BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
LESSON 18:
CURRICULUM VITAE
By the end of this lesson you will:
• Know what Curriculum vitae is.
• Learn different types of CV’s
• Learn how to prepare a CV
Students, now that you have learnt how to write a covering
letter, you also need to know about curriculum vitae. CV as it is
most commonly known, as is the first hurdle in getting a job.
3 Types of Resume
There are three types of resume most commonly described.
They are:
Chronological Resume
The Chronological Resume is the most traditional method of
summarizing your employment information and it is the one
that this guide advocates. Its key feature is the fact that it
arranges your work experience chronologically and usually
elaborates on skills and accomplishments within the body copy
of the Work Experience section. Its weakness is the fact that it
can’t help you hide a recent position you’d rather forget you ever
accepted.
Points to remember with a Chronological Resume are:
1. You should ideally relate your Work History to your current
targeted position
2. You should have a stable Work History with few gaps and
nothing to be ashamed about
3. Your Work History should demonstrate a logical progression
toward your current objective
Functional Resume
The Functional Resume differs from the Chronological Resume
in the way it presents information. Unlike a Chronological
Resume, which leaves you vulnerable to gaps in your work
history, the Functional Resume can help you hide a past
position that you’d rather forget. The Functional Résumé’s key
feature is the fact that it highlights your skills and achievements
without referring those skills to any particular past position. For
this reason, the Functional Resume is a favorite with people
who have something to hide. This is a very good reason for not
using the format if your past Work Experience is nothing to be
ashamed of as recruiters/interviewers will be aware of the
benefits of a Functional Resume as well.
Points to remember about a Functional Resume are:
1. You should use it if your Work History is repetitive and
your past positions lack variety
2. You should use it if your Work History is composed of
differing kinds of position types that do not form a cohesive
whole
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3. You might want to use it if you are dramatically changing
careers. This will allow you to emphasize your transferable skills
rather than your growth in a certain kind of industry or job
4. You should use this type of resume if your skills have been
learned through schooling rather than work experience.
5. You should use this type of resume if you are switching
career tracks or returning to the workforce after a hiatus.
Combination Resume (Transition
Resume)
Combines the best features of both of the former (though that
does not necessarily make it better) by allowing applicants to
highlight their skills and accomplishments in one section and
their Work History in another (minus descriptive details). My
personal dislike for this form stems from the fact that it is
harder to picture exactly how the person’s skills fit with their
experience. It requires the employer to be a detective to some
extent, and with a mass of resumes on their desk, chances are
they’ll give up before they have a positive picture of your
abilities.
Points to remember about using a Combination Resume are:
1. It can help you overcome some of the same difficulties a
Functional resume can, while maintaining the comfortable
structure of a Chronological Resume. However, it tends to
abstract skills from experience which can call your expertise
into question
Self-Preparation Before (Re) Writing a
Resume
Before you start thinking about the actual content of your
resume, you really need to ask yourself a number of key
questions.
What is Your Ideal Position?
Think about the perfect job. Everybody’s is different. What is it
about the job you like? Working with people or not working
with anybody?. Having plenty of projects or do you prefer
repetitive tasks which free you mind?
What Kinds of Things Do You Like Doing?
Think about your hobbies. Think about what you do at home
in your sparetime that makes life worth living. Can you do it
and get paid for it somewhere or in some form? It might not
be quite the same, but if your job evens contains an atom of
what you enjoy, you’ll find you like the job.
Think About Your Favorite Job in the
Past; What Was It You Liked About It So
Much?
Was there a part-time job that you really enjoyed? Maybe the job
only lasted a few months, but you really liked it. What was it
about that job that made you enjoy it so much? Could you find
those things in another job?
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 Are There Gaps In Your Employment?
BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
If there are, it’s not the end of the world. Are those gaps legiti-
mate? What were you doing during that time? Can you turn your
absence from the workplace into a positive virtue? For example, if
you were travelling during a gap of three months or so, what did it
teach you. Try to sell it as a gain, rather than as a loss.
Reasons For Leaving Each Position?
Figure out the best way to explain why you left each position.
The idea is to present your move in the best light possible.
