How to write a powerful CV — Transcript

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1. 0:03Your CV is the single most important
2. 0:06document in your job application. This
3. 0:09video will teach you how to write a
4. 0:11compelling CV. One thing is certain, there
5. 0:14is no such thing as the perfect CV.
6. 0:16That's because the contents of the ideal
7. 0:19CV are determined by the position and
8. 0:21the person who is applying. Employers use
9. 0:25the information in your CV to decide how
10. 0:28suitable you are for the position. That
11. 0:31means you should tailor the information
12. 0:33in your CV to each position you apply
13. 0:36for. Start by asking yourself this
14. 0:39question: what do I want the employer to
15. 0:42think of me after reading my CV? Once you
16. 0:45know that, you'll know what to include,
17. 0:47remove or emphasize. This video was
18. 0:52created for the Dutch job market. If
19. 0:54you'll be applying for jobs in other
20. 0:56countries, you should research the rules
21. 0:58surrounding job applications there.
22. 1:00Here's an example CV belonging to Lisa
23. 1:03Henson. We’ll be going through this CV to
24. 1:06discuss what information you should
25. 1:08present in each section. The first
26. 1:10section should contain your personal
27. 1:12information, such as your date of birth
28. 1:14and contact details. Whether you should
29. 1:17include a picture of yourself depends on
30. 1:20the position you're applying for and the
31. 1:21company offering it. Just make sure you
32. 1:24look professional in your photo. The
33. 1:28second section is your personal profile.
34. 1:30In just a few sentences you describe who
35. 1:33you are, what you have to offer, and what
36. 1:35your ambitions are.
37. 1:37The third section, education, is where you
38. 1:41show your academic accomplishments from
39. 1:43high school graduation onwards. Since
40. 1:45your most recent school or academic
41. 1:48programme is the most relevant, start there
42. 1:50and work your way back. In no more than
43. 1:53three bullet points, you can list your
44. 1:55most significant results, such as a high
45. 1:57average grade, your most relevant courses,
46. 2:00your thesis or any minors you have
47. 2:02completed. The work experience section
48. 2:06should contain your internships and any
49. 2:08previous relevant work. Clearly state
50. 2:11your job title, responsibilities and
51. 2:13primary tasks. The more specific you can
52. 2:17be about what you did, the better. Sort
53. 2:20your bullet points by relevance with the
54. 2:22most relevant at the top. Your
55. 2:26extracurricular activities matter a
56. 2:28great deal in the Netherlands. Describe
57. 2:31what you do outside of school. This tells
58. 2:33the employer a lot about you. What do you
59. 2:35enjoy, what skills have you developed
60. 2:37outside of your studies, what are your
61. 2:39interests. You can list as many
62. 2:41activities as you like, so long as they
63. 2:44show that you possess skills your
64. 2:45employer will find relevant. Again, use
65. 2:48bullet points to indicate what you've
66. 2:50done and learned. If you possess skills
67. 2:53that are relevant for the position but
68. 2:55don't quite fit in any of the previous
69. 2:56categories, add them in a separate skill
70. 2:59section. You can include anything you're
71. 3:02good at or know a lot about. Include
72. 3:04things like a second language, training
73. 3:06programmes you've completed, software you
74. 3:09know how to use and any specialist or
75. 3:11unusual skills. Keep in mind whether a
76. 3:14given skill has any significance to the
77. 3:16position you're applying for. The final
78. 3:19section, interests and additional
79. 3:21information, is an opportunity for you to
80. 3:24provide some personal background to help
81. 3:26the employer understand what kind of
82. 3:28person you are. Consider carefully what
83. 3:30you choose to share.
84. 3:33The best visual design for your CV
85. 3:35depends on what industry you are in. The
86. 3:38decision whether to put your CV in the
87. 3:40‘yes’ or the ‘no’ pile is usually made in
88. 3:43the first 30 seconds. That's why you
89. 3:45should bear two things in mind. 1) it
90. 3:48should be easy for the employer to skim
91. 3:50through your CV, and 2) the most
92. 3:52important information should stand out
93. 3:54from the rest. Underline important
94. 3:57information and put it in bold, but try
95. 3:59to keep the overall style consistent.