When you have found a job ad that you think fits you like a glove, it is time to look at how to write a professional curriculum vitae. Curriculum vitae is a Latin phrase translated as ‘Life story’. The abbreviation CV began to be used from the 20th century. A professional CV can be, for the job seeker, an effective marketing tool to introduce him/herself and attract the recruiter’s attention from the first 5 seconds of examining the CV.

Therefore, when writing a CV, we have to take into account 3 factors:

1. Authenticity – the CV shall contain truthful data that can be easily verified. In some states, incorrect CV data can be subject to criminal and administrative penalties. In the UK, a graduate has been jailed for a year for specifying a master’s degree in his CV to get a substitute teaching position, but it has been later found out that he had bought diplomas on the Internet.

2. Relevance – the CV shall be developed according to the job, for which you are going to apply. The data in the CV shall correspond to the requirements of the job ad and help the recruiter to identify the connection between the candidate and the job. Thus, it is good to provide only those experiences, which are relevant to the job, and some details about previous duties and relevant skills.

3. Originality – create a unique CV just like your personality. When we talk about originality, we have to highlight features that make us unique. Thus, include in your CV those experiences, achievements and hobbies that will make you stand out among hundreds of job seekers. As for the originality, we can also talk about the CV format. If you are applying for a creative job, make sure you will be able to impress, including through your CV design, create a customized template in editing software, or an infographic, just like the student Chris Spurlock who has been later hired by ‘The Huffington Post’ as Infographic Designer.

A professional CV should contain the following sections:

Surname and name 

The surname and name shall be written as a title. Never write Curriculum Vitae in the title. It is an outdated and meaningless practice.

Contact details

It is recommended to indicate in contact details 2 ways to be contacted, and namely: the mobile phone number and the e-mail address. You can also indicate the address, where you reside, and the sector. If the employer has more than one branch, these details will help it chose the branch you could be employed at. The contact details shall be visible and easy to find. It is recommended that they be indicated at the top of the CV, although this is not a standard requirement. They could also be placed in the footer of the page, for example.

Photo

Placing the photo in the CV is not a modern and strict rule. A CV without a photo has the same chance of being considered. If you still decide to include a photo in your CV, make sure it is the right one. It would be good to appear in a formal style, the quality and size of the photo should be appropriate. No employer would want to see an A4 photo in your CV.

Professional objective 

In this section, you can indicate the position you are applying for, as well as describe yourself in a few key words. To make it easier for you to write your professional objective, you can answer these questions:

• Who are you? (e.g.: passionate about marketing).
• What can you offer the company? (with over 7 years of experience of managing campaigns for international brands).
• What are your career plans? (looking for a job that would give me the opportunity to coordinate a marketing department).

If you are a student applying for internship, you can indicate the experience and knowledge you want to gain during the internship.

Work experience

Work experiences should be indicated from the most recent to the oldest one. Work experience shall be relevant to the job you are applying for. If you are applying for the position of Senior Developer, it is not relevant to indicate your experience as a student, when you worked part-time, as a waiter. When indicating experiences, write the period (month and year are enough), the position and the name of the employer where you have worked. The most important element in listing experiences is to include achievements in each of the previously held positions. You can specify these achievements using bullet points.

If you are a young graduate and have no work experience, you can indicate in this section the volunteering experiences, the student programs in which you have participated or the internships.

Education and training

In this section, you should indicate the educational institutions graduated from, starting with the highest qualification level. If your faculty graduation mark is higher than 8, you can indicate this in your CV. At the same time, you can include in this section certain of your relevant works during your studies, such as course papers, bachelor’s or master’s theses.

At the same time, it is not relevant to indicate all educational institutions graduated from, such as kindergarten or secondary school.

Skills

This section needs to be divided into 3 categories of skills: language skills, software skills and hardware skills.

Foreign languages 

The languages known and their level of knowledge shall be indicated according to the EUROPASS European Standard, which divides European languages into 6 levels:

A1 and A2 – beginner

B1 and B2 – intermediateC1 and C2 – advanced.

Software skills

Software skills are skills that describe character traits and interpersonal relationships. Most jobs involve interacting with people and skills such as patience, empathy and teamwork will rank you as a desirable candidate. Use simple words and plain language, try to avoid clichés such as ‘I work well in a team’, ‘I like challenges’ and avoid listing any skills that cannot be accompanied by examples or evidence.

According to Linkedin, the most sought-after software skills by employers in 2021 were Adaptability, Collaboration, Creativity, Emotional Intelligence and Persuasion.

Hardware skills

Hardware skills are learned skills, technical skills and mandatory knowledge you need in carrying out an activity. As a rule, they are learned at school, at trainings or even at the workplace. They differ depending on the field of activity; therefore, in this section you shall indicate those hardware skills that are relevant to the job you are applying for. If it is an IT job, then you shall indicate known programming languages, analytical skills, database knowledge, etc. If you are applying for a sales job, you shall indicate sales, negotiation, persuasion, problem solving skills, etc.

Also, in this section you shall indicate the skills of using the PC and the Microsoft Office software.

Trainings and courses 

In this section, indicate the courses that could confirm a qualification level or possession of some hardware skills described above. If you have not followed technical courses, in this section you can indicate some extracurricular courses you have followed during your studies.

Do not forget that your CV is your business card, the tool whereby you can create a pleasant first impression and increase your chances of getting the job you want. A structured CV, which can be easily reviewed by the recruiter and which contains information relevant to the job you are applying for, will certainly make you standing out before employers.