Above all, be honest. Getting caught in a lie is far worse than
having to admit that you didn’t like a particular job. Remember,
at some point your potential employer will contact your past
employer to get their side of the story.
Resume Do’s & Don’ts
Do
• Keep to one or two pages depending on experience
• Describe your main functions, not what you did incidentally
• Emphasize those duties that are most relevant to your
present application
• Include any special recognition, accomplishments or projects
you were involved with
• Describe your former/current employer, including size of
company, type of industry, etc.
• Write about yourself in a positive light
• Strive to be concise and target your information to the
employer
Don’t
• Try to fit too much on the page. (Leave some space on the
page)
• List personal information such as marital status, race, age, etc.
• Leave suspicious gaps in your Work History
• Include salary requirements (leave that until an interview or
later)
• Put a photograph on your resume (even if you do have a
scanner)
• Use negative expressions or comments about previous
employers
• Include any health information
• Include references (separate sheet please)
• Include reasons for leaving a previous job (save your reasons
for the interview)
Preparing the CV
Resume writing seems to be the part that gives people the most
trouble. It isn’t that hard if you follow some guidelines.
At some stage or another during your life, you will need to
prepare a CV. If you are like most people, you will have many
attempts at preparing your resume before you actually get
anything decent together. The problem is generally due to a lack
in planning.
The key to resume writing excellence is in presenting it the right
way. Most people make the error of just listing their experience
and qualifications, this ends up being a rather boring document.
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A good resume should not only demonstrate your skills and
experience, but should also give the reader a good indication of
the type of person you are. It needs to have personality.
Following are some helpful hints on getting started, Definition
of a Resume and Types of CV’s.
Getting Started
Let’s start at the beginning, what exactly is a CV and what is it’s
purpose.
The sole purpose of a CV is to show the reader what you are
capable of.
The CV is your selling document. It needs to be able to show
your prospective employer that you are the person that they are
looking for. This goes beyond experience, training and skills. It
needs to demonstrate your personal strengths, capabilities and
the type of person you are.
It also needs to be a concise document. Most employers will
skim through all the CVs and put aside only 5-10 that might be
worth reading. On average an employer will only spend around
1-3 minutes on each CV. In other words your CV has to stand
out from the others.
This does not mean that the CV should be full of graphics,
colours or printed on coloured paper. Employers feel that if
you have to use gimmicks to impress them, then you probably
don’t have anything to offer. The CV needs to have a clean,
professional look about it. It needs to be easy to read and
should look balanced.
The format or style you choose depends on the type of CV that
you require, but no matter which one, the resume should
always be easy to follow and read.
Types of CV’s
The type of CV you decide on will depend entirely on the type
of position you are applying for. The key is to analyze what the
employer will be looking for and ensuring your CV will sell you
in the best possible way.
For example if you are applying for a Project Manager position,
then the projects that you have handled in the past will be
important. Your CV needs to list the type of projects, your
responsibilities and any achievements. It is important to show
the relevance of what you have done in the past as it relates to
the position you are applying for.
On the other hand, if the position you are applying for is more
a “hands-on” type of job, and then your CV needs to demon-
strate your “hands-on” experience in these areas. Again
highlighting the relevance to the position.
The Chronological CV is the easiest to write. It should always
be written with your current or most recent position first.
Showing your responsibilities and achievements that would be
relevant to this position.
If the job is more of a technical nature, then you need to prepare
a “technical style” resume. There are other types of resumes,
Graduates need to use a different approach. A different approach
would be used for someone seeking a career change.
The style that you choose will depend on which one will serve
you best.
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The Graduates CV
To successfully sell yourself to a prospective employer, as a
graduate, you need to show him your strengths and minimize
your weaker points. The way to do this successfully is to
emphasize on your studies and the relevant experience you have.
At this stage of your career, it is probable that your recent
graduate studies are your biggest selling point and therefore
they need to be at the forefront of the CV, The CV should be
formatted in a way so that straight after your personal details
and the career statement, your education is listed.
The order in which you list your subjects is very important.
Subjects that are relevant to the position you are applying for
should be listed first, highlight any special marks or achieve-
ments in each subject. Thesis and papers written should also be
mentioned just as you would with any achievements.
If you have failed or not completed any subjects, do not
mention these, if need be they can be mentioned at the
interview.
