Preparing
an effective Curriculum Vitae
An
interview situation is very similar to a selling
situation. In order make an effective sale, knowledge
about the product and the market is very essential.
Similarly, in order to be successful in an interview,
adequate preparation and knowledge of the activities
of the prospective employer are a must. In other
words, the interviewee must be conversant with his
product (i.e. he must have good subject knowledge) in
order to effectively sell himself.
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The
first and most important tool in selling oneself is a
carefully organized and well designed CV. It serves as
a personal advertisement of the job seeker and must,
therefore, be organized in a manner such that it
appears interesting. Attractive, brief and
informative.
Success
in an interview depends to a large extent on the
impression created by the CV. Therefore some of the
questions that a candidate must ask himself before
writing his bio-data are :
1.
What are my strengths, and do they meet the
requirements of the selector:
2.
What are my weaknesses? Is there a consistency between
what I desire and what I have done so far?
3.
What opportunities do I perceive? What can I do for
the "buyer" ? what is it that I can offer
better than others?
4.
What is the learning yet to be done by me? Do I have
the necessary education, project work/experience, to
back up my career goals? The answers should lead to
the contents of the bio-data.
CONTENTS
OF THE C V:
There
are certain items which must be included in every CV
and others that may or may not be mentioned depending
on whether they are relevant to a specific situations
or not. The items which must be included are as
follows:
1.
Personal information's : Name, age, marital status,
address, telephone number etc.
2.
Educational background.
3.
Academic honors/achievements.
5.
Membership of professional organizations
6.
Employment history
7.
Extra-curricular activities : Personal achievements
and demonstrated group leadership experience.
Hobbies/Interests may be mentioned only if they
enhance the individual's image and show sincerity and
seriousness in pursuing an avocation e.g. position or
rank held in the field of interest
8.
Career goals and job objectives.
9.
Preparation made toward attainment of career goals by
way of courses taken, articles/papers published
assignments handled etc.
The
C V may not include the following items unless
specifically asked for by the employer or in a
specific situation where this information could be
useful in marketing the candidate. Most of the items
listed do not directly add to the candidate's talent
abilities or qualifications.
1.
Willingness to travel or relocate.
2.
Statement of health.
3.
Reasons for leaving past job.
4.
Names and addresses of referees.
APPROPRIATE
STYLE:
Although
every CV containers similar items of information, the
attitude and style of presenting data vary from person
to person. Five broad but distinct styles can be
identified.
1.
Historical or Chronological :
This is the most common style which presents
information in chronological successions indicating
all dates and periods of study, degrees obtained and
work experience . It emphasis the candidate's saleable
assets, talents and abilities by way of educational
back ground, Job experience, membership of
professional societies/organizations etc.
2.
Functional :
This emphasizes qualifications and abilities in terms
of job titles and responsibilities. It highlights the
significant areas and analysis the most significant
function and responsibilities first. Each item is
followed by a brief description of duties and
expertise. Dates are generally omitted in this style
and if given, they are not very conspicuous.
3.
Analytical :
The
analytical approach is particularly useful while a
change in career goals is desired or attempted. The CV
presents in chronological sequence the skills or
abilities possessed by the candidate. Work history and
educational qualifications are broken up into
significant talents and each skill is listed
separately. The main idea in this approach is to
emphasize the skill which is valuable in more than one
field by setting it apart from less significant skill
(s) rather than placing all skills together.
4.
SYNOPTIC / ANALYTICAL
When
a person has experience or knowledge in varied areas
involving many duties and responsibilities, the CV may
tend to become unduly long if listing all of them in
detail is found necessary. In such cases a synoptic /
analytical approach is useful. This style starts with
a synoptic description of the contents which are
amplified in the succeeding pages. The disadvantages
of this style is that the bio-data tend to become very
lengthy.
5.
Imaginative / Creative
This approach is distinctly helpful in displaying the
literary or artistic talents in a person and is used
in situations where creativity is called for.
CV
being the first contact between the candidate and the
interview board should be prepared carefully. It
should be short enough to catch and hold the situation
and long enough to say what it wants to, specifically
and effectively. Its appearance would provide
non-verbal clues to your personality. Finally, it is
best to remember that "honesty is the best
policy."
Preparation
for Interview
The
CV often serves as the starting point of the
interview. The clarity of intent reflected in the
career goals, and the preparation made by the
candidate for the task at hand are the main points of
examination at the interview.
The
question that may arise out of the C V are as
follows :
1.
Does the C V give a true and fair descriptions of the
persons?
2.
Do the thoughts and beliefs of the candidates match
with what he has written in the C V?
3.
Are the career objectives backed-up with adequate all
round preparation? Can the claims be substantiated?
4.
Is, the time span visualized by the candidate to
attain his career goals, realistic?
Writing
the Resume (Post G.D./Interview)
Writing
a resume of the group discussion or interview is a
very important part of the personality test.
Obviously, the purpose of the resume is to serve as a
confirmatory aid. It may carry some marks separately
or the board may give its total marks after pursuing
the resume. It also aids the board in assessing the
candidate's ability to express himself in writing. At
the same time his memory and selection of facts is
also given a trial. The following points deserve
special attention:
a).
The candidate should not exceed the time limits
provided to write the resume.
b).
He should not refer to greetings and other
preliminaries.
c).
He should first jot down the important topics and then
arrange them in chronological order.
d).
The resume should be narrative and not in the form of
questions and answers. What is required is the gist of
the conversation.
e).
The candidate should not hazard any opinions or draw
any conclusions.
f).
The resume should be factual with stress on
significant points.
g).
The chairman and members of the board are not to be
referred to individually with regard to questions
asked or observations made. The candidate should refer
only to the board as a whole.
h).
Use simple words and confine yourself to short and
crisp sentences. Practicing resume writing after mock
group discussions and interviews is the only way of
achieving perfection.