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Shawn ClarkWilt asked:




Yesterday I was speaking with a group of HR directors from four Fortune 1000 corporations about potential age discrimination issues that many unemployed people are concerned they may face. Today, just in Iowa, there are thousands of people who are in there late 40′s-60′s that are far from retiring and can offer a company a tremendous amount of successful and varied experience. The question was posed to these HR directors, “how does an experienced lifelong career employee get recruiter to review their resume and then contact them for a first interview?”.

Their answer echoed what I’ve seen on resumes and Curriculum Vitae’s for positions I’ve been working on. I’ve receive resumes with every job a candidate has ever had on it for the last 25 years. This is absolutely not necessary. When you’re creating your resume, you need to put yourself in the mindset of the HR recruiter or the hiring manager of the company that’s looking to fill the position.

In the notice of employment, a job description and qualifications are usually given with minimum and preferred qualifications. Your resume needs to only include the most recent jobs that you’ve had that contained those minimum and preferred qualifications of employ including month and year (ex. 06/07 – 09/09.) If the job is not your most current job, then include your most current job with a simple description as to your responsibilities and accomplishments at that job. Your primary focus should be on the job that contains the qualifications that will get you the interview.

How far back is reasonable to go? According the HR directors, 10-14 years is perfectly fine. If your experience that meets the minimum and/or preferred qualifications is not concurrent with your most recent 10 years of jobs and you hadn’t used those skills in that time frame, they consistently agreed that they would not consider them as valid for the meeting the qualifications for the job. I’ve run in to this myself and had many conversations with candidates who haven’t used the skills necessary to do the job for 10 years or more. That skill is no longer a skill. It’s a memory that would have to be re-trained. Other candidates submitting themselves to the same job would now become more valuable to the hiring manager.

They also suggested on your resume, it is not necessary to put the year that you graduated from college. Instead put the college, city, state, and degree received. If the job progresses to an offer they will not care when you graduated, and besides, they will find that out during the background check.

Finally, if you want to show that you are more experienced than just what the job requires; in your cover letter you can address this with several different types of comments. Something along the lines of, “in addition, I also have gained, demonstrated, etc…successful accomplishment of …”name the skills or talents you want to list.” You don’t have to put a year on them. Then in the interview, if the interviewer is interested in these skills they will ask about them.

***Only discuss these if they bring them up.

The perfect resume is not a myth. It has nothing to do with elite schools or incredible work experience. A blue collar worker can have a stellar curriculum vitae and a white collar professional may have a poorly written one.

Writing a resume should be about knowing what employers look for in their job applicants. It is about detailed information that is accurate, truthful, not over-winded or too long. There is a fine line between not including enough information and including too much.

There are a few things that a great curriculum vitae has within its set margins. The first is personal information such as your name, address and contact numbers. It is also a good idea to put in your email address, in case they prefer communicating electronically.

The second is information about past job history and education. You will also want to mention salary history so that the employer knows what type of pay you will be asking for and whether or not you may be too expensive for their budget. Not every employer bases their opinions of hiring on salary requirements, but some do.

Not everyone can write a perfect resume. Even professional resume writers will make mistakes. However, it is important to know how to write a curriculum vitae just in case you need to submit one to a job possibility.

A bad one gets tossed into a folder or even worse, the trashcan. Avoid this by knowing the basics. If you have tried and still cannot get it right, then perhaps you should hire a professional.

Writing resumes can be very confusing. A professional writer can help you with the proper format and coach you along. If you do not know any professional writers, then you can always go to the local University and talk to the teachers in the help desk area.

They may be able to give you a sample of the particular curriculum vitae you want and can tell you how to set your information in place. As well, a quick internet search will provide you with many helpful tools, such as resume templates, resources and examples.

No one has an absolutely perfect resume. There are always flaws or mistakes. The goal is to eliminate as many mistakes as possible. You do not want to send in a curriculum vitae filled with incorrect spelling and grammar.

Make sure the paper you are using is good quality and is free from any stains or scents. Spraying your document with your favorite cologne or perfume will not help you land the job.

By: Mike Selvon

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A CV or also known as curriculum vitae (Latin word), is needed when you are applying for a job, this is one way of advertising yourself to an employer. That is why when you write your CV you must know how to offer yourself and your capabilities in the best way. There are number of ways how to write your CV, and you will learn it here:

First and foremost, we just don’t write CV the way we want it, there are certain considerations that we should practice. Country and culture can also affect your style of writing your CV because countries have different requirements, principles and advice how they want the CV of an applicant should look like.

Some usual information that must be included in your CV despite of the cultural differences: take note that all information must be true and real; never fake your information to make good impression.

1. Name
2. Surname
3. Local address
4. Email address (if applicable)
5. Phone number – give the number where the employer can easily reach you or communicate with you
6. Skills – never fake your skills because this is the basis of the employers to hire you. You should write what you are capable of doing and it must be well written. Make sure that you do not write very long description; rather make it short but catchy and straight to the point.
7. Objective – State your goal in this section, this is where your employer will know what job you are looking for. You should also state what position you are applying.
8. Educational Attainment – state the highest attainment for education that you have reached and present or include physical proof like certifications, diploma as a basis that you are qualified for the position being offered.

Make your CV attractive and easy to read, so that the employer will understand easily what you are up to. Don’t make your CV complicated; a simple one is good enough. Remember one thing, apply and write your CV according to your skill, education and expertise.

All of these are what you exactly need on how to write a CV.

By: Sue Chambers

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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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