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8 things to make an impressive CV
Posted Date: 16 Apr 2008 Resource Type: Articles/Knowledge Sharing Category: Jobs & Interviews
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Posted By: jalaj Member Level: Diamond
Rating:  Points: 4
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8 things to make an impressive CV
~ Begin with name and contact details
Make this information available at the beginning of your CV. This should include your postal address, phone number (preferably mobile number) and e-mail address (only one). If a company wants to call you for an interview or needs to communicate with you for any further information, they will look out for this information. If it is buried somewhere inside the CV it will not only put them off but also reduce their chances of contacting you.
~ Write an appealing career summary
This is your chance to bring forward relevant strengths and skills to the recruiter. Everything in your CV should support your Career Summary. If there's anything that doesn't support your Career Summary, you should reconsider listing it.
You should write your Career Summary around your skills, attitude, knowledge and experience. There are two schools of thought on writing the career statement.
Some people think that it should be a short 30-40 word paragraph while others give it liberty to be covered in 4-5 bulleted points. Whatever you decide on, ensure that everything relevant that you want to sell to the prospective employer is covered here. At the same time, it should not become nauseating.
~ Focus on your work experience, responsibilities and achievements
If you are an experienced candidate, your work experience is your main asset. Include the details of the relevant jobs you have done in the past. You should present your work experience in a chronologically descending order ie the last company first.
This should include the name of the company, your designation and tenure followed by your job responsibilities and achievements. It is always better to present this information in bulleted format rather than a clumsy paragraph. Mention some figures when you talk about your achievements.
For example:
Worked as Business Development Manager for XYZ Company from June 2000 to January 2004.
Job responsibilities:
* Setting up 7 franchisees across 4 countries
* Maximising the business from existing customers to the tune of $ 200,000
~ Your next asset is your educational qualification
Educational qualifications play an important role in the recruitment of freshers. If you are a fresh candidate, focus your CV on your qualifications and achievements during your student life.
~ Write about your out-of-work achievements, interests and hobbies
These reflect your personality and skills. Present the relevant achievements in the order of priority ie the most important achievement first. Similarly, present your interests as well. Write about the achievements that display a facet of your personality. For example, if you have been the president of your college, do mention it. It shows your leadership skills.
~ Write short sentences with more impactful words
Lengthy CVs put the recruiter off. Keep the sentences short and use words that demonstrate your hold of the situation like managed, arranged, supervised etc.
~ Formal font faces
A font like Verdana-10 should be good for the content while the Name at the top can be written in Verdana-12, with a bold font face.
~ Use the same tense through out the CV.
Changing the tense in every second line leaves the reader confused and annoyed.
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Responses
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| Author: jalaj 16 Apr 2008 | Member Level: Diamond Points : 5 | Action Words To be used in the Resume to get a job
Nearly every book on article on the topic of résumé writing to get a job will advise you to use high-impact action words, and avoid the passive tense.
When you sit down and actually write, it is tough to come up with some original words.
Here is a list of powerful action words.
-A-
Accelerated
Accomplished
Achieved
Adapted
Administered
Advised
Analyzed
Arranged
Assembled
Assumed responsibility
-B-
Balanced
Blazed
Billed
Built
-C-
Carried out
Channeled
Collected
Communicated
Compiled
Completed
Conceived
Conducted
Controlled
Contracted
Coordinated
Counseled
Created
Cut
-D-
Delegated
Demonstrated
Designed
Determined
Developed
Directed
Dispatched
Distributed
Documented
-E-
Earned
Edited
Effected
Eliminated
Enabled
Energized
Established
Evaluated
Expanded
Expedited
-F-
Facilitated
Found
Functioned as
-G-
Gained
Gathered
Generated
Graded
Graduated
-H- Handled
Hired
-I-
Increased
Influenced
Implemented
Improved
Initiated
Innovated
Inspected
Installed
Instituted
Instructed
Interpreted
Interviewed
Introduced
Invented
Issued
-L-
Launched
Lectured
Led
-M-
Maintained
Managed
Mastered
Met with
Modernized
Motivated
-N-
Negotiated
-O-
Operated
Optimized
Originated
Orchestrated
Ordered
Organized
Oversaw
-P-
Participated
Performed
Pinpointed
Planned
Prepared
Presented
Produced
Programmed
Proved
Provided
Published
Purchased
-R-
Recommended
Recorded
Recruited
Reduced
Referred
Reinforced
Represented
Researched
Revamped
Reviewed
Revised
Revitalized
-S-
Saved
Scheduled
Screened
Served
Set up
Simplified
Sold
Solved
Spearheaded
Standardized
Steered
Structured
Suggested
Supervised
Supported
Surpassed
-T-
Taught
Tested
Trained
Translated
Tripled
Typed
-U-
Underwrote
Updated
Used
-W-
Won
Wrote
| | Author: jalaj 16 Apr 2008 | Member Level: Diamond Points : 5 | Resume To-Do List for getting good Jobs
Here are some suggestions on how to make your resume stand out so that you have more employment opportunities.
Keep the document to one or two pages. Remember, this is a resume, not a CV. As such, it is important to summarize the most significant highlights of your professional skills that are relevant to the position you are applying for. A project or vendor manager's time is limited. They spend only a few seconds looking at your resume to see if it is worthwhile to keep reading.
