CV writing
Département des langues
CV writing
The aim of this course is to help you write your CV or resumé.
Different types of CV
Example of a chronological format
You should use a chronological format if you do not yet have much professional experience and want to stress your educational background, especially if you are applying for postgraduate studies. Your most recent degree is at the top, 2005 to present.
John DOE 7, rue de la Débrouille 75 006 Paris phone: 01 39 77 54 57 mobile: 06 33 63 63 36 e-mail: johndoe@hotshot.com
EDUCATION 20.. – 20.. name of university, major field of study 19.. – 20.. name of high school, major field of study
INTERNSHIPS (month) 20.. to name of company, description of company and tasks, if necessary (month) 20.. (month) 19.. to (month) 20..
OTHER WORK EXPERIENCE (month) 2000.. to name of company, job title (month) 1999..to
LANGUAGES English: Good skills, both written and oral - One-month intensive course in Great Britain, September 2001 - Three month stay in the US, July-September 2002 Spanish: Fluent French/Russian: Bilingual
EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES[1] Activity, description, other information
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Example of a mixed format
When you are applying for a first job and are clear about your goals/ objectives, you may use this format.
PHOTO
Mickey Walker Mouse 15, rue du Port 22443 Pont-sur-champs, France phone: 01 44 63 56 78 mobile: 06 65 65 85 24 e-mail: douglas @ hotmail.com
OBJECTIVE a short statement describing career or job objectives
ACHIEVEMENTS - Description of achievement. An active verb is good here. (see list at the end) -Built web site for NASA -Designed multimedia platform for Microsoft (I is not used)
SKILLS This is a good way to highlight a particular skill The skill could be computer literacy or something else
WORK HISTORY Year to year position, name of company Year to year position, name of company Year to year position, name of company
EDUCATION Year degree obtained, major field of study, name of institution Year degree obtained, major field of study, name of institution
ACTIVITIES AND INTERESTS Description of activity
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Example of a functional format
Jane Doe 3, rue des Petits Fours 75 002 Paris, phone: 01 42 42 51 56 mobile: 06 65 65 44 25 email :janedoe@gmail.com
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PHOTO |
OBJECTIVE |
Executive position in a research laboratory making full use of my organizational and linguistic skills |
SUMMARY |
After managing a team of researchers for five years in Canada, I took a master’s course in IT applied to management. |
FIELDS OF MANAGERIAL EXPERIENCE |
Created an interactive managerial hotline for Thompson Computers. Assistant at the NADR: promoted R&D in small and medium sized firms. Designed files for recruitment of researchers. Managed a team of engineers. Wrote detailed guidelines. |
EDUCATION |
2001: MBA University of Carnegie Mellon 1999: BS in computational finance 1995: High School Certificate |
LANGUAGES
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Mother tongue: English. Good knowledge of Italian and French.
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This type corresponds to a candidate with several years experience in business. Note that the simple past is used without “I”. In English, active verbs are used instead of abstract nouns. Check out this site for more information: http://www.cvtips.com/resume.html
Qualifications
Your skills and abilities will appear separately from where they have been learnt, followed by work history to give a clear image of what you have to offer.
EDUCATION
Secondary school
Baccalauréat: French secondary school diploma
Classes préparatoires: intensive undergraduate studies in physics and maths, in liberal arts, economics, to prepare competitive exams for admission to French Grandes Ecoles
Licence
Licence (equivalent to B.S) in Economics, 2001, Université de Paris VI, France
Licence: three-year university study in history, economics, political science, computer science, equivalent to B.A, B.S., (USA) B.Sc. (GB)
IEP: institute of political science
Degree in engineering from the Ecole Polytechnique (equivalent to a BS)
Masters
One-year degree required before doctoral studies, equivalent to M.S/ M.Sc./ M.A,
One-year postgraduate degree in computer science, accounting, etc.
One-year Postgraduate degree (GB): programme de troisième cycle d’un an
One-year graduate degree (US)
Ph.D
Bac + 8 = Doctorate: equivalent to Ph.D (Ph.D dissertation and Ph.D disputation are the two parts, written and oral leading to this degree)
Additional training
Seminars in marketing and management
Personnel management training courses, problem solving, group dynamics, team building
Technical skills: PHOTOSHOP
Intensive language program (English)
Interest and activities
Projects you are/were involved in:
-Community activities (clubs)
-Organized art exhibitions for local artists
-Member of the Parent-teacher Association at the local school
-Set up an annual auction to raise money for the city hospital
-Student representative on the administrative council
-Prepared a survey on school alumni and their occupations
-President of the student council
Note: no full stop (.)
Extracurricular activities
If student, the functions you attended and if you helped run student societies or were part of a university club (sports, debating society, etc.)
-Swimming, member of the University swimming team
-Chess, participated in several university chess tournaments each year
-Ranked player in regional tennis association (only mention a sport if you have an excellent level or it may be of use in your future job)
-Music, play the piano in an amateur jazz band
Special talents
To reveal any special skills you have
Related activities
-do consulting on patents
-teach a course in philosophy at Balliol College (Oxford)
-give lectures on staff management at the University of Limoges
Technical skills
- computer-literate
- familiar with word processing techniques
- familiar with most computer systems and languages
- trained in office technology
- knowledge of programming techniques
References
Professional and personal references available on request can be written at the bottom of your CV.
Positive adjectives: assertive, outgoing, imaginative, energetic, tactful, reliable , trustworthy, methodical, reserved, cautious, relaxed, independent, objective, excitable, adaptable, changeable, logical, organized, meticulous, competitive, confident ,resilient, cheerful, sensitive to others, decisive, warm, gentle, co-operative, introspective, adventurous, persistent.
Exercise 1
Which qualities would be best suited to the following people: a detective, a judge, a pilot, a computer engineer, a bank manager, a presidential candidate, a hostess at the reception desk, a teacher, a doctor, a travelling salesman, and accountant.
Which qualities do you have? Can you find other ones?
Exercise 2
Write your own CV, choosing the right format according to your experience and the job/ work experience/ studies you are applying for.
Study the verbs given at the end. USE THEM
Here are lists of verbs used in CVs to show what you have achieved in different skills[2].
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Leadership Skills | ||
Addressed
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Adapted
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Acted
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Analyzed Administered
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Administered
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Teaching Skills
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Approved
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Analyzed
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Adapted
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Adapted
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[1]Extracurricular activities refer to student activities that are not part of the courses the students are doing (i.e. sports, hobbies, student association, etc.
[2] Source: http://www.quintcareers.com/action_skills.html
Contact
Responsable :
Horaires
Ouvert aux étudiants de la faculté,
Tous les jours :
de 9h30 à 18h,
Salle 105 couloir 43-53 1er étage
En libre accès toute l'année :
Les équipements et ressources nécessaires à votre travail : 18 postes informatiques
Les outils pour le lexique et la grammaire, en anglais, espagnol, allemand, chinois et russe
Les manuels TOEIC et TOEFL, GRE, Gmat et certifications B1 et B2
CD-ROM , DVD (à consulter sur place).