Let’s face it: that the task of creating a Curriculum Vitae (CV) or resume from scratch can be a daunting one. The curriculum vitae is after all, the main document employed when marketing one’s services to potential employers, and as such, is the document that determines whether the employer invites one for an interview or not. And given the fact that most employers tend to be busy people with little time to waste, one has to create a CV knowing that it could be eliminated for the smallest mistake in it, as the employer tries to narrow down their searching field.

In days gone by, someone who didn’t feel confident enough in creating a curriculum vitae on their own from scratch normally had to seek the services of ’specialist curriculum vitae writers’ who would then help him or her with the task of creating the CV. These specialist curriculum vitae writers would then typically walk them through the CV creation process, sometimes offering to actually write the CV for the jobseeker themselves, and at the end of it all, asking for a hefty fee for their service.

But a person looking for a job, especially a first job (which is when one is likely to be inexperienced in CV writing) would be most likely to be a person who could ill afford the prices that the professional CV writers typically asked for their services, leading many people to ask if there was no surely no better way to go about it all. Granted, a person who didn’t know much about CV writing could still decide to ‘try their hand at it’ even without the services of the ‘professional CV writer’ but this was a route not many people were willing to go, especially keeping in mind what was at stake here (a livelihood), which made many people wary of going about it by trial and error.

Then came the CV templates, and all that changed once and for all. The CV template’s development can be said to be a result of the growth of various word-processing computer software programs, which in a bid to increase the value for their users (and market differentiation for themselves) started coming up with templates for making the various documents one could be possibly looking to make using the word-processing software.

CV templates have since advanced greatly in their functionality, and pretty much every word-processing software program worth its name nowadays comes with some sort of CV templates to help the users with that task. With the help of these CV template software programs, people who always asked whether there could be a way they could get perfect curriculum CVs without having to seek the services of professional CV writers have the perfect answer. Anyone who uses the power of these software-based CV templates has the opportunity to get a perfect CV, a CV that is better than what even the best of the professional human CV writers could ever make. Some of these CV templates are even available online – typically for free or at nominal costs.

So great has the functionality of CV templates become that in the latest versions of them, all you have to do to make use of the template is enter your details onto the template in a ‘form-format,’ that is, as would do when filling a form, click on some ’submit’ button, and ‘bingo’ – have a professional-looking CV made for you, with the software underneath basically ‘doing all the thinking for you.’

By: Sarash Jess

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By their very definition, resumes are supposed to be brief summaries of your skills and abilities: short, but attention-grabbing. A great resume uses keywords and catch phrases to highlight your accomplishments and abilities and if done well, is your ticket to getting you at least as far as an interview.

On a resume, personal details are a big no-no, and anything much longer than two pages isn’t the standard in most cases. Your resume is simply a launch pad into the Human Resources office and once there, your interview is your opportunity to share all the details of your education, work history, and experience.

So, with all the emphasis on the “right” resume, is there ever a time when it’s appropriate to share a bit more about yourself as part of the job search process before the interview? Absolutely!

Enter the Curriculum Vitae

From the Latin for “vital,” vitae means a short description of one’s life and a Curriculum Vitae, or CV for short, is pretty much that — a sort of Extended Play version of your resume, if you will. More biographical in nature, a CV often includes personal information and may run several pages long. Accomplishments are detailed, rather than highlighted.

It may seem hard to believe that people actually require CVs, given all the focus on how writing a great resume is the crucial key in landing a job interview. In most cases, this still holds true…a great resume is still the key to getting your foot in the door. But if you ever decide to seek a job in academia, apply for a fellowship, or apply for work overseas, then developing your CV is necessary.

Over Here, Over There

In the U.S., the most likely time you’ll need to submit a CV is if you apply for an academic, education, scientific, or research position. You may need to submit one if you’re applying for fellowships or grants as well. Have a list of accomplishments that includes publications and presentations? A CV is absolutely essential, especially in the academic and research fields.
If you’re seeking work out of the country, submitting a CV is the norm in British Commonwealth and European countries, as well as the Middle East, Africa, and Asia (which pretty much covers most of the rest of the world). Although not necessarily expected in the United States, all that information you’ve been taught to keep off of your resume will probably need to go on your CV for an out-of-country employer, since many of them expect to see more personal details about you, including where you were born, your date of birth, and marital status. In some countries, you may even need to include a photo!

