6 What is a curriculum vitae and why do I need one?

Figure 5 Curriculum vitae

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Photo of a typewriter with the words 'Curriculum vitae' typed on the page.

Figure 5 Curriculum vitae

The words ‘curriculum vitae’ are Latin and translate as ‘course of life’. In practice a CV has become a brief account of your education, qualifications and previous occupations used in support of a job application. Depending on when you are writing it, you may have more or less to include in it, or you may want to emphasise some things more than others. Even if you already have a CV, it is wise to regularly review and update it, so that the content still fits with your career goals. For instance, if you want to make a change from one career path to another, you might need to emphasise different aspects of your experience.

Activity 5 Assessing the value of CVs

Timing: Allow approximately 5 minutes

This activity will familiarise you with some of the benefits of writing and maintaining a CV.

Watch the following short video clip in which people describe their personal experiences of creating a CV and what they see as the benefits.

Download this video clip.Video player: preparing_a_cv.mp4

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Transcript

Ramesh:

Regarding writing CVs, its been one of those challenging tasks, where you never get 100% perfect, and you keep refining it.

Rachael:

I see many CVs, and the ones that are really good, the ones that always stand out, are the ones that are clear and concise.

Paul:

A potential employer will make that first decision. It's the first impression that they get. It's so very important that a CV is well produced

Rachael:

Bullet points. Get to the point. Say what you want to say. Don't flower it with lots of things that the employer doesn't really want to know about.

Paul:

It doesn't have to be superbly well designed, but it has to be neat, tidy.

Rachael:

Say what your qualifications are. Say what the grades are.

Paul:

The spelling has to be perfect and anything else will not do you justice.

Rachael:

And if you've got the correct qualifications and the correct skills, the employer will be in touch.

End transcript

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Jot down the main points made, if you find them helpful.

So, now you’ve considered why CVs are useful, let’s look at what you should include, in the next section.