How to build a dynamic CV
The first question is, what is a CV? Short for Curriculum Vitae or Resume (USA)
Resume is the word they use in American English. Curriculum Vitae or CV is Commonly used in British English
Curriculum vitae (cv) or resume is described as a short written summary of a person's career, qualifications, and education in the English dictionary. In other words it is a document that job applicants use to showcase their talents, academic and professional accomplishments.
IT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT DOCUMENT OF YOUR CAREER.
It takes an average employer just five to seven seconds to accept or reject a CV. This means creating a CV which grabs the readers attention is absolutely vital if you want to land that all-important interview. Your CV should have a WOW! factor which makes the reader want to read more so that they just have to meet you in person.
Here's how you do it.
Although there's no one size fits all CV, most CV's have six things in common. These are sections which are part of the document no matter what type of job you are applying for.
What you must also realize is that a CV is a live document. Meaning that it will continue to evolve, change and grow as you progress in your career. It also takes a lot of time to create and edit so patience here as they say is a virtue.
The 6 Sections of a CV
1. Title & contacts: This is the first section of a cv and it should contain the title of the document which is CV or curriculum vitae should you choose to use the long name, your first & last name, contact telephone, e-mail address and a self portrait as is customary nowadays.
2. Professional Summary or Personal Profile: We advise that you do a psychometric test before you write your personal profile. Your personal profile should be short and succinct. This is what make a personal profile very difficult to write. A personal profile should highlight your strongest skills, business awareness and your ability to communicate and work as part of a team.
WHAT IS A PSYCHOMETRIC TEST?
A psychometric test is like an exam which tests your analytical skills, problem solving abilities, leadership skills, people management skills and gives you the exact results of your characters' strengths and weaknesses based on how you answered the questions.
Most psychometric tests reveal your true nature and cerebral abilities. a.k.a brain power. These include your degree of responsibility, reliability, your decision making skills, cultural awareness, communication skills and innovation capabilities.
What we love the most about psychometric tests is that they also give you a clear understanding of the type of jobs your skills are suitable for and most importantly your attitude towards how you manage your employment tasks and people if you are in a position to supervise people.
Most people are usually shocked and amazed at the results of their psychometric test. The thought of a psychometric test can be intimidating and scary to begin with, but trust us you will thank us once you take the test and see the results
Use the results of your psychometric test to write your personal profile.
Depending on the level or position you are applying for, most employers now actually include a psychometric test as part of their interviewing process so whether you avoid it now, at some point in your career you will have to do it especially if you are applying for senior positions which require more responsibilities.
The most important thing about a psychometric test is that it highlights your strengths and weaknesses. It gives you vital information about yourself which you may never have thought of before. If you are weak in some areas it give you the opportunity to work on those weaknesses and improve.
​
You can use this information to strengthen your CV and make it stand out from the rest of the crowd.
​
Below is a link to your first psychometric test.
3. Core skills: This section is where you list your your strongest skills, academic qualifications such as (ACCA Qualified Accountant) and the qualifications which you have learnt through practical experience such as the ability to plan and cater for up to 1000 people. No school can teach you this unless you've actually experienced it yourself. Your psychometric results will also highlight areas which you are strong at such as the ability to solve complex problems and offer practical solutions.
4. Experience: This is the section where you summarize your work experience in chronological order from the last job you had going backwards to the first job you had.
Note, if you've only ever had 3 - 5 jobs in your career, its ok to list them all in detail because the information will not fill up too much space on the page. However, for those that have had more than 10 jobs over a long career it's not really necessary to add all the details for each job.
Simply writing a single line as shown below makes sense and more of an impact.
​
Accounts Manager - Intercontinental Hotel Lusaka - 1997 - 2001.
At this level, the employers already knows what an accounts manager does and what is expected. They will be able to tell based on the number of years you worked in the position if you were successful at the job. After all, there's no company that would keep you employed for 3 years if you were not doing the job well.
5. Education: This is the section where you summarize your academic qualifications in chronological order from your most recent PHD, Degree or Certification going backwards to Grade 12 GCSE's.
​
6. Additional Information: This section is where you add some of your personal details. These may include your date of birth, gender, marital status, interests, hobbies and the number of languages you can speak and references.
​
Some employers do add specific languages a job requirement sometimes.
References: This is very important and you need to realize that your current boss will be your referee at some point in the future so make sure your relation, attitude towards work, attendance and punctuality are on point throughout your employment. Otherwise, no one will have anything good to say about you when the times come when you need a reference.
What is a referee?
A referee is someone who can vouch for you and speak about your character when a potential employer wants to know more about you. This person can be your former boss, a respectable member of society such as your pastor or priest.
Most employers ask for a minimum of at least 3 referees. Some will ask for up to 5 depending on the position they are looking to fill.
FINAL NOTE: DO NOT WRITE A CV BY HAND UNLESS YOUR HANDWRITING IS VERY GOOD LIKE THE ONES YOU SEE IN THOSE ANCIENT SCROLLS FROM THE DARK AGES.
THERE IS NOTHING MORE OFF PUTTING TO AN EMPLOYER THAN A HAND WRITTEN CV WITH BAD GRAMMER, BAD SPELLINGS AND THE SENTENCES GOING OFF IN DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS.
Working with the hospitality industry, for the hospitality industry, through our partnerships