Writing a CV
A curriculum vitae is an important part of any job application. It is often demanded in other contexts as well, such as documenting the qualifications of project staff in an application for research funding from the European Commission or other bodies. Given the importance of this document is it surprising that many still use the traditional CV, when there are other interesting alternatives.
Traditional CV
This is a listing of basic information with name, address,
contact details, then a series of headings, such as : «Education»,
«Career», «Publications», «Appointments»
and «Interests». Most people place the most recent activities
first. Sometimes, the names and contact details of two referees are added
(one about you as a person and the other a professional reference). The
traditional CV is criticized because it does little to «sell»
your superb qualities to a potential employer/funding body, it is often
too factual and usually not tailored to what the «customer»
wants.
Chronological CV
This uses headings such as «Personal», «Qualifications
and training», «Interests» and «Referees»
that list what you have done factually as in the traditional CV. The main
difference is the section «Experience» that comes after «Personal».
Instead of just listing your positions and your em-ployers, a chronological
CV adds what you have done in your career starting with the most recent
activities. A successful «Experience» section is written in
complete sentences using active constructions such as «responsible
for…, in charge of…, managing…, research work into…, publishing…».
As the rest of the CV is fairly standard, you can tailor the «Experience»
section to each job you apply for. The drawback is that since the chronological
order has to be followed, any empty periods in your track record will be
very evident.
Functional CV
This is organized by skills and qualities, so if a job
requires certain skills such as IT competence and international experience,
you can present yourself accordingly. This means you can focus on your
strengths and the skills the employer is looking for. A functional CV uses
headings such as «Personal», «Education and training»,
«Interests» and «Referees» that list what you have
done factually as in the traditional CV. The sections that come after «Personal»
are characteristic of this type of CV: «Profile», «Skills»
and «Experience». Under «Profile», you could write:
«Responsible, recently-graduated chemical engineer, with good organizational
skills. The initiative to work independently, and successful experience
of working in a project team. Strong background in IT, matched by three
months of international work experience in leading software company».
The «Skills» section lists your skills: «Biotechnology,
specializing in…», «Desktop publishing», «French
- working knowledge». The «Experience» section is similar
to the chronological CV but lists the most relevant periods of your career
first.
Tricky words
curriculum vitae, resumé
Curriculum vitae (Norw. vita) is a brief resumé
of a person's life, education and career that is commonly required with
job applications or as career documentation. The plural form is curricula
vitae. The normal abbreviation is CV.
Resumé means a summary: «A quick
resumé of the results from the kick-off meeting». In AE, resumé
is an alternative to curriculum vitae: «Applicants are invited to
submit their resumés». Remember the accent or there may be
confusion with resume, meaning to do something again.
Enlightening English
«Student Peace Price»
Some of our colleagues recently announced that the «Student
Peace Price» will be launched. Without linguistic purification, the
confusion between the cost of something - price and the award of something
- prize, may have misled the international student community about the
true purpose of this excellent initiative. Is it the price of keeping
students all over the world peaceful? or the student version of the Nobel
Peace Prize? This was not a single typo, price and prize were confused
10 times on a single page. The world was almost referred to a homepage
that ended «…ntnu.no/price/» and an e-mail address that started:
«price@».
The problems with r's and l's in Japan have led to some
interesting linguistic incidents:
The future emperor of Japan was once referred to as the
«clown prince».
An American went to his first Japanese burial service.
He joined the line of mourners, picked up a white chrysanthemum and placed
it by the photograph of the deceased. He also knew that he should clap
his hands, but how many times and when? His Japanese colleague saw he was
unsure and wrote a quick note: «To show respect for the deceased,
approach the picture and crap three times».