Your CV in English

1. Your CV in English “Experience is not what happens to a man, but what he does with what has happened to him.” Aldous Huxley: Brave New World

2. Objectives • To underscore the importance of having a CV in English in the international context; • To give students the ability to analyze their own technical and generic skills, using specific past instances and details. • To give students the ability to analyze situations in the future where their skills can be transferred. • To write appropriately structured CVs which best matches the student’s skills and accomplishments to the employer.

3. What the CV should show • It shows you working • Provide a picture of how you work and get things done • It shows the problems you have dealt with • How you handle problems which may be similar to those faced by the employer • It shows your involvement • Details of working, solving problems and reaching results which conveys your commitment to the job • It shows results you have reached • Outcomes are important to show the employer personal growth has occurred, rather than “marking time.” • It shows skills that will produce benefits • Skills are not easy to identify. Your accomplishments and outcomes should make your skills stand out • It shows that you can work internationally • Demonstrate you can work and interact with many different cultures and nationalities

4. Adjectives that Describe the Person you Are Able to take stress Honest Aggressive Humorous Analytic Imaginative Assertive Insightful Capable Intellectual Careful Intelligent Cautious Natural Cheerful Observant Considerate Organized Creative Patient Curious Persistent Dedicated Persuasive Demanding Practical Dependable Determined Precise Diligent Ready and willing Easy-going Resourceful Effective Responsible Efficient Risk-taking Energetic Self-confident Enterprising Self-starting Fast Sensitive Flexible Sincere Friendly Goal-oriented Go-getting Street-smart Hard-working Supportive Helpful Thorough Thoughtful

5. What are Skills? • Abilities you have developed through living • sports, clubs, charity activities, traveling, scouts, hobbies, writing etc. • Abilities you have developed through working • Not just technical skills but human relations and problem solving skills • Abilities you have developed through studying • Documentary research, synthesizing data, structuring reports and working in teams.

6. Thinking SituationallyChecklist to analyze your generic skills to determine what you are particularly good at • On the telephone • Interacting with others • At meetings • On the team • Heading the team • Solving problems • On your own • Communicating • On the computer

7. Create a Skill Summary • EXAMPLE • ✔Playing as a team member • ✔Acting tactfully • ✔Being thought of as highly reliable and ‘somebody you can count on • ✔Building on others’ ideas • ✔Originating ideas • ✔Seeing the value in older ways of doing things • ✔Anticipating reactions of people and sensing whether they will support a proposal • ✔Showing patience with difficult or demanding people • ✔Sensing on people’s feelings, reactions, and attitudes

8. Skill Discovery BoxMy Skill: ____________________________________________ Situations where I have already used this skill Situations in the future where I might apply this skill ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

9. Skill Discovery Box - Example Situations where I have already used this skill • When enrolling as a member of the local Telethon Drive. • When successfully taking part in a business school consulting project although I had come in from another school. • Taking over for a salesman who was on summer vacation. Worked well with the other salesmen Situations in the future where I might apply this skill • Quickly fitting in with a multinational team launching a hypermarket in Central Europe. • Shifting from one project team to another without slowing down the new team. • Taking over from an experienced team member and quickly learning his role.

10. Your Accomplishments • 1. What was the challenge or the problem to overcome? • 2. What exactly did you do that you are proud of? • 3. What skills did you use? • 4. What benefits were produced?

11. Job and Non-job Accomplishments • Bilingual medical interpreter at a two-day conference on the installation of a new research scanner at the district hospital • Carried out start-to-finish market research for variety of companies through our student-run Marketing Service • Designed a promotion leaflet, contacted professional magazines and planned an advertising campaign • Designed the layout for and word-processed a student-published guide of the region • Founded a student investment club at my school • Raised sufficient funding to finance a short subject film festival • Oversaw the organization of a series of conferences given by local business leaders at my university • Set up 3 local branches of the national Hunger Project in our region for collecting and distributing free take-away meals to needy people

12. Job Breakdown • Summer 2005 COLA BOTTLING, INC. Youngin, South Korea Bottle Cleaning Machine Operator: Supervised part of a bottling line to ensure smooth bottle flow. Ran checks on machine and reported faulty operation. Reduced breakdown rate. Company Title and Field Your own Job Title Your general assignment Problem solving Your results

13. Job Breakdown • WORK EXPERIENCE • Accounting Assistant: classified papers, worked on computers, entering data about the customers • Wine store summer manager and saleswoman: Co-managed a store: assumed responsibility for summer operations. • Bank clerk: Worked at the cash desk: keyed in withdrawals and deposits. • Hostess and Organizer of yearly Theater Festival: Answered phone calls and planned the appointments of the school director. NOT ENOUGH DETAIL !