The CV should also mention any work experience (paid or not
paid) that you have. Start by listing the most relevant work first
and work your way through others.
Employers like to know what you are capable of, and even if
you were paying your way through College by cooking at the
local diner, the fact that you held a responsible position and
have some skills becomes relevant. The key here is to try and
turn your skills around and demonstrate how they are valuable
to the new job. Don’t expect the employer to see the relevance
here, it is up to you to highlight them.
For example let’s say you worked at the local video store, not
very relevant to Engineering right? Wrong, it is how you present
the information that makes all the difference.
Mentioning things like “customer service”, “inventory control”,
“working under stressful conditions” or even “maintaining
accurate records” can take on a new meaning when applied to
the Engineering profession.
What you want to achieve with this graduate CV style, is to
demonstrate that you have the qualifications, some relevant
experience and most importantly the right attitude.
Throughout the CV you should be displaying an eagerness to
learn and a high degree of motivation. This is what a prospec-
tive employer will be looking for. Someone that is willing to
learn, study further and adapt easily.
When applying for a position, ensure you have a good applica-
tion letter, written specifically for the position and highlighting
your qualification and most importantly the right attitude. The
same applies with the interview, you need to demonstrate these
skills and an enthusiastic attitude, that will get you the job!
Guide to Successful Job Interviews
Handling job interviews is probably the most critical part of the
whole job searching process. There are numerous books on the
subject and just about everyone has something to say on the
matter. Mention job interviews and most people will have a
horror story to tell you about some experience they had.
This section has been written to give you some practical advice
on handling job interviews successfully. We’ll discuss various
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elements like interviewing methods, what to expect, how to
BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
handle those tricky questions, preparation, what to take with
you, what to discuss and what not to discuss.
The job interview is a time for them to get to know you better.
They have already decided that you have the experience and
knowledge that they require, that is why they want to meet you
in person. What they really want to see at the interview is who
you are. Your attitude and personality are going to be the most
important factors in the decision making process.
Preparing For Job Interviews
Preparing for job interviews is probably the most important
aspect. Do this right and you will breeze through it, go
unprepared and you will fail miserably. Preparing for a job
interview means getting your mind right and feeling confident.
Remember you are the best person for the job, you just have to
show them that.
Firstly do some research on the company and its products,
know who their customers are and what the company’s
objective is. Once you have this information, then make a list
of what skills or knowledge you have that would be valuable to
them. You cannot sell yourself to them if you don’t know
what it is you are selling.
Next thing to prepare is your physical appearance. You have to
dress right for job interviews, don’t wear anything too flashy,
neat and clean are more important than the latest fashion. The
aim is to look professional without overdoing it. If you are not
comfortable with a shirt and tie, it might be best not to wear
one, unless the job will require you to dress this way. It is
important that you feel comfortable, the last thing you want is to
be worried about your appearance during the interview. It will
only make you nervous and you will quickly lose confidence.
Work out what you need to take with you. A copy of your CV,
originals (and copies) of your qualification papers, copies of
references, samples of your work (if applicable) and anything
else that they may want to see. Again make sure everything is
well organised and neatly presented. Don’t take a pile of
paperwork that you have to sift through for ten minutes to find
something, that will give them the impression that your are
disorganised.
Interviewing Methods
As the job market becomes more competitive, so do screening
methods. Employing a new person is an expensive exercise and
companies want to ensure they do it right. When the job
market becomes more competitive, new interviewing methods
are introduced. It is not uncommon these days to be put
through a series of tests and interviews before a company
makes the final decision.
Some of the processes that you might experience include:
Aptitude tests: These tests are designed to find your personal-
ity traits. They would be looking for a particular type of person
and this test will show them if you fit their profile. You can’t
cheat in these tests, if you attempt to “formulate” your
answers, the results of the test will show. Be honest here, you
can’t hide who you are.
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 IQ/Thinking tests: These have been prepared to work out
BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
your analytical and logical thinking patterns. To some extent
general knowledge would be useful, however they are really
geared towards finding out how you analyse data and find
solutions to problems. Again it is impossible to cheat on these
tests, but a little preparation would go a long way. Prepare for
this test by doing some logical thinking puzzles. There are lots
out there in the bookshops.
