Do You Need a CV or a Resume - What’s The Difference
A resume is a one-page summary of your work experience and background to the job you’re applying to.
A CV, meanwhile, is a longer academic diary that includes all your experience, publications and more.
The main difference is that a resume is about one page (max. two), whereas the CV can be longer. A resume is use
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Do You Need a CV or a Resume - What’s The Difference
d for job hunting in all industries, and the CV is used for jobs and admissions in academia. And finally, the resume is tailored to the specific job you’re applying to, and the CV is a comprehensive overview.
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How to Format Your CV
Alright, let’s get down to brass tacks. So, what goes into a CV, exactly?Now, there is no golden rule and not every CV has the same sections. A lot depends on your experience, and where you’re applying to. Though, some parts do stay the same.The Must-have Sections to Include in a CV:1. Contact information
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How to Format Your CV
2. CV Summary or objective3. Work experience4. Skills5. EducationOptional Sections to Include in a CV:1. Certifications and awards2. Languages3. Personal projects4. Volunteer Experience
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Get The CV Layout Right
The first thing a job recruiter notices about any CV is the layout.Things like:– Is everything easy to find in one glance?– Are the colors, fonts, and headings consistent?– Is all the information well-organized?Here are some of the best practices when it comes to getting your CV layout right:
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Get The CV Layout Right
– Keep it one page in length - You should only go for 2 pages if you’re confident you can’t summarize yourself in 1 page. Don’t waste your precious CV real estate on your life story - no one’s going to read it!– Clear and consistent section heading - Keep the colors, font size, headings consistent so that it’s easy on the eyes. We’d recommend using a font
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Get The CV Layout Right
that stands out, but not too much. Do use: Ubuntu, Roboto, Overpass, etc. Don’t use: comic sense.– White-space - Make sure there are enough margins and space between the text so that the whole thing is easy on the eyes.– Keep the details clear - pick the right font size (14-16pt for section titles, 11-12pt for normal text).
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Get The CV Layout Right
– Finally, save your resume as PDF, as Word might change up your CV formatting.
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How to Grab the HR Manager’s Attention With a CV Summary or Objective
Your CV summary should include:– Jobs and years of work experience.– Relevant achievements and responsibilities.– What you look for, your goal.To make your summary memorable, make sure you mention how your previous experience will be beneficial to the current you’re applying for.
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How to Grab the HR Manager’s Attention With a CV Summary or Objective
You should also include the following information:– What can you do for them? How can you help?– How will your previous experience help fit in the company’s current environment?– How can you help them grow while maintaining personal goals?Now, how to write a CV objective? Just like your CV
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How to Grab the HR Manager’s Attention With a CV Summary or Objective
summary, your objective should be 2-3 sentences at most. But instead of describing your work experience, it should focus more on your motivation for applying for the specific job.
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How to Show Off Your Work Experience (And Stand Out)
Alright, if you’ve made it this far, now it’s time to really show off and sell yourself. Your work experience is where you get to brag a little, assuming it’s justified and accurate, of course.This is the MAIN section of your CV and where most HR recruiters jump to when looking at your CV. It’s also the deciding factor of whether you’ll get
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How to Show Off Your Work Experience (And Stand Out)
hired or not - no pressure.So, to perfect your work experience section, the standard format is as follows:– Job title/position.– Company name, location, description.– Achievements and responsibilities.– Date employed.While it may sound straightforward, it can be fairly tricky to sum up your work
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How to Show Off Your Work Experience (And Stand Out)
experience in just a few bullet points. Many people simply list their responsibilities next to the position.While this is OK, you should always try to write achievements and accomplishments instead.The HR manager most likely already knows what a business development manager or a sales manager does. You don’t want to seem like the average
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How to Show Off Your Work Experience (And Stand Out)
professional - you want to present yourself as an A-player, someone that shakes the company up (in a good way).
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Skills Section on Your CV
Consider your hard and soft skills. Hard skills are technical skills that can be measured and are directly related to your tasks. Soft skills, meanwhile, are learned skills such as your personal attributes (e.g. leadership, communication, etc.).Usually, job qualifications already include what they’re looking for in terms of skills
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Education Section on Your CV
Another important part is the education section of your CV.In the education section, you can include:– Program name - e.g. BA in business administration.– University name - e.g. NY State University.– Year attended - e.g. 08/2008 - 06/2012– (Optional) GPA - e.g. 3.9 GPA– (Optional) Honors - e.g. Cum
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Education Section on Your CV
Laude, Magna Cum Laude, Summa Cum Laude– (Optional) Academic achievements - e.g. relevant papers you’ve written, courses you’ve excelled in.– (Optional) Minor - e.g. Minor in psychology
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Other Sections for CV
Certificate and AwardsInclude any certifications you have if they’re relevant to the position here.If you’re a Facebook Blueprint certified marketer - feel free to include that. If you don’t have a lot of work experience, you can also include any relevant courses or online certifications that show you’ve taken the first step and to show you’re
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Other Sections for CV
interested (e.g. HubSpot marketing training, Google Certifications, or just about anything you took on Coursera).
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Other Sections for CV
LanguagesMost companies are international nowadays, being bilingual is a great way to stand out and have a competitive advantage.Even if language skills aren’t necessary to the position, they might come in handy at some point. When listing your languages, you can categorize them between:
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Other Sections for CV
– Native– Fluent– Proficient– Intermediate– BasicIt goes without saying that you should be honest here and don’t lie on your language skills - it’s just not worth it.
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Other Sections for CV
Hobbies and interestThis is where you get to reveal a bit of your personality. You can mention something unique here if you want to stand out.What interests you? What makes you unique as an individual?To go the extra mile and show your general discipline and commitment, you can include personal achievements within your hobbies.
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Other Sections for CV
For example, if you’ve run a marathon (something you should be proud of), you can include that in your hobbies. And who knows, you might have something in common with the HR manager as well.
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Other Sections for CV
Personal projectsSide projects show your passion and dedication. They can help you make up for any lack of experience in a certain field, or display your passion for the job. If you’re going to include optional sections within your CV, make sure they’re relevant and paint you in a positive light - either professionally or through your personality.