Curriculum Vitae Writing Guide
A Curriculum Vitae, sometime called incorrectly Curricula Vitae or a vitae, is Latin for "course of life". The Curriculum Vitae, most often called CV, is more detailed than a resume and is commonly used by those looking for work outside the U.S. and Canada. It is used mainly in Europe and in overseas job hunting or if you are seeking a faculty, research, clinical or scientific position.
Here are some of the most popular Curriculum Vitae types:
- chronological Curriculum Vitae,
- reverse chronological order Curriculum Vitae,
- combined Curriculum Vitae,
- functional Curriculum Vitae,
- keyword Curriculum Vitae.
Each country has different recruitment practices, but most of them use Curriculum Vitaes instead of resumes.
The focus of your international Curriculum Vitae should be to persuade the employer to invite you for an interview. Therefore, your Curriculum Vitae is a marketing tool, which must be adapted to the market in which you intend to use it.
The standard Curriculum Vitae is between 2 and 8 pages long, however a Curriculum Vitae for a mid-career faculty candidate may be as long as 20 pages.
Stating of age, marital status, number of dependents, spouse's occupation, health condition, passport number, ethnic background, religion, overseas living and working experience, security clearance and even including a recent color photograph etc. may be required.
Your experience should be listed chronologically, starting with your first job and ending with your most recent position.
Among your accomplishments, you should list:
• all former positions held, detailing your duties, responsibilities, names, dates and locations,
• all memberships in professional organizations,
• titles and dates of speeches and presentations you have given,
• articles you published and publication credits,
• any awards, honors or recognition you have received and
• detailed education information.
It is advantageous not to submit job references with your application but mention that they are available on request only.
Often you may be required to include copies of all diplomas, certificates, transcripts and passports. Carefully consider what to leave out of your Curriculum Vitae.
The Curriculum Vitae is advantageous when:
- You are seeking overseas position,
- You are applying for position in education or research.
- You are seeking clinical or scientific position.
- You have extensive academic or professional credentials.
These pages contain guidelines that will improve the odds of your Curriculum Vitae achieving the objective you want - obtaining job interviews.
- Maximizes the computer's ability to "read" your CV.
- Maximizes your ability to get hits.
Check the spelling and grammar of your Curriculum Vitae. Use the word processor's spell and grammar checker. If you are not confident of your ability to detect grammatical, punctuation and English or other language usage errors or if you need help in organizing your Curriculum Vitae, bring it to a professional for assistance.
If you have a difficulty with your Curriculum Vitae writing, instead of staring at a blank piece of paper, use:
We recommend that you send your Curriculum Vitae together with a cover letter. If you have a difficulty with your cover letter writing use:
- "fill in the blanks" computer software or
- cover letter builder or
- human cover letter writing services.
Other Curriculum Vitae Writing Guide Info
Now to finalize your Curriculum Vitae Writing Guide topic, if your cover letter and Curriculum Vitae are ready, you may email them through international job search engines to job recruiters and headhunters worldwide.
Good luck with your Curriculum Vitae writing guide!