As part of a series of six workshops which cover the most important aspects of professional career development, I train future MBA graduates how to write an internationally successful CV and how to write an application letter that initiates an invitation by the prospective employer. In short, these workshops range from writing skills to personal awareness, analysis of weaknesses and strenghts to how to find the perfect match in terms of future employers.

1. CV/Resume Writing
by Elisabeth Dols-De Rooij
areer Development

2. Communication
=
Realization
www.communication-realization.com

3. My Life in Logos

4. 18 - 20%
20 - 22%
22- 24%
24% or more
Expected ‘graying in The Netherlands by 2025.
Percentage elderly of total population in 2025.
Source: Central Bureau of Statistics (2007)

5. OPPORTUNITY OR THREAT?
“In Limburg,
expected shrinking of
total „professional‟ population is 35%.”
Bertha Verhoeven-van Lierop,
Director KvK Limburg
(Feb. 2011)

6. HOW
SUSTAINABLE
IS
YOUR CAREER?

7. Training outline
 Discussion
 Planning Producing and Completing
International CV
 Types of Resumes
 5 Basic Principles
 The International Resume
 Presenting a clear overview
 Lay out
 Principles & International etiquette

8. Training outline continued
 How to match personal career objectives
with prospective company objectives and
positions
 ACTION: Writing Your Career objective
 Samples
 General Writing Tips
 Resume do’s & don’ts
 Personal Questions
Final

9. Discussion
What is the function of a CV?
Which CVs are shortlisted by an employer?
Which approach do most employers take to find
potential new employees?
Why is networking so important in your career
search?

10. Resume
=
Curriculum Vitae
from Latin: Course of (One‟s) life

11. “No perception is more important than
the first impression you make with
your Resume and Cover Letter.”
from Boveé/Thill, Business Communication Essentials:
Pearson International Edition 2010

12. Stages in Resume Writing
Planning Writing Completing
1.Preparation 2. Production 3. Development

13. Planning 75% Writing 25% Completing
Prewriting
Analyze the Situation
Gather Information Adapt to Your Audience
Select the Right Medium Produce the Message
Organize the Information Revise the Message
Proofread the Message
Distribute the Message
1.Preparation
2. Production
3. Development

14. Types of Resumes
 Chronological Resume
 Functional Resume
 Combination Resume
 Targeted Resume
 Europass CV

15. 1 Chronological Resume
 Personal details
 Career Objective
 First: Employment history;
most recent job/position listed first
 Additional experience
 Second: Educational history
 Additional skills
 Hobbies
 References
* Employers typically prefer this type of Resume. Why?
Because it is easy to see which jobs you have held and
when.

16. 2 Functional Resume
 Focuses on your skills and experience
rather than chronological work history
* Is used most often by persons who are changing careers
or people who have gaps in their employment history.

17. 3 Combination Resume
 First, list your skills and qualifications
 Your employment history is next
* You can highlight the skills you have relevant to the job
and also provide the chronological work history
that employers prefer.

18. 4 Targeted Resume
 Customized:
specifically highlights the experience and
skills you have that are relevant to the job
you are applying for
 Definitely takes more work!
 Well worth the effort!
* When applying for jobs that are a perfect match for
your qualifications and experience.

19. 5 Europass CV
 Template:
provides a single framework for qualifications,
skills and competences
 Suitable for:
a controlled and structured environment
 Consider: the type of industry you want to be in
Eg. Financial services

20. Europass CV
Downloads, examples , templates and
other information available online
http://europass.cedefop.europa.eu/euro
pass/home/hornav/Introduction.csp

21. Five basic principles for
CV writing
 Concentrate on the essentials
 Be clear and concise
 Adapt your CV to suit the post you are applying for
 Take care of the presentation of your CV
heck your CV and let 3 people proofread it!

22. The International Resume
▪ Personal Details
Surname Name(s) ▪ Date of birth ▪
Nationality/Citizenship
Physical address: Street, Postal code, City, Country
Contact information: Telephone number(s),
E-mail address, Skype address
URL of your personal website, page or e-portfolio
Marital status ▪ Gender (optional) ▪ Driver’s License

23. ▪ Introductory Statement
You can choose to open with
 Career objective
 Qualifications summary or
 Career summary
Template

24. ▪ Career Objective
States the goal which you would like to achieve;
or the type of work you hope to attain
 Specific objective:
matches with the position you are applying for
 General objective:
when putting together a more general Resume for posting
online or for distribution at a career fair.

25. ▪ Qualifications summary
Offers a brief view of your key qualifications
 The goal: letting the reader know within a few
seconds what you can deliver
Example:
International Account Management
Experienced international accountant and financial analyst with
proven leadership, planning, negotiating, and intercultural
communication skills.
Demonstrated ability to improve process efficiency and reduce
operating costs.

26. ▪ Career summary
Offers a brief recap of your career
 Goal: presenting increasing levels of
responsibility and performance
Useful for executives who have demonstrated
the ability to manage increasingly larger, more
complicated business operations
Key consideration for hiring upper-level managers

27. ▪ Employment history
Align your past with the employer‟s future
• List most recent experience first (200x – present)
• Company name, City, Country
• Position (Job title)
• Professional experience includes
military service, internships or any part-time jobs
related to your career objective
• Write two or more bullet statements about the work
you performed on this job and what you learned or
accomplished.

28. ▪ Employment history continued
Devote the most space to jobs that are related to your target position
Prioritize the experience and mention the
most relevant tasks.
Call attention to the skills you have developed on the job
and to your ability to handle increased responsibility
DO Use numbers where appropriate to clearly
describe your accomplishments (Quantify wherever possible)
Example: “Led a team of nine sales reps.”
DON‟T use vague qualitative terms
such as “large” or “many”: Be specific!

