Curriculum Vitae(CV)- Meaning, When should be used,Information, important aspect, Things should be in mind while writing CV,mistakes on CV,length of CV

Meaning of Curriculum vitae

 Curriculum vitae, is a Latin expression which can be loosely translated as the course of life. In current usage, curriculum is less marked as a foreign loanword. Traditionally the word vitae is rendered in English using the ligature æ, hence vitæ, although this convention is less common in contemporary practice. The plural of curriculum vitae, in Latin, is formed following Latin rules of grammar as curricula vitae (meaning "courses of life")-not curriculum vita (which is grammatically incorrect) and not curricula vitarum. The form vitae is the singular genitive of vita and is translated as "of life".

A curriculum vitae (CV) provides an overview of a person's experience and other qualifications. In some countries, a CV is typically the first item that a potential employer encounters regarding the job seeker and is typically used to screen applicants, often followed by an interview, when seeking employment. Another name for a CV is a Resume. 

 A CV is the most flexible and convenient way to make applications. It conveys your personal details in the way that presents you in the best possible light. A CV is a marketing document in which you are marketing something: yourself! You need to "sell" your skills, abilities, qualifications and experience to employers. It can be used to make multiple applications to employers in a specific career area. There is no "one best way" to construct a CV; it is your document and can be structured as you wish within the basic framework below.

When should a CV be used?

(i) When an employer asks for applications to be received in this format.

(ii) When an employer simply states "apply to ..." without specifying the format.

(iii) When making speculative applications (when writing to an employer who has not advertised a vacancy but who you hope my have one)

What information should a CV include? Or What are the most important aspects of CV that you look for?
One survey of employers found that the following aspects were most looked for (Brilliant 2010 Orange County Resume Survey by Eric Hilden)

45% Previous related work experience

35% Qualifications & skills

25% Easy to read

16% Accomplishments 14% Spelling & grammar

9% Education (these were not just graduate recruiters for whom this score would be much higher!) 

9% Intangibles: individuality/desire to succeed

3% Clear objective

2% Keywords added

1% Contact information

1% Personal experiences

1% Computer skills 

Personal details:

Normally these would be your name, address, date of birth, telephone number and e-mail. 

Educational Qualifications: 

Your degree subject and university, plus A levels or equivalents. Mention grades unless poor! 

Work experience:

Use action words such as developed, planned and organized.

Try to relate the skills to the job. A finance job will involve numeracy, analytical and problem solving skills so focus on these whereas for a marketing role you would place a bit more more emphasis on persuading and negotiating skills.

Interests and achievements: 

Keep this section short and to the point. As you grow older, your employment record will take precedence and interests will typically diminish greatly in length and importance.

Bullets can be used to separate interests into different types: sporting, creative etc. Don't use the old boring cliches here: "socialising with friends".

Don't put many passive, solitary hobbies (reading, watching TV, stamp collecting) or you may be perceived as lacking people skills.

References:

Many employers don't check references at the application stage so unless the vacancy specifically requests referees it's fine to omit this section completely if you are running short of space or say "References are available on request." 

Normally two referees are sufficient: one academic (perhaps your tutor or a project supervisor and one from an employer (perhaps your last part-time or summer job).

What things should an applicant keep in mind while writing his resume or CV?

Following points should be taken into consideration while preparing a CV: 

1. While preparing CV, it should be remembered that it is a sales piece so it should be written as carefully as a sales letter.

2. CV must be neatly printed and typed and appealing to the eyes.

3. It should contain the summary or listing of important details like work experience, educational qualification for the purpose of attaining a chance of interview for the employment.

4. Contact details such as name, address, telephone, cell phone, email should be clearly mentioned in your CV with passport size photographs.

5. Personal information like date of birth, nationality, gender, marital status should be clearly stated.

6. The title of the job the applicant is applying for should be clearly mentioned. 

7. Employment history should be listed in chronological order including personal details and data about work history, academic position, research and training etc. 

8. Educational background that includes details of degrees and certificates passed in high school, senior secondary school and university level should be clearly mentioned in the CV.

9. Mention the awards that you have got for academic and co-curricular activities. 

10. Mention the activities that interest you.

11. Give details of your professional skills that you have acquired over years for example you can mention an area of expertise for example 'budget planning' to tell your prospective employers about your professional skills like analytic skills, creativity, computer skills, presentation skills etc. You should also state how you have achieved certain results with those skills.

12. Under 'work experience', give details of organisations where you worked earlier, dates and responsibilities, starting with the current or most recently held position. Highlight your achievements, for example, headed a sales team of twelve and exceeded sales targets for four consecutive years. 

13. In brief, your CV should not only say what you have done but it should indicate that you have what it takes to excel in the position concerned.

What mistakes do candidates make on their CV? 

One survey of employers found the following mistakes were most common -

56% Spelling and grammar 

21% Not tailored to the job

16% Length not right & poor work history

11% Poor format and no use of bullets

9% No accomplishments 

8% Contact & e-mail problems 

5%  Objective/profile was too vague 

2% Lying

1% Not having a photo 

3% Others (listing all memberships, listing personal hobbies, using abbreviations)

How long should a CV be?

There are no absolute rules but, in general, a new graduate's CV should cover no more than two sides of A4 paper. In a survey of Indian employers 35% preferred a one page CV and 199% a two page CV with the others saying it depends upon the position. But the trend now is towards one page CVs: as employers are getting more and more CVs they tend not to have the time to read long documents! 

If you can summarize your career history comfortably on a single side, this is fine and has advantages when you are making speculative applications and need to put yourself across concisely. However, you should not leave out important items, or crowd your text too closely together in order to fit it onto that single side. Academic and technical CVs may be much longer. up to 4 or 5 sides.