Once I applied for a leadership position at the university that required that I submit my CV and that of my prospective deputy or running mate to a vetting committee. We were subsequently interviewed as part of the process, but much to my surprise, almost all the questions that were thrown at us were based on the CVs we had submitted. My CV was Ok, but that of my running mate was poorly organized. I was so embarrassed for not reviewing her CV before submitting it, we almost lost our bid for the position that day. This experience taught us the essence of having a well-structured CV.
In a competitive world such as this, having a well written and comprehensive CV comes in handy when hunting for jobs and applying for various positions. CV is crucial because it is a documented impression of your life, it tells your potential employer the kind of person you are. The decision to either invite you for an interview or not is heavily dependent on what is contained in your CV. Though there are different types of CV, all of them follow a similar structure which I shall now present here.
It is important to note that a CV is different from a resume. The difference lies mainly in the purpose, layout and length of the document. While CVs have no page limits, resumes are usually limited to one or two pages. Also, CVs contain more details of your entire life but resume just summarizes your skills and experience. Here is what should be contained in a well-structured CV.
1. Biographical information
The very first thing that must be written on your document is your full name, positioned at the topmost part of the page. It is advisable to add your professional title(PhD or Prof) if you have one. Right underneath your name should be your telephone number(s). In addition to your telephone number, you should include your email address. Here is an example of how it should look like
First name Surname
Phone: ××××××××××
yourname@gmail.com.
2. Career Objective
The next item after your contact details should be your professional or career objective. Professional or career objective summarizes information about your personality, your beliefs, values, principles and the things you seek to achieve in life. It gives your employer an idea about how you envision yourself in the world of work. The questions that best answers this section is, who are you and why should we hire you? if you get this question right, then that's your professional objective. For instance, I am a young communicator and results-oriented person with interest in marketing and sales, public speaking and innovation. I believe in hard work and I'm looking for an opportunity to leverage my skills to support internal and external communication in a reputable firm.
3. Educational Background & Qualifications
In your quest for jobs, you need to inform your prospective employer about your educational path. List the schools that have attended, the qualifications you obtained, the courses that you undertook and the duration (from-to) of your stay there. This is usually done starting with the most recent level of education down to basic education. You may also include your grade and some relevant modules of your study.
Example
Sep 2016 – June 2020 BA Communication Studies, Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ)
Relevant Modules: Political Communication, Mass Communication, Development Theories, Social Psychology, Sociology, Media Relations.
Aug 2015 – December 2015 Professional Certificate, Primetime Media College (PMC)
Relevant Modules: Digital Advertising, Advertising Ethics, Advert literacy, Media production
4. Work Experience
Just as you listed your educational path, your work experience should be written in the same manner, reverse chronological order with your most recent job at the top of the list. You should include the name of the organization/Institution, the position you occupied and the date you were there. In some cases, you may include your job description.
5. Achievements, awards and recognition
This section allows you to outline your accomplishments, awards and certificates obtained. This includes contests that you won, workshops, seminars and capacity development training that you attended of which certificates were awarded. Again, this should be written in a reverse chronological order together with the date you received those awards. This section is optional, if you have not won any award, do not feel compelled to make something up. Also, if the award you won is not relevant to the position you are applying for, please leave it out.
6. Leadership, Volunteerism & Co-Curricular Activities
This is where you list the executive positions that you've held, stating the name of the institution/organization and the capacity in which you served. You can include any volunteerism or community service that you engaged in and the duration that you served. This is also an optional section. While it is imperative to volunteer and lead, you don't have to tell lies in your CV if you have not taken the initiative to lead or volunteer.
7. Skills, Interests and Hobbies
Inserting a section for skills allows you to market yourself more to your employer, listing your competences and abilities. Adding your extra skills boost your chance of getting the job. But be careful not to list skills and interests that are irrelevant to the job. List those only those skills that will make you stand out for the position or job.
8. References
Finally, include a list of individuals who can verify the information you provided. Provide their name, the institution the work at, the position they occupy at that institution, their contact number and an email address.
CVs may vary in size and structure, but a good CV must include the items outlined in this article. Having a well-structured CV is your best chance of making a good impression on your potential employer and eventually getting that dream job. But getting your CV outline right isn't just enough, you must update your CV regularly.
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