{"id":307,"date":"2018-07-25T12:20:36","date_gmt":"2018-07-25T12:20:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.monsterindia.com\/career-advice\/a-complete-guide-on-cv-preparation-307\/"},"modified":"2023-04-03T16:48:44","modified_gmt":"2023-04-03T11:18:44","slug":"a-complete-guide-on-cv-preparation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/a-complete-guide-on-cv-preparation\/","title":{"rendered":"A complete guide on CV preparation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/media.monsterindia.com\/cmsimages\/1499402435.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\"><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">CV&#8217;s are called a variety of things (eg, curriculum vitae, resume). There is no universally accepted format. The most important attribute of a successful CV is that it clearly explains to the reader what it is that you can do for them. Your CV should be: <br><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">A well-presented, selling document<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">A source of interesting, relevant information<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">A script for talking about yourself <\/span><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">The purpose of your CV is not to get you the job. Its purpose is to get you an interview, and after your meeting to remind the person you met with about you. Remember: you are not <a href=\"https:\/\/www.monsterindia.com\/career-advice\/writing-your-first-professional-cv\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">writing a CV for yourself<\/a>, you are writing it for the reader. So, as you write your CV, put yourself in the shoes of the intended reader. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\"><strong>This section takes you through the content and detail of effective CVs:<br><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">A standard two-page printed CV<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">A one-page summary CV <\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">An online CV <\/span><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">The decision to recruit is like a buying decision on the part of an employer. This creates a very clear picture of what a CV must include: <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">1. It must meet the needs of the target organisation where possible. This means a single generalist CV is unlikely to be sufficient. <\/span><br><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">2. It must highlight your achievements and how they relate to the job you are applying for. It must give the reader a clear indication of why you should be considered for this role. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\"><strong>To decide what to include in your CV and where, follow these principles and guidelines:<\/strong> <\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">1. Generally, the document should contain no more than 2 pages. Sometimes, a one page summary is all that is required. <\/span><br><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">2. Your CV should be honest and factual. <\/span><br><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">3. The first page should contain enough personal details for a recruitment consultant or potential employer to contact you easily. <\/span><br><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">4. Choose a presentation format that allows you to headline key skills, key achievements or key attributes. <\/span><br><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">5. Your employment history should commence with your current or most recent job and work backwards. <\/span><br><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">6. Achievements should be short, bullet-pointed statements and include your role, the action you took and a comment on the result of your action. <\/span><br><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">7. Where information clearly demonstrates your suitability for the vacancy you&#8217;re applying for, and enhances your chances of being short-listed, include this information near the beginning of the CV. <\/span><br><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">8. Leave out information that is irrelevant or negative. <\/span><br><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">9. Include details of recent training or skills development events you have attended which could be relevant. <\/span><br><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">10. List all your professional memberships and relevant qualifications. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">As we work through examples in this section, we will continually refer back to these principles and guidelines. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\"><strong>The most common contents of a CV include:<\/strong> <\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">&#8211; Personal Details <\/span><br><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">&#8211; Skills and Career Summary <\/span><br><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">&#8211; Key Achievements <\/span><br><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">&#8211; Qualifications <\/span><br><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">&#8211; Career History <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">Don&#8217;t forget: The ultimate test of YOUR CV is whether it meets the needs of the person making the buying decision, and whether YOU feel comfortable with its content and style. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">When you submit a printed CV to a recruiter or a potential employer, it is likely to be the first thing they get to see or read of yours. Therefore, you need to present your CV well and make it user friendly. For example: <\/span><br><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">Use a good quality paper, typically 100gsm in weight and watermarked.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">Lay your CV out neatly <\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">Don&#8217;t make the margins too deep or too narrow<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">Resist writing lengthy paragraphs &#8211; be concise<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">Careful use of bold type can be effective<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">Typefaces such as Times New Roman or Arial are fairly standard <\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">Check for spelling or typographical errors &nbsp;<\/span><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\"><strong>Key Skills\/Competencies\/Attributes:<\/strong> <\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><br><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">Summarise the things about you that are relevant to this role. You can present the information as a list of achievements, a summary of skills, or a list of key competencies (this choice should be made in consultation with your career consultant). Give as much evidence as you can to suggest that you are suited to the career that you are pursuing. A reminder: You will find a list of your skills in the summary pages. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">The one-page summary CV may also include one or two of the following sections if you consider they enhance your application.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\"><strong>Need an expert to rejig your CV?<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.monsterindia.com\/resume-service\/?spl=IN_contmar_INTCC_AID_412&amp;WT.mc_n=olm_sk_INTCC_AID_412_IN_contmar\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Take professional help<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\"><br>You may also like<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.monsterindia.com\/career-advice\/five-things-an-employer-wants-to-see-on-your-resume\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Five Things an Employer Wants to See on Your Resume<\/a><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva,sans-serif; font-size: medium; background-color: #ffffff;\"><br><a href=\"https:\/\/www.monsterindia.com\/career-advice\/how-to-write-an-impressive-resume\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">How to write an Impressive Resume<\/a><br><a href=\"https:\/\/www.monsterindia.com\/career-advice\/resume-objective-examples\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Resume Objective Examples<\/a><br><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>CV&#8217;s are called a variety of things (eg, curriculum vitae, resume). There is no universally accepted format. The most important attribute of a successful CV is that it clearly explains to the reader what it is that you can do for them. Your CV should be: A well-presented, selling document A source of interesting, relevant [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-307","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-resume-cover-letters"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=307"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16689,"href":"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307\/revisions\/16689"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=307"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=307"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=307"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}