General knowledge : Tests in this section include mathemati-
cal, grammar, spelling and general knowledge. Preparing to take
some of these will include doing a revision of you school work.
Forget the calculator and go back to pencil and paper. If you are
a wiz at maths, then you should have no problem, but if you
are like the rest of us that reaches out for the calculator, then get
some practice prior to attending.
Panel Job Interviews : These can be nerve wracking types of
interviews, however, most job interviews these days include a
panel. The panel might just 2 people or it can be as many as 10.
To handle this interview well, you must appear to be confident,
don’t hesitate too long before you give an answer. Watch your
posture and try not to fidget too much. When answering a
question make eye contact with one or two of the people. Find
a friendly face and use that person for most of your eye contact,
it will help in making you feel more relaxed.
One on one job interviews : These type of interviews are
easier to handle, they are generally more informal. The best way
to handle these type of interviews is to relate to them as a form
of conversation. You should ask questions and exchange
information as you would during a normal conversation. Offer
your own information as needed without waiting to be asked.
Handling job interview questions:
There are various types of questions asked at a job interview.
Most job interviews start with chit-chat type of questions, these
are designed to break the ice and get the conversation flowing.
Questions like “did it take you long to get here”, “did you find
the place alright”, “were you able to find parking”. Most of
these just require a “yes, no problem” type of response, you can
elaborate more if you wish, however ensure that you don’t
provide information that will give them a bad impression.
Saying something like “It took me ages to get here, traffic was
so bad, I hate travelling to this side of town..” would not
make a good impression. If this is the place where you would
be working, they would automatically be worried that you will
be late to work everyday.
Most questions will be geared towards finding out a bit more
about you. They might be historical questions regarding your
previous employment or education, or they may be hypothetical
questions “what if...”. These are geared to finding out how
you would handle a situation or to find out your personal
views to certain areas.
Whenever answering a job interview question, give as much
information as you can. Tell them why, where, when and how.
In other words use samples to prove what you are saying. Make
a statement, then qualify it by giving a sample of a situation and
how you handled it.
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There are times that you will be asked a hard question during a
job interview. Don’t panic, there is a reason why these ques-
tions are asked and that is to see how you handle a difficult
situation. Being prepared is always the best policy.
Following are some samples of questions and some advice on
how to handle them efficiently.
How would you handle a difficult customer?: Be careful here,
don’t say that you have never had a difficult customer as anyone
who has dealt with customers knows that is impossible. Use a
sample to demonstrate how you handle a difficult customer.
Talk about an incident at a previous job (where, when), explain
the situation, how you handled it, and what the outcome was.
Why should we choose you? : Ask yourself why you applied,
what makes you prefect for this position, what can the company
gain from hiring you, what have you got to offer, how would
you handle this job. This is what they want to know, so go
ahead and tell them.
Tell me about yourself: Split your answer into two, the
professional and the personal level. Both are just as important,
how you move from one to the other depends on what you
have to say. The best way to answer this job interview question
is to give a brief summary of your life, professional and
personal, less emphasis on the early past, more emphasis on the
present and the future.
What are your weaknesses?: Don’t say ‘I don’t have any”.
Everyone has weaknesses and it takes strength to recognize
them. Say something relevant but not hugely important to the
specific position, and always add a positive. Something like “I
haven’t had a lot of exposure to on-site maintenance, however
I am looking forward to being more involved in dealing with
customers directly and learning their needs”.
What are your strengths?: Customize your answer to meet the
position requirements, remember the things they asked for in
the advertisement? Tell them your strengths but also demon-
strate them and show them how they would apply to this job.
Use samples of how your strengths were valuable, use the
“why, where, when, how” demonstrate and prove your
strengths.
Job interviews are not that bad, so long as you are prepared.
Maintain good eye contact and ensure that you have some
questions to ask. job interviews are a two way process, a
conversation where they want to get to know you better and
you want to find out more about the position.
Above all, try and keep calm, smile and show professionalism.
E-mailing Resumes
Submitting a resume to an employer via e-mail requires a little
thought if you are going to avoid some of the more common
pitfalls. Do you send your resume in the body of an e-mail or
as an attachment? If you are sending an attachment, what
format should it be in? Perhaps you want to take advantage of
the web and demonstrate your online savvy by serving your
resume straight off the Internet?
