| job that indicate the experience most pertinent to | | | | experience that are less pertinent to this job |
| the applied position? | | | | application and replace them with bullet points that |
| Often, someone will make a decision on whether or | | | | are more pertinent. Remember to use similar |
| not to see someone for interview after viewing a | | | | phraseology and wording that appear in the |
| CV for less than thirty seconds. If your most | | | | company's literature in order to highlight your specific |
| relevant industry experience is hidden away on the | | | | relevance to the position. |
| 4th page of your CV, you're hampering your chances | | | | The second part of this article will focus on the |
| of getting invited to that all-important interview. | | | | content for your CV including Personal Details, |
| 2) Make sure your CV is in the right order | | | | Personal Profile, Employment Experience, Educational |
| On most occasions your employment history is more | | | | Qualifications, Additional Training and Personal |
| important than your educational qualifications. This | | | | Interests. |