Three Steps to A Successful CV
A curriculum vitae (CV) is an important document to spend time perfecting. This piece of paper is used when a person wants to advertise or promote their specific skills and training for professional and academic jobs and programs. Your CV is one of the first things a potential employer will see about you. Thus, it is important to spend time with the document. You want to make sure that the best sides of yourself are represented so that you have a better chance of being hired. If you are interested in outdoor-type positions like animal care and landscape, you need to highlight why you are the best person for the job using specific, confident language. The following are some ways to improve your CV.
Talk About Your Skills
A CV is not just a place to talk about the jobs you have had and the school you attended: It is also a chance to explain why you are a qualified person for the advertised job. Tailor your skills section to the mission of the organization to which you are sending your CV. If you are applying to work with animals, talk about everything from animal training to patience: These are qualities a person might need for this role- so prove you have them! The best way to show an employer that they should hire you is to show them that you are qualified for the job: adapting your CV to show this is a vital step.
Keep the CV Focused
While a complete CV with little or no gaps in employment is favourable, you don’t need to heavily discuss every single job you’ve had in the past decade unless it’s relevant to the position you’re applying for. A CV should be focused on information that relates to the advertised job or organization. Thus, if you are interested in working with the animals at a zoo, you don’t need to write an essay on the summer job you had scooping ice cream. You want each piece of information on your CV to relate back to your skills and to be aimed at the current profession or program to which you are applying.
Use Descriptions
When you talk about your skills and employment history, be sure to use descriptions. This document represents you to an organization. Thus, you want to show the reader what you have done and how this relates to your job. Be as specific and as concise as you can. Use active verbs. For example, instead of saying that you “used to work on a farm” be specific and say exactly what you did (i.e. “Managed barn staff, performed basic care for animals, etc.). A bulleted list is a good route to go if you had a job that involved a number of relevant tasks. This will make your CV that much easier to read.7