14. Action Verbs • Verbs dealing with information and analyzing • Verbs dealing with obtaining and preserving resources • Verbs dealing with operating and transforming, having to do with ‘roles’ or ‘functions’ • Verbs with ensuring outcomes, decisions, ‘deliveries’ • Verbs showing inventiveness, initiative and leadership • Verbs dealing with working with people

15. Job Breakdown - Practice Sheets • General Assignment: ____________________________ • Main tasks carried out under this assignment: • ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ • The objectives involved in this assignment were to: • ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ • Problems and issues faced: • ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ • Outcomes and solutions: • ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

16. CV Structures I

17. CV Structures II

18. Four Basic CV Structures • The Chronological CV Use - Jobs limited and in the same field – shows stability Don’t Use– Many jobs / Different Fields 2. The Skills or Experience Areas CV Use – To stress skills/experience directly – good for career starters or changers 3. The Abilities and Achievements CV Use – To stress abilities/achievements directly – good for candidates with great experience/technical skills in one field 4. The Letter/CV Combination Alternative to the CV/Letter Package – Direct offer of services – IT/Internet Applications

19. CV Typing / Formatting / Effects NO YES Avoid italics Avoid complex punctuation No parentheses No photos or images Avoid graphics, charts, graphs Use simple sentences with present/past tenses Use periods and commas and colons Use Times/Serif Fonts or Arial/Helvetica Fonts Keep bullets as squares or circles Bold type for key words – Use in moderation Balance word density

20. An Unscannable CV Keep the page background white Reduce the word density Use Serif or Arial Fonts instead of Handwriting All CVs are typed

21. What to Include? I Education How do I make somebody in another country understand my qualifications? • Write it in English! • More interested in level of education and content rather than the education system in your country. • Always put the start and finish dates • Avoid obscure abbreviations such as CAAE, IAE, ASG etc. • Add “majors” to indicate specializations

22. What to Include? II Work Experience • Paid work What if I haven’t done any paid work experience? Include any useful work that is relevant Show start and finish dates • Internships • Voluntary work • Part-time work • Other non-job specific work experience

23. What to Include? IIILANGUAGES - Very important skill to work internationally Not Enough Detail Great LANGUAGES Korean: mother tongue English: fluent Japanese: excellent command Chinese: good command LANGUAGES Korean: Mother tongue English: Fluent. One year of study in an American High School. 90% of university reading in English-language textbooks. Many lectures in English in Korea. Japanese: Excellent command. Now studying in Japanese Business School, following all courses and writing reports in Japanese. Chinese: Good command. Many pleasure trips to China. Understand TV and radio. Can write simple letters.

24. What to Include? IV Skills and Accomplishments Special technical Skills Microsoft Office, Desktop Publishing: Pagemaker, Photoshop. Research project for our Marketing Department carried out on Internet. Accomplishments Set up at data base to follow up the graduates from our Engineering School. Designed base and ran a team of volunteers to key in data. Founded a sailing association. Organized and conducted training meetings. Awards and Prizes

25. What to Include? V References • Include referee’s current contact details such as address and telephone number. • Include referee’s company name, job description and title. • Referees should have known you for a lengthy period of time, generally for one-year or more.

26. What NOT to Include • Only include ONE e-mail and mailing address • Be aware of Political Correctness • Avoid putting your age • Avoid putting your birthday • Avoid putting your birthplace • Avoid Nationality • Avoid Politics and Religion • Avoid trying to say everything • Avoid other family information

27. A CV is an ‘offering of skills to solve a company’s problems’