Basic Information

A curriculum vitae (Britain) or resumé (USA) is a list of everything you have done and achieved in your life so far, it gives information about your education, qualifications and experience.

CVs or resumés should always be short and clear:

• Try to be concise; your CV/resumé should not be longer than one page (A4-size). Only list the information that is necessary and of interest for the job you apply for.
• Handwritten CVs or resumés are out-of-date, so type your CV/resumé on the computer.
• The most important information should be seen at a glance. Therefore use headings and columns. Normally, CVs or resumés have five sections:
  • Personal details
  • Education
  • Experience
  • Skills
  • References
• Nowadays, there is the tendency towards writing the most recent facts first and finishing with the earliest (=reverse chronological order).
• Last, but not least, bear in mind that it is neither usual to attach a personal photo to CVs or resumés nor to sign or date them in English-speaking countries.

Parts of a Curriculum Vitae/Resumé
The information you should include

Personal Information:
Give your first and last name, your full address, as well as telephone number, mobile phone number and e-mail address.

Additionally, also include your date of birth and place of birth, but it is optional to add information on religion, nationality and marital status, i.e. single, married, separated or divorced. However, it is not necessary to add information about your parents, as the company is not interested in them, but in YOU.

When writing an unsolicited application you may also include a statement of objective, entitled “Career Objective”, “Job Objective” or simply “Objective”. The statement of objective is usually added at the beginning of the CV/resumé. The use of such a statement is to help HR staff to see whether there is a suitable vacancy for you or not.

Education:
As it is very likely that your education is the most relevant part of your job application, it is important to cover it in detail. Give information about your school career and your qualifications, additional training and courses, college and/or university degrees, etc.

To make this information transparent for your future employer include details about institutions, dates, degrees and areas of study. If the grades you received were good, then include an average of them.

Experience:
In this part of your CV/resumé you should cover the jobs you have held (also internships and national military or social service), including dates, places, companies and responsibilities. Here you should highlight what you did, especially the experience that qualifies you for the job you seek.

Skills:
List a number of special skills and qualifications that might be valuable to your employer, like foreign language skills, IT skills, a driving licence, etc. Do not forget to include personal qualities, such as leadership ability or team work competence.

In addition to that, you can also give information on interests and spare-time activities. Some people think that this section is irrelevant for the job. However, some of your interests might as well be valuable to your employer, like volunteer work, sports for entertaining clients or team sports to prove your ability to work in a team.

References:
Only add the phrase “References supplied on request”, but if you supply the name and address or telephone number of your reference, make sure beforehand that the person you name has something positive to say about you.

Source:
Clarke, David. Focus On Modern Business Communication. Berlin/Linz: Cornelsen Verlag und Veritas Verlag, 2006.
Kletzander, Bernhard et.al. Amazing English IV/V. Linz: Rudolf Trauner Verlag, 2001.

CV_Resumé.pdf (134.13 KB)  

Verbs to add strength to CV.pdf (117.05 KB)