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Soft / Business Skills. How to Write a CV that talks for you ?. Mohamed Badran. Where am I NOW?. 1-. 2-. Where do you want to be?. 3-. How might I get there ?. 4-. Which Way is the Best?. 5-. How can we ensure arrival ?. Agenda. CV – What does it mean? Why do you need a CV ?
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Soft / Business Skills How to Write a CV that talks for you ? Mohamed Badran
Where am I NOW? 1- 2- Where do you want to be? 3- How might I get there ? 4- Which Way is the Best? 5- How can we ensure arrival ?
Agenda • CV – What does it mean? • Why do you need a CV ? • Things you should avoid. • 4 Resume essentials. • Things you should consider. • Common resume problems. • How to construct your resume? • Get your resume in Action. • Cover Letter • Resume Sample
CV – What does it mean ? The word CV comes from the Latin nameCurriculum VitaeWhich means “course of life” or Simply“Life Story”
Why do You need a CV? • It is Not to obtain a job. • It is to obtain an Interview. • YOU get the job. • CV is an advertisement of your abilities. • Think deeply, what make advertisement work? • Advertisement usually 30 second , but you keep remember it , why? • Agencies take a lot of time and effort to produce a 30 second message to sell a product. What time and effort should you pay to prepare a two page CV that SELLS YOU
Why do You need a CV? • Need more challenge for you CV. REMEMBER • Employer scans your CV for the first time in less than 10 seconds.
Things that you should Avoid: • 1- ABBREVIATIONS: AFPCA , GHWIHT , MRSRM , ZESN , TWTN Too Many abbreviations make your CV unreadable, Avoid it unless it is commonly recognized . Remember The Rule: KISS : Keep It Simple & Smart
Things that you should Avoid: 2- NEGATIVE WORDS: Boring , Fired , Hate, Conflict, Blocked ..etc Catch recruiter Eye. Remember The Rule: If you have some difficulties , Keep them to the interview, but you have to prepare yourself.
Things that you should Avoid: 3-COLORS: It is not a show, Don’t use colors to make your CV attractive Remember The Rule: Attractiveness is a matter of content, “Colors” in the CV is like a full make up lady in a FUNERAL
Things that you should Avoid: 4- SPELLING, GRAMMER & PUNCTUATION MISTAKES: Spelling mistakes is the poison to your CV. Write your CV , read it , re-read it and re-read it and re-read it and re-read it ……….. Remember The Rule: Spelling mistake is a sign of Careless person, if you want to be at that position , Do IT! Use a spell check or consult a professional writer.
Things that you should Avoid: 5- UNNECESSARY INFORMATION: Gender , Religion and detailed Martial status as examples of unnecessary information in your CV. Remember The Rule: Employer doesn’t care that much about what your children are doing. Moreover, it is not your Autobiography.
Things that you should Avoid: 6- WORD ARTS, Clip Arts, logos & Graphics: Remember The Rule: “Colors” in the CV is like a full make up lady in a FUNERAL
Things that you should Avoid: 7- Using a very Big or very small font size & the unusual fonts: Fonts to be used(English): • Arial • Verdana • Time New Roman • Tahoma Fonts to be used (Arabic): • Arabic Transparent • Simplified Arabic Fonts Size to be used: 10 - 12
Things that you should Avoid: • Don’t write CV at the top. • Don’t put picture unless it is requested. • Don’t put any attachment unless it is requested. • Don’t use poor quality paper and printer. • Don’t use photo-copied CV. • Don’t use Capital letters in writing the whole CV.
4 Resume Essentials • Proofread your resume. • "I read it when I wrote it!“ • Put your resume in front of people you trust - your boss excluded - and listen seriously to their suggestions. • You are what you read. (Read more). • Buy/Borrow books. • Browse the internet. • Visit general libraries. • Be a resume voyeur. • Look at other people's resumes whenever you get the chance. You'll find good ideas - and bad ones. • Consider using the best ideas for your own resume, as long as they relate to your experience.
4 Resume Essentials • More resumes…….. More chances. • You finally updated your resume, but you shouldn't stop there. • You should update your Master CV on monthly basis maximum. • If you're going to apply to a variety of jobs, make sure you have a resume tailored for each.
Common resume problems: • Too long / too short. • Hard to read. • Wordy. • Non Professional. • Lacking a career objective.
How to construct your resume? • Identification & contact Information. • Objective. • Position you’re seeking. • Type of organization. • Field. • Educational background. • Work experience. • Extracurricular activity. • Honors and awards Received. • Skills & trainings. • Personal data. • References.
Identification Data & objective: • Identification Data: • Top Right/Middle of first page. • Name is the title (no other titles). • Addresses; phone numbers; e-mail and/or fax addresses; • Objective: • Write what you want to work in as: • Required Position. • The field of interest. • The kind of the company.
Education: • Usually means post-secondary and can include special seminars, college and university. • If you are just starting college, you can include high school as well. • List the following: • Degrees. • Month/year obtained or expected. • Names and locations of schools. • Major and minor; if any. • Grade point average. • A brief summary of important courses you’ve taken might also be helpful.
Experience: • Includes full-time paid jobs, part time jobs, trainings or volunteer work. • List the month/years you worked, position, name and location of employer or place, and responsibilities you had. • Use chronological format to emphasize most recent. • Write all job descriptions in parallel phrases. • List the most important responsibilities or successes first. • List your Achievements in each job
Skills: • List: • Computer and Software. • Languages (indicating the grade of fluency). • Technical skills. • Communication or Leadership among others (soft skills). • Match your skills and experience with an employer’s needs. • Difference between trainings & skills.
Activities and Hobbies: • Activities: • In university or outside: Conferences, Clubs, charity. • Sports. • Hobbies: e.g. Reading, Music, … etc.
Personal Data And References: Personal Data: • Date of Birth. • Marital Status. • Nationality. • Driving License. References: You need not put these on your resume, instead, you can prepare a separate list of references. Usually, you give this list to prospective employers after your interview. Write in you CVReferences furnished upon request.
Get your resume in Action • "Responsible for hiring new employees.“ • "Recruited new hires for the company." • "Responsible for maintaining the client database.“ • "Maintained client database."
Get your resume in Action • Start with actions commands / verbs. • Past tense is mostly preferred. • For the current position, you may use the present continuous tense.
Contents of A Successful Cover Letter • Your name and contact information. • Recipient's name and contact information. • Identify the position you are applying for and mention where you found the announcement and when. If you have been referred through a person, mention their full name and title.
Contents of A Successful Cover Letter • Introduce yourself, your educational degree and your current employment situation. • Begin by stressing your interest in the company and display some knowledge of its activities and/or achievements. • Identify your strength areas and why you think you match the position requirements. • Highlight your biggest achievements and refer to your resume for more details.
Contents of A Successful Cover Letter • Close the letter by promising the reader to contact them on a specific day and time to schedule an interview. • Thank the reader for taking the time to read your letter. • Sign your name preceded by "Sincerely," "Cordially," or "Best Regards."
