Personal Data
The practice
of writing a standard CV begins with personal data.
In our multi-cultural
society and with dialect differences it is important to research and understand
the background of an employer, so that you avoid culture-shock when presenting
your job application. Family name and
first name may be presented differently.
In some nationalities all job communications begin with the family name.
Some write the
name in capital letters and others underline it.
Therefore the nationality of
the job seeker is significant.
The job may be for nationals only or for a specific
nationality.
The reasons may differ from diplomatic relations, standards of
education and level of languages, to a working permit to ascertain
nationalities. Another
thing that is a must is the address. A contact
address is a channel of communication between you as an applicant and your
prospective employer.
It is therefore
crucial to provide your physical address, email address, home telephone number,
mobile phone number, work telephone and, if applicable, fax address.
These must
to be clearly and correctly stated in the CV.
Details of
your age, wife, husband, marital status, children and sex orientation are
optional.
You can provide these if the prospective employer requires or if it
is one of the requirements in the job advertisement. For example, if the
employer requires someone 35 years of age and you are 33 years and you possess all
other qualifications, then there is no need to provide your age. It is better to risk not telling your age until
the interview because the employer may decide to eliminate you because of your
age.
You have a good chance of impressing
them during the interview rather than being blocked right away. If you are within the age bracket required by
employer then state your age bracket. The reason
why age is not important to state in your CV is that an employer may be your
age or an older person who prefers working with either people of their age, older
or younger than them. This may
discriminate you during their sorting of the applicants, which is not good. It
is better that your skills speak for you instead of your marital status, age,
religion or race. It is better to add
your ‘date of birth’ if possible, rather than to write out your age. It is
advisable to mention your sex if it is not obvious from your name.
For example, girls sometimes use their father’s
names when they first register in national exams as their surname or family
name.
State your
nationality and passport/ID number if appropriate.
Some jobs
require married employees. It is then
important for you to state your marital status. Mention your marital status if needed; what the employer state in the
job advertisement is necessary and so provide it.
It is better if the employer gets all he or
she needs in your CV than having to wait to question you on the interview day.
Employers should get all answers from your CV
which is the only way an employer knows you have really paid attention to the details.
Education and Qualifications
This part should
be arranged in a chronological order starting with recently achieved
qualifications.
Begin with the highest
level of education acquired. For example:
Doctorate, Masters, Bachelors, Diploma, A-level and then 0-level.
College and
courses attended as a mature student should be included in a chronological
order.
Qualifications obtained at evening classes, part time studies and
correspondence courses should be included as it makes you an outstanding
candidate for the position applied for.
These
qualifications add credit to your CV.
If you are
applying for a job immediately after high school or college without any work
experience, it is better to include grades achieved at each level.
Once you
have been working for a while, sometimes it is sufficient enough to just list
the qualifications obtained since the age of 13.
This list reduces as you go up the ladder to a
high level of education. If you are a high
school diploma holder, have a primary certificate or other levels worthy a mention;
be sure to add them in your list.
If you
have never had work experience then even your grades earned should be
shown. PHD and Master’s Degree holders
should list up to high school qualification, the high school diploma in some
countries, and A-Level courses in others
Clarity and
neatness is required for easy readability and to inform the prospective
employer that you are an organized person and that given a job you will
deliver.
Most employers
are interested in positions held during high school years, clubs and
responsibility awards won, sports and work experience. Some organizations even have their own
football clubs.
You will have better chance of getting employed if you can
offer a bright football expertise to their clubs.
Employers
are also keen to assess projects you previously initiated and their results, whether
the project is still alive or has been abandoned and why.
They also will seek
to know some of your published books, articles papers and research.
All these should be stated briefly under the
section called “other qualifications”.
Current Employment and Work Experience
The best
practice is to put the most recent employment at the beginning.
This is to help
the reader to know what you are doing at present. The reader will grow with
interest wanting to know what you were doing before that.
This practice enables the reader to skim
through without reading detailed data but gain up-to-date information when the
CV is long.
It is important to state information
that is quickly identified at first sight.
Work experience should be brief and accurately stated.
It is
important to state the name of the organization, position held and the dates.
This takes the readers five seconds to comprehend.
Every position held will then follow with a
brief summary of duties and responsibilities.
Professional Associations/ Memberships
Being a
member of a professional association tells the employer that you are interested
in whatever you do. These associations
update members about new trends and developments in the field. They urge members
to attend conferences; some even discipline and professionally certify their members. For example: The law society of Ghana withdraws a practicing license if one does not
adhere to their code of ethics. Therefore having a practicing license from such
body gives the employer trust and confidence in you and knowledge that you are
a responsible professional. The employer
can also track your records from your professional association without asking
you for them. Employers trust applicants
who belong to a professional organization and such applicants have higher
chances of getting employed.
Summary of Skills
Some writers
skip this section or include it in “other qualifications” sections.
In some CVs it is termed as ‘qualification number
two’, but it is good to have this section just after the “professional
memberships” and before “interests” is listed.
Examples of skills employers look for are:
- Excellent communication
- Good computing skills
- Exceptional reporting skills
- Camera and photography knowledge
- Effective organizational ability
- Results driven
- Attention to detail
These skills
are usually stated as required in the job advertisement. It is advisable to
briefly state them in the CV and also in the cover letter.
Applicants should provide skills he or she is
able to prove if required to by the
employer.
For example: just stating “computing skills” or “able to
find computer documents and files” and then the employer finds that you cannot
even turn on the computer will be embarrassing, and the employer might conclude
that you lied.
Personal Interests
You have to
state one or two of your personal interests such as hobbies or sports.
Avoid listing all your interests and hobbies
because the employer may then wonder when you actually have time to work. Interests, hobbies, and sports tell an
employer more about you. Listing these
helps to demonstrate your organization skills and tells whether you are a team
player or not. If you are the treasurer
of a local club, member of a charity organization, school prefect or head girl
or head boy, chairman of the wildlife club, a Girl Guide or scout, or have other
responsibilities, is an indication that you are a responsible and industrious
person.
References
Choose
references who know you well. Put their
names, physical address, email address, and telephone number.
List each reference separately at the end of
your CV. It is
advisable to ask the references for their permission before you write down
their names.
Three
references are required: one educational, one professional and one personal. The references should know you well and on a personal level. Each
of the three should be persons of outstanding authority in a company, an institution,
or your community or society.