29. ▪ Additional experience
For example:
professional affiliations, network memberships,
associations, volunteer work or any other special
accomplishments.
Don’t waste Resume space with
frivolous or superficial information:

30. ▪ Education
State most recent education first
● Period (200x – present)
● School/University name, Faculty, City, Country
● Level i.e. BA, Masters, MBA
● Study Profile i.e. Economics, International Business
● Major/minor fields of study (GPA)
● Degrees or certificates or expected date of completion
● Diploma (Year) or anticipated graduation
● Scholarships, awards, or academic honors
Showcase your qualifications by listing courses
that directly equip you for the job!

31. ▪ Additional skills
List other skills
Choose skills which are transferable to the job
you are applying for such as
● Language skills/proficiency
● Computer program skills

32. ▪ Personal Interests
List your hobbies or your passion(s)
which could be relevant to your competences
Remember Balance!

33. ▪ References
Available on request

34. Lay-out
• Be a classic (professional)
• Be consistent
• Be creative (personalize)

35. International Resume
Principles
Each country has different etiquette
Format your Resume accordingly
Examples:
• in Canada the Resume is usually formatted - no cover
letter;
• in the United Kingdom a Resume = CV and cover letter
always;
• in France the cover letter is generally hand written &
photo attached

36. Employment is
A 2-way street
Be Confident

37. The Best Fit dynamic communication
lifelong LIFETIME EMPLOYMENT Business
objectives ACTIVE attention attitude continuous
improve process CAREER focus
employability GROWTH SMALL BUSINESS
EMPLOYEES GOING SOLO CHANGING VIEWS
FORCES JOB MARKET ENTRY

38. ► The Employer‟s
perspective
◄ Your perspective

39. What do you want to do?
 What is Your goal? Occupation, change, stability, location
 What is Your purpose? Compensation, independance, variety
 What is Your vision? Ultimate position , company size
 What is Your conviction? Corporate culture
Examine your values and interests

40. What do you have to offer?
 Jot down 10 achievements
 What specific skills did these achievements
demanded from you? Analyze
 Do you recognize a pattern of skills which might
be valuable to potential employers?

41. ACTION
Writing your career objective
Pros:
Tailormade for each job you apply
Clear, concise, could save time
Cons:
Self-serving, vague, dreadfully written, meaningless

42. Be specific but not limiting
"To manage people, interface with customers, and work with
highly technical software or hardware applications."
This objective could apply to many different jobs,
yet the skills described are quite specific.

43. The bottom line
• Objectives should reflect the employer's perspective
not the jobseeker's, and should tell what
the jobseeker can contribute.
• An objective should demonstrate
the value the candidate will add to the organization.
• Objectives may help sharpen the focus of your Resume
(especially if your experience is very diverse or
if you are switching into a career not supported by the
experience listed on your Resume)

44. Spotlighting Skills
Trend:
jobseekers replacing their objectives with a section called
"Summary," "Skills Summary" "Qualifications" or
"Profile“
Advantages:
+ can be quite appealing to employers
+ + keywords used in such sections
can be an important element
when a Resume is electronically scanned

45. GENERAL WRITING TIPS
• Use the active voice with verbs
Indicates you are in charge:
“Represented firm at international symposium.”
Achievement statement:
“Handled all client correspondence.”
• Don‟t get caught in the passive voice trap
Writing as if something happened to you:
“Was sent to Argentina to represent the firm.“
• Don‟t refer to yourself as a subject (first or third
person) in a Resume
“I helped prepare financial data for Accounts department…”
“Applicant wrote outreach letters to prospective clients.”

46. Accomplished Negotiated
Achieved Operated
dministered Organized
Approved Participated
Budgeted Planned
Chaired Presented
Changed ACTION Recommended
Completed VERBS Reduced
Coordinated
Created
Demonstrated Recommended
Developed Reduced
Directed Resolved
Explored Served
Identified Supervised
Improved Targeted
Initiated Trained
Introduced Transformed

47. GENERAL TIPS CONTINUED
• Be consistent in your spelling (UK or US)
• Use good language skills and good prose
(language that resembles every day speech)
• Avoid repetition!

48. Resume
Do‟s
Do stick to a basic, clear format which helps the
reader to get information quickly and with minimal
effort
Do make your Resume a document that focuses
on your accomplishments and skills
Do discuss your two or three most relevant
strengths

49. Resume
Do‟s
Do illustrate these with experience and achievement
statements
Be aware that employers are interested in your eligibility
to work legally and may ask for documentation
Do take time to learn about your rights and
responsibilities in the work field of your interest

50. Resume
Don‟ts
Don’t include reasons for leaving your jobs or salary
information.
Don’t portray yourself as a jack-of-all trades in the hope
that something will strike the reader’s fancy.
Don’t include e-mail addresses or websites that have the
potential to reveal controversial or inappropriate personal
information.
Avoid addresses such as
queenofthenight@hotmail.com

51. Resume
Don‟ts
Don’t use your current work e-mail or phone number as
contact information. This indicates that you are job
searching in your employer’s time.
Don’t include personal information such as your social
security number (B.S.N.)

52. Useful Links
• http://www.englishclub.com/business-
english/resumes-vocab.htm
• http://www.cvtips.com/resumes-and-
cvs/international-resume.html

53. Reconsider all skills involved
• Prospecting: company research
• Networking: initiating, leading, selling
• Writing: Resume & Cover Letter
• Listening: interpreting, analysing
• Convincing: public speaking, expertise
• Trusting: Your Self

54. “Our greatest glory is not in never falling,
but in getting up every time we do.”
Confucius
Chinese philosopher & reformer (551 BC - 479 BC)

55. THANK YOU
GOOD LUCK TO YOU!
Next
Cover Letter Writing