Nitty-Gritty Details

So what exactly does a CV entail? For starters, expect it to be more than two pages long, because you’ll be providing a lot more detail about your background and skills, including your work history, educational and academic background, teaching and research experience, publications, presentations, awards, honors, affiliations, and any other pertinent information, including samples of your work, if appropriate. If you’ve been in the workforce for awhile, it’s not unheard of for a CV to be 10 to 15 pages long…or more!

You may need to develop more than one CV, just as you might have more than one version of your resume. It depends on what you’re applying for and what you want to have front and center on your CV. A CV for an academic position stateside will need to look different than a CV you might submit to an international oil company for an executive position halfway around the world.

Chances are, if you’re a researcher or a scholar, you probably know all about CVs, but if you don’t, not to worry! Job postings will (hopefully) specify what they need in terms of a resume or CV. If you’re not sure, a simply inquiry with the people doing the hiring will get you the answer you need.

By: Michael A. Fleischner


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Are you bragging about yourself enough on your resume? I don’t mean bragging in an obnoxious or fictitious sort of way, but in a “look what I can do” sort of way.

One of the main things I notice with my clients and their existing resumes is that they don’t BRAG enough about their accomplishments. They don’t talk enough about what they’ve done above and beyond their daily responsibilities.

My worksheets are very C.A.R.-oriented. The C.A.R. methodology is this: Challenge, Action, Results. What Challenge did you face? What Action did you take to rectify it? And lastly, what were the Results? It is a very accomplishment-focused method and works wonderfully every time I have a client who doesn’t talk enough. When I send these out to clients, I am amazed at the achievements that come pouring out. Why did it take sending a worksheet to get this VITAL information out of them? I ask each client this. The response is generally the same– either, “I didn’t know how to word it” or “I didn’t want to sound like a bragger”. Many of us were raised to be humble about our accomplishments, not to be boastful. Remember, though, if you don’t let the reader know of your what you’ve done, then why would they hire you? How do you stand out from the pile of candidates?

Here are a few tips about bragging in a non-bragging way to get yourself noticed:

1) List your daily responsibilities clearly in your narrative under the job title. Even the ones you think aren’t worth being mentioned. If there are too many for more than a 5 or 6 line paragraph, then summarize.

2) Think of each task you did in that made a difference, something you were praised for, something that saved the company money. Readers LOVE to hear how you saved the company money or drove revenue by 43%, etc. For example: “Currently implementing a new sales method that will eliminate 6 trucks from the road and save company $45,000/year”.

3) Add the accomplishment, even if it has a negative undertone or you were fighting challenging conditions. For example: “Despite negative sales growth in Michigan’s harsh economic climate, met the challenge of producing positive topline growth successfully while managing net revenue and contributing to margin gains”.

See how this one sounded? Even though my client struggled the last 2 years and saw a -2.2% sales decrease, to her company this was a good thing because of Michigan’s dismal economic climate.

4) Your resume is the place to SELL YOURSELF. You are the product. What would you buy? The new ‘OKAY’ car model that has all the basics and does it’s job but has nothing super special about it? Or would you buy the ‘WOW, THIS CAR IS AWESOME’ car that is fully loaded, has a mini fridge in the dash, and wings to automatically make you airborne if traffic looks too heavy? The ‘WOW’ car may cost you a bit more, but isn’t it worth it? You have to sell yourself and turn yourself into the ‘WOW’ car. You have what it takes, you just need to put it on paper.

I hope this helps you rethink that bland little ‘OK’ statement, “streamlined processes and increased productivity” with something more ‘WOW!’. Let’s face it, we all want the WOW! car.

So does the employer.

By: Erin Kennedy

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