Effective CV writing

Ranjan K Baruah *

CV stands for curriculum vitae, which is Latin for 'course of life'. It is a summary of your experience, skills and education. There are some differences between CV and resume. We are more familiar with the term Bio Data.

Majority of us have heard about bio data which stands for "Biographical Data" and this was used over years in our place for applying for different jobs. Bio Data could mean anything that involves particular information like guardians name, marital status, nationality etc. It also contains personal information – gender, date of birth, race, residence, etc.

On the other hand Resume is to the point. It is short and talks exactly the point without any divergence. The basic use of a resume is to land you in getting till the interview. The CV, which is the detailed form of your academic qualifications, gets you through the interview.

There is no page limit for it when it comes to CV. One may include research papers and everything under the umbrella that have been done. CV could different for students, fresher and experienced persons. One needs to prepare the CV according to qualifications and other skills and experiences.

There are many ways to create an exceptional CV but we need to concentrate on certain points while making our CV.

Grammar – there should be no mistakes in your CV. Try and include as many active words as possible to increase the impact of your CV.

Layout – place your most attractive skills and talents or achievements towards the top of your CV to boost your chances of impressing an employer. Though there is no specific lay out but one must try to make it more attractive.

Presentation – Its important how we present our CV. Presentation needs to be attractive and bullet points should be used to tidy up any lists. We must use standard fonts and size. Funny fonts must be avoided.

No False Information – Wrong and false information must be avoided. Some time we might try to put some points which are may not related to our life. We should not try to mention any false information or wrong information. And it must be on fact and truth.

Work experiences are needed in CV but for a fresh graduate it may not be possible to mention anything as s/he is not experienced. If you're a recent graduate and don't have much relevant work experience then it will be best to begin with your education. But there might be some volunteer work experiences and in that case those can be included. But remember one should not put any false information.

It's not compulsory to include hobbies in our CV, but we may mention about it according to the job for which CV is prepared. Different people have different hobbies and one must be prepared to get some question on interview related to hobby. So, mention the real hobby and don't try to put something which is not your hobby.

We must remember that candidates are shortlisted based on the CV that we submit. CV must be attractive and contain the facts. Apart from academic qualification we may mention about other qualification, co –curricular and extracurricular activities if we are associated. We may mention about awards and prizes that we have received. We can also mention about published articles in newspapers and magazines.

We must know that CV conveys our personal details in the way that presents us in the best possible light. A CV is like a marketing document in which we are marketing ourselves or branding ourselves. We must know how to "sell" our skills, abilities, qualifications and experience to employers.

It can be used to make multiple applications to employers in a specific career area. Every college going student must prepare their CV as they may also use it when they apply for any scholarships or for any competitions. To participate in different events CV is needed even for the students, so, we must start preparing our CV and keep modifying it with our expertise and experiences.

Scholarships Update:

The Oxford and Cambridge Society of India Scholarships: The Oxford and Cambridge Society of India is offering scholarships for admission to University of Oxford and University of Cambridge in the academic year 2016-17. Age should not be more than 30 years and graduate of an Indian university may apply for the same. All applications must reach the Oxford and Cambridge Society of India by 30th April 2016.

NDTV Deakin Scholarships: NDTV Deakin Scholarships are provided for meritorious Indian students to pursue their UG/PG Studies at Deakin University, Australia with the view of giving back to India the skills and experience which would make an impact to the society. This scholarship is available for under graduate studies and post graduate studies on various subjects like Creative Arts, Health, Sports, Engineering, Business Analytics, etc. Last date for sending application is 30th April.