How to Write a CV

"I come across people all the time who wish they had help with their CV before they submitted it to all those important jobs".

Many chances of a promotion or career change have been lost by not getting the CV written properly. Find out how to write a high quality, personally tailored, professional CV here. I also provide a professional CV writing service should you need someone to help you further.

Please be careful if you decide to write your own CV.

There is a significant amount of misinformation and poor advice regarding how to write a CV re: the content, targeting, presentation, formatting, writing etc. There are also people who are all too willing to "help" give advice - again this is dangerous as it will probably be "general help and advice" and not "person specific". This is a general guide on how to write a CV. This part deals with how to write a career statement or objective statement and should not be considered specifically the right advice for you and your approach to the job market.

How to Write a CV1: - The Career or Objective Statement

A growing trend in new CVs or resumes is eliminate the "career" or "objective" statement. Below are some reasons to include this very important career or objective statement in your CV or resume and a top-10 tips list for writing a memorable one.

Some job applicants are omitting the career statement
or objective statement within their CVs and resumes. Rewriting objectives to accommodate every possibility seems challenging, while including over-generalized career statements seems to do more harm than good. Nevertheless, when one considers the real purpose of an objective, the inclusion of it appears to be mandatory.

Writing a Career Statement or an Objective Statement.
When a cover letter cannot be submitted, the career or objective statement may be the job seeker's only chance to introduce himself. The statement serves three purposes. The first purpose is to state clearly, what type of position an applicant desires. Second, this introductory sentence suggests to the employer what type of skill set or qualifications the applicant possesses. A third purpose is for the announced career goal, one that is frequently misunderstood or under utilized all together, is the implied employer benefits, or the "what's in it for my company" angle.

Your Career Statement or Objective Statement should include a job title whenever possible. Sentences that skirt job names, such as, "...seeking a position in marketing...", suggests two things to the reader; one, the applicant has no idea about what types of jobs may be available in marketing and two, the applicant is desperate, and willing to take any job. Eagerness is good. Desperation is fatal.

Defining the position desired
This is much more effective when the company's own job titles are used, such as, "...seeking a Sales Management position..." or "...pursuing an entry-level Public Relations Specialist position.

Capturing your qualifications
Use the identified job title combined with a descriptive term such as, "experienced" or "certified". Are your employment skills developed in areas of administration? In sales? Identifying your general abilities will give you some good leading sentences for your career objective. Consider the following examples:

Recent high school graduate, previously employed in fast-food service industry, and aiming for a new position --

Experienced specialty carpenter seeking a supervisor title -- Desire to obtain a Carpenter Shop Foreman position utilizing extensive trade skills and experience in the theatrical and special events industries.

Finally, when writing a career statement or career objective
You should consider the potential employer's point of view. In a competitive job market, where hiring personnel sit behind stacks of non-descript CVs and resumes, the inclusion of a little "self-promotion" is critical. Ask yourself, "what do I have that this company wants?". Composing a C.V. or resume requires focused time and effort. Never try to hurry the process by leaving out the who, what, and why of your employment search.

Tips on How to Write a CV Career / Objective Statement

1. Choose two adjectives to describe your work style such as, "Dependable and conscientious student seeking..." or "Detail oriented and quality conscious accounting clerk..."

2. Inform your potential employer of "what is in it for them", such as, "seeking to utilize 10+ years experience in the industry..." or "...proven sales record..."

3. One sentence is good, but making sense is better! If warranted, two sentences or in some cases a short paragraph will improve an objective statement.

4. If you know the job title for which you are applying, use it. There is nothing to be gained in trying to define a new position for yourself.

5. If you have read the job description in an advertisement, try to mirror one or two of the words listed. For instance, if the job indicated a desire for a self-starter, then experiment with using the same term or one with the same meaning.

6. Grammar and spelling count! It is expected that CVs and resumes will have short sentence fragments, abbreviations, and little punctuation, but your career objective statement should be written without error.

7. Avoid being too general. It is better to do a little research with the company and uncover some of what they may be looking for than to write an over-generalized objective.

8. Ambition is nice, but statements such as "work my way up to..." will impress no one and may undercut your credibility.

9. Experiment with writing an objective without the use of the word, "I". "I", is more appropriately used in a cover letter. Using "I" and "my" too frequently may loose a recruiter whose context and focus is on what the company can gain from a new hire.

10. Do not promise more than you can deliver! If you are chronically late, then describing yourself as punctual will only undermine your credibility later when it is discovered that you have misrepresented yourself.