What should be included in a CV ( Curriculum Vieta)

What is a CV?

A curriculum vitae (CV) is a document that provides a comprehensive description of your academic achievements, professional experience and skills. A CV also highlights your awards, honors, research interests, publications, fellowships, speaking engagements and grants.

In the United States and Canada, candidates use a CV to apply for overseas jobs or academic and research-related positions at universities, and in medicine and the sciences. The CV is used for all applications in mainland Europe, the UK, Ireland and New Zealand. In Australia, India, Africa and the Middle East, a CV is interchangeable with a resume. A CV is typically a few pages whereas a standard resume is on the shorter side, only 1-2 pages.

A well-written CV concisely expresses your main selling points to the hiring manager. For your CV to attract the recruiter’s attention, it is required to highlight your skills and work experience relevant to the role. This makes it crucial to know how to write a captivating CV to market yourself as the perfect fit for the job. In this article, we will recognize the components of a CV and the writing process to set yourself apart from other candidates.

Steps to write an effective CV ( curriculum vitae)

• Contact information

• Personal statement/profile

• Education
• Skills

• Work experience

• Additional sections (targeted to your audience)

1. Contact information

Your contact information is the first component of the CV and serves as the header of the document. It sits at the top so that interviewers can contact you easily. The section should incorporate only the following elements:

• Your full name

• Phone number

• Job title

• Personal email address

• Social media handles (optional)

• Professional website (optional)

 Do not incorporate the following in your contact information:

• Date of birth

• Physical address

• Your current business contact information such as work email addresses or phone number

• Photograph (unless it is stated in the job posting)

• Personal social media handles

Provide only the information requested in the job description. Also, only incorporate personal social media handles in your CV if it will boost your opportunities of landing the position. Consider using a professional email address, like davistoledo@gmail.com.

2. Personal statement/profile

A personal statement (or CV personal profile) is a concise statement at the beginning of your CV that expresses your top skills and the abilities you will bring to the role. Mention skills, experience, and achievements appropriate to the job. The personal profile is not mandatory sometimes. If you incorporate it, keep the profile well-written and original. Include positive words such as confident, adaptable, self-motivated, and enthusiastic.

Your CV personal profile should:

• State who you are

• Outline top skills and achievements

• Mention the name of your target employer

• Your goals as a potential new employee

The following should not be on your CV personal statement:

• Why you are applying for the job

• Why you left your former employer

• Salary requirements

Example: “Self-motivated pharmacist with 10+ years of experience. Looking to leverage strong clinical research skills as a lead clinical test evaluator for Lupin Drug Co. Organized a 20,000-subject clinical study to evaluate the effect of estrogen supplements on ovarian cancer in women. Trained 20 clinicians on the use of big data for biopharmaceutical analysis. Leading figure in Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia.”

3. Education

List your education and dates from the most current to the oldest. You can comprise your class of degree, dissertation title, coursework, professional qualifications, and top academic achievements that relate to the role. If you have more than two years of appropriate work experience, you can highlight all of your post-secondary educational qualifications, including the name of the degree and institution.

4. Skills

The skills section defines your achievements at previous jobs, like the key skills you developed and experiences that apply to the job. The skills to contain in this section depend on the industry, position and your personal background. Research the skills appropriate to the industry or position and read the job description carefully. If you have lots of relevant skills, consider writing a skills-based CV.

List only 4 to 8 skills appropriate to the role including job-specific skills, soft skills and hard skills. Some examples include:

• Foreign languages

• Technical skills where relevant

• Certified skills

Regard also mentioning your proficiency level such as Basic, Intermediate, Advanced or Expert for every skill on your list.

5. Work experience

The work experience section permits the interviewer to see your career path and its relevancy to your role. Outline your expertise in reverse-chronological order (most recent first). If you have little or no practical knowledge about the job, education should come before this section.

Your work background section can include up to 15 years of background and state the following information:

• Title of the role

• Company with city, state

• Dates of employment

• Three to five bullet points outlining your responsibilities and achievements for each job entry

• Research projects

• Lab work

• Field experience

• Volunteer work

• Numbers and metrics to prove your achievements

Your work background should not include:

• Tables, charts or images

• Gaps in employment history, if avoidable

• Company addresses

• Professional references or supervisors’ names

• Short-term employment, unless you have less than two years of work experience

• Irrelevant work experience

6. Additional sections (targeted to your audience)

Additional sections targeted toward your audience can contain professional certifications, publications, industry awards, and extra training—anything that is relevant to who’s reading your CV. This is a chance to stand out so use the space wisely to showcase your unique accomplishments.

If you are a student, you can list your volunteer background and academic achievements. Mention things you can discuss in further detail at the interview.

It may be suitable to include hobbies and interests on your CV if you have limited work experience. You can mention specific non-work activities in an entry-level CV if they portray you as a good fit for the employer, such as activities that illustrate your dedication to a cause the employer works with or allow you to practice skills you use on the job.

Some employers may not need references, so their inclusion may not be required. You can give employers the option to ask for references, which can show them that you are willing to reach out to your network to those who can vouch for you.