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E-mailing Your Resume in the body of an
E-mail
You may have spent hours on Word or WordPerfect nicely
formatting your resume, but when you send it in the body of
an e-mail, guess what? All your hard work gets turned into crazy
ampersands, dollar signs and *@*&**$.
How Do You Avoid This?
Prepare a special copy of your resume for inclusion in the body
of an e-mail. Create your resume in a plain text (ASCII) format
with an application like Windows’ WordPad or Notepad. If
you prefer to use your favorite Word Processor (Word, Works,
WordPerfect), they’ll also allow you to save your resume to plain
text. No matter what operating system or e-mail client applica-
tion the employer is using, they’ll be able to read your resume if
it’s in text form.
While including your resume in the body of an e-mail gives it
near guaranteed accessibility, there is the problem of formatting.
Somehow or other, e-mails invariably look worse once they’ve
gone through the wringer known as the Internet. A perfectly
justified e-mail message with bolding and italics becomes a
series of jagged text edges and lost formatting.
Appearance is very important in a resume and although
potential employers realize the nature of e-mail is disorganized
when it comes to style, they still like to see a nice looking
resume. It’s the nature of employers.
How do you achieve both goals - universal readability and
presentability? First, keep the resume simple. Align all the text
to the left of the page. Don’t make it more complicated than
that. Forget tab spaces. Forget bolding and italicizing. Use
upper-case letters and line breaks to create headings rather than
differing sizes of fonts.
Choose a basic font that exists on everyone’s machine: Times
Roman, Arial or Courier are common examples. Make sure no
line exceeds 72 characters; after that it may break awkwardly and
create an odd pattern of sentences on down to the bottom of
the resume.
Finally, e-mail yourself a copy of your resume and proof-read it.
Does it make sense? Good, start sending it out to companies.
E-mailing Your Resume as an Attachment
What about sending your resume as an attachment and
avoiding the trouble of converting your resume to a text file?
Here are some of the disadvantages associated with e-mailing
your resume as an attachment:
i. Opening an attachment can be time-consuming if you are an
employer answering hundreds of applications a day.
ii Attachments are sometimes corrupted by the time an
employer tries opening the file.
iii. Attachments are sometimes created in formats the employer
cannot open (i.e. Works, Wordstar).
Ever wonder how many employers never got back to you
because they couldn’t/wouldn’t open your resume? Scary
thought, isn’t it? All those missed opportunities.
So, should you resist sending your beautifully formatted Word
document altogether? The answer is no. Include your resume in
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the body of your e-mail for easy reference but also attach a
BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
properly formatted version for later use if the employer wishes
to pursue you as a potential employee.
Some advice on creating attachments might also be useful here.
Try to create your attachment in a format you know a large
number of people will be able to access. Word is good for most
businesses, while WordPerfect is ideal only if you are sending
your resume to a legal firm. Try to avoid creating and attaching
your resume as MS Works files or Wordstar, etc. You may use
these programs to create basic .txt or .doc files though, which
anyone should be able to view.
Some people attach their resumes as HTML files. This has the
advantage of being almost as universal as a text or document
file because most businesses have a browser on their worksta-
tions. HTML files are restricted in their formatting though and
do not always copy nicely to other text based programs,
especially those used as resume databases by companies.
Serving Your Resume off the Web
You want to show employers you are web savvy so you take
your resume and turn it into a website. Now you send prospec-
tive employers an e-mail, directing them to your site, “If you
want to see my resume, click here.”
Big mistake. What busy employer is going to take the time to
connect to the Internet to download the resume of a person
they know nearly nothing about?
Do not expect an employer to do your hard work for you. If
you send an employer an e-mail directing them to your resume,
you are committing a gross breach of business etiquette (not to
be confused with netiquette).
What you are doing is the offline equivalent of mailing an
employer a letter which says, “If you want to see my resume,
send a stamped addressed envelope to such and such address
and I’ll mail it back to you.”
Not all employers have easy access to the web. Many companies
prohibit internal use of the web owing to productivity issues.