Indicate your source and target languages. This information is important and having it clearly visible at the top makes it easier for project or vendor managers to find when they go looking for a specific language pair among the many resumes they have on file. If you translate more than one language, include it, but differentiate your strongest language pair from the others.
Indicate your specialization. It is likely to be the second thing a project or vendor manager looks for on your resume. When looking for a particular area of expertise for a project, many translation companies use indexing and key word search tools to help them sift through the resumes on file. Having your specializations listed will help ensure that a word search leads to your resume. For example, if you are a German medical translator, make sure you list the words "German" and "medical." If you are just starting out, you may not have substantial experience in a particular field, but it is still a good idea to indicate something you would like to specialize in and that you are actively pursuing.
Submit your resume online, preferably in PDF format as an email attachment. A PDF file looks professional and can be viewed on different platforms without altering the fonts you use. It also indicates that you know how to create a PDF file, which many translation companies see as a valuable skill.
List complete contact information. Make sure you include your mailing address, phone number, fax number, and an accurate email address that you check regularly.
When saving your resume on the computer, use your last name for the filename. Don't name your resume something generic like "U.S. resume" or "translator 1 ." This just makes good sense, especially when submitting your resume online, since translation companies will typically file an applicant's material under their last name.
Indicate your educational background in the proper place. If you graduated recently and do not have much work experience, make sure you emphasize your education. If you are an experienced translator or interpreter, you can move the education information to the end of your resume and emphasize your work experience instead.
Provide relevant information only. For a freelance position, it is not necessary to show that there are no gaps in your employment history. You don't need to write down that summer you spent pouring concrete or waiting tables, unless perhaps you were waiting tables at a cafe in Paris or Madrid.
Indicate your experience with computer-aided translation (CAT) tools and whether you use such tools on a regular basis. Do you own and are you proficient in the use of a particular tool, such as TRADOS 7 Freelance? If the answer is yes, make sure it is reflected on your resume. Make sure you list specific CAT tools, since this is another area where translation companies use indexing and key word searches.
Provide information on your desktop publishing (DTP) capabilities. Skills in using DTP applications such as InDesign or QuarkXpress are good to have, as they might set you apart from other translators.
Proofread your resume thoroughly and have others proofread it. This is particularly important if your native language is not English. Of course, even native English speakers are not immune to typos and poorly worded English. Remember, you have designed your resume as a tool for selling your linguistic skills. If a resume is not flawless, your capabilities will appear questionable.
Include relevant association memberships and credentials, such as ATA certification.
Update your resume frequently. Sending out an updated resume is a good excuse to make additional contacts with translation companies. This will also help to keep your name fresh in the minds of prospective clients.
Things to Avoid
To further enhance your chances of getting a translation company to put your resume on file, we suggest you steer clear of certain practices that are quite common.
Don't use colors, photos, word art, and graphic images unless you have a good reason to do so (such as using your logo).
Don't state your date of birth, number of children, marital status, or other similar personal information. This is a common practice in other countries, but is not advisable for U.S. resumes.
Don't include an objective that is too broad. It is not necessary to state your objective at all if it is clear from your cover letter (which will typically take the form of an email message that you send with your resume attached) that you are a freelance translator or interpreter who wants to work with a translation company as an independent contractor. If you choose to include an objective, be sure to be concise. Do not make sweeping statements such as "To gain experience as a translator" or "To use my foreign language skills."
Don't provide a list of your dictionaries. You can provide this information if requested, together with other resources you are using.
Don't describe your hardware and don't list standard software applications such as MS Office. It is assumed that you already know how to use these programs, and the reader will wonder why they are listed. However, you might want to mention which platform(s) you are using, especially if you are a Mac user.
Don't leave the Track Changes feature on in Word. This may seem obvious, but the number of resumes submitted with tracked changes visible is surprisingly high. Though it is a good source of office ridicule, it is not a good way to present yourself to a potential client. Check your view settings and make sure you see what you want everyone else to see. This blooper can be easily avoided if you submit your resume in PDF format as suggested earlier.
Don't leave unused generic fields when using a template. Resume templates are fine to use, though they are fairly obvious to a reader who has seen hundreds of resumes. There is nothing wrong with using a template, provided it is appropriate for your purpose and is correctly customized to suit your needs.
Don't submit your resume in nonstandard applications, such as MS Publisher.
Don't include your rates. Of course, it is important that the project manager knows what you charge, but your resume is not a good place to provide such information. It is a good idea to submit a separate document containing your rate information, or to include such information in an accompanying message (or cover letter).
Don't use silly or unusual fonts. Use a common font like Arial, Helvetica, Times, or Times New Roman.
Don't use acronyms. Most of us know what ATA stands for, but standard resume writing suggests you spell out all proper names. If the name occurs more than once on your resume, it is fine to use an acronym for subsequent occurrences.
Don't write "references available upon request." You can provide references in a separate document or in your cover letter.
Don't submit hard copies. While a paper resume can be printed on fancy paper and look impressive, it is the content, not the form, that is important to the project or vendor manager. More importantly, a digital resume is searchable and does not take up physical space.
Last, but certainly not least, don't make things up—be truthful and accurate.
| | Author: Olufemi 16 Apr 2008 | Member Level: Diamond Points : 1 | Thanks, for this information.
Olufemi
| | Author: Vinothkumar K 18 Apr 2008 | Member Level: Gold Points : 1 | very informative
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