Sunday, January 5, 2014

Career Development: Curriculum Vitae (CV) and Cover Letter

Curriculum Vitae (CV)
The opportunity for an interview for a job will get after handing over the CV and the Cover letter, therefore it should be written perfectly. University of Illinois (2014) says that CV and resume varies from one another concerning to the audience that it’s written. CV principally present to an academic audience, generally it holds academic details, achievements and academic accomplishments. According to Morgan McKinley (2014) CV is a personal sales document written in point form which is a best tool to get to an interview.

Resume
According to Doyle (2014) resume is a one or two page summary of skills, experience and education which is written as paragraphed format. This present to an organizations which hire employees, which basically aims to a non-academic audience. (University of Illinois, 2014)

Difference between CV and the Resume
University of Illinois (2014) stated the different between CV and Resume as follows;

CV
Resume
Audience
Fellow academics in your field of study
A general audience of employers who hire for a wide variety of positions
Goal
To present your full academic history — including teaching, research, awards, and service
To demonstrate that you have the skills and experience necessary to succeed within the position you are seeking
Length
As long as necessary
One or two pages only
Focus
Demonstrating your academic achievements and scholarly potential
Representing your experiences — job-related, extracurricular and volunteer, as well as the skills you've gained from these
Essential Information
Lists of publications, presentations, teaching experiences, education, honors, and grants
Skills and experiences you have gained as related to the job you are seeking
References
Include
Do not include
 Table 1: Difference between CV and Resume
 Source:  University of Illinois (2014)

General Set up features in a CV
According to Barbara (2007) CV needs to be clear, concise, complete, consistent and current therefore a general setup features to be followed in order to look the CV more professional. Those general set up features are as follows;
  •  Font: Times New Roman Regular paper is white    
  •  Font size: 12 point
  • No underlining instead of that use bolding and CAPs to stand out things
  • Single sided
  • 1” margin in all around
  • Number the pages
  • Use correct grammar and correct spellings
  • No graphics and tables
  • Full name on every page

The format of a CV
According to Barbara (2007) following should include in the body of the Curriculum Vitae.
  • Contact Information

  1.      Full Name
  2.      Postal address which is permanent
  3.      E-mail Address
  4.      Phone number(s)

  • Sections of a CV

·         Mandatory
§  Education
§  Honors & Awards
§  Professional Experience
§  Publications/ Presentations
§  Extra-curricular & Volunteer Experience
§  Interests

·         Optional
§  Objective
§  Certifications and License
§  Professional Affiliations
§  Professional Activities
§  Research
§  Added Qualifications

Cover Letter
According to The Writing Center (2012) cover letter is a letter sent together with the CV. In the body of the letter should introduces you, explains the reason for writing, highlights a couple of your experiences or abilities and appeals an opportunity to meet directly with the potential employer.

Structure of a cover letter
Loughborough University (2014) says that the structure of a cover letter should be as follows;

First paragraph – In this paragraph the applicant should mention for what you’re applying, or where your saw the vacancy that interests you and give any reference number that may have been given in the vacancy advertisement. Then give details about what course you are studying or have finished.

Second paragraph – This paragraph should state, why you are interested by the position and offer supporting evidence to prove your statement. It can additionally refer to significant experience you may have had.

Third paragraph – This paragraph develops your suitability for the position, again with proof and examples. It can expand on abilities you have and refer again to information given in the CV.

Fourth paragraph – As the last passage this should conclude the letter and should finish with a kind comment, for example, ‘I look forward to hearing from you'.


At the end of the Career Development lecture I understood how to compose a good CV and a cover letter and the differences between the CV and Resume. Furthermore it helped me learn the importance of a CV and a cover letter. 



References

 Barbara, K, 2007. Writing the Curriculum Vitae. [Online]. 18. Available at: http://www.gdnet.ucla.edu/asis/agep/advcv.pdf [Accessed 04 January 2014]

Doyle. A. 2014. The Difference between a Curriculum Vitae (CV) and a Resume. [ONLINE] Available at: http://jobsearch.about.com/cs/curriculumvitae/f/cvresume.htm. [Accessed 4 January 2014]

Loughborough University 2014. Cover Letters. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.lboro.ac.uk/service/careers/advice/applying/cover-letter.html. [Accessed 04 January 14]

Morgan McKinley. 2014. Why it's important to have a good CV…and how do I get one? [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.morganmckinley.ie/article/why-its-important-have-good-cv%E2%80%A6and-how-do-i-get-one. [Accessed 4 January 2014]

The Writing Center. 2012. How to Write a Cover Letter: [ONLINE] Available at: http://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/CovLetter_what.html. [Accessed 04 January 2014]

University of Illinois 2014. CV or Resume? [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.grad.illinois.edu/careerservices/cvorresume. [Accessed 04 January 14]

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