Other times, your vaunted webpage will come back “Not
Found” or your page may take forever to load. Perhaps your
resume is linked to other pages on your site with less than
savory material. Even if the potential employer does visit your
site, copying your resume as HTML can be a pain (forget about
formatting, it’s every word for itself).
In most cases, the employer will probably not bother with your
resume at all.
It is, however, acceptable to include a link to your online resume
as long as you also send a text copy with the e-mail. Indeed,
your web resume might well contain more information or
samples of your work than it would be possible or desirable to
include in a normal resume.
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Ten Keys to a Dynamite Resume

To help you construct a better, more powerful resume, here are
Letter of appointment ten overall considerations in regard to your resume’s content
and presentation:
n Intro 1. Position title and job description. Provide your title, plus a
– Create goodwill by congratulating on detailed explanation of your daily activities and measurable
appointment results. Since job titles are often misleading or their function
n Other paragraphs may vary from one company to another, your resume should
– Provide complete info about position tell the reader exactly what you’ve done. (Titles such as
– Job title, conditions
conditions of
of service,
service, salary
salary account manager, business analyst, and internal consultant
scale, working hours, leave, fringe are especially vague.)
benefits, memberships, commencement 2. Clarity of dates and place. Document your work history
date, time, place, contact person accurately. Don’t leave the reader guessing where you were
employed, or for how long. If you’ve had overlapping jobs,
find a way to pull them apart on paper, or eliminate
mentioning one, to avoid confusion.
3. Detail. Specify some of the more technical, or involved
aspects of your past work or education. Have you performed
tasks of any complexity, or significance? If so, don’t be shy;
give a one or two sentence description.
4. Proportion. Give appropriate attention to jobs or
educational credentials according to their length, or
importance to the reader. For example, if you wish to be
considered for a position at a bank, don’t write one
paragraph describing your current job as a loan officer,
followed by three paragraphs about your high school
summer job as a lifeguard.
Letters of appointment 5. Relevancy. Confine your curriculum vitae to that which is job-
related or clearly demonstrates a pattern of success. For
example, nobody really cares that your hobby is spear fishing,
– Indicate whether the applicant should or that you weigh 137 pounds, or that you belong to an
reply telephonically or in writing and activist youth group. Concentrate on the subject matter that
when contract should be returned addresses the needs of the employer.
n Closing 6. Explicitness. Leave nothing to the imagination. Don’t
– Express hope that the applicant will assume the resume reader knows, for example, that the
accept the offer and that you hope to University of Indiana you attended is in western
spend many years working together Pennsylvania, or that an “M.M.” is a Master of Music degree,
or that your current employer, U.S. Computer Systems, Inc.,
supplies the fast-food industry with order-taker headsets.
7. Length. Fill up only a page or two. If you write more than
two pages, it sends a signal to the reader that you can’t
organize your thoughts, or you’re trying too hard to make a
good impression. If your content is strong, you won’t need
more than two pages.
8. Spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Create an error-free
document that is representative of an educated person. If
you’re unsure about the correctness of your writing (or if
English is your second language), consult a professional
writer or copy editor. At the very least, use a spell-check
program if you have access to a word processor, and always
proofread what you’ve written.
9. Readability. Organize your thoughts in a clear, concise
manner. Avoid writing in a style that’s either fragmented or
long-winded. No resume ever won a Nobel Prize for

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literature; however, an unreadable resume will virtually
assure you of starting at the back of the line.
10. Overall appearance and presentation. Select the proper visual
format, type style, and stationery. Resume readers have become
used to a customary and predictable format. If you deviate too
much, or your resume takes too much effort to read, it’ll
probably end up in the trash, even if you have a terrific
background.
Resume writing can be tricky, especially if you haven’t done it
before. I suggest you write several drafts, and allow yourself
the time to proofread for errors and ruminate over what you’ve
written. Practice, after all, makes perfect. If you have a
professional associate whose opinion you trust, by all means,
listen to what he or she has to say. A simple critique can save
you a great deal of time and money.
I worked with a candidate recently who had the most
beautifully written resume I’ve ever seen. When I asked him
about it, he said that he sharpened his skills by writing and
rewriting his wife’s resume. After he got the hang of it, he
worked on his own — and kept revising it on a monthly basis.

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