CV Content - Meaningful Summary
The most important single item on your CV or resume is a brief statement describing the 'essence' of what you are about.
This should appear prominently on the first page and somewhere near the top.
Aim for a maximum 10 seconds reading time which is about 50 words.
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Example |
A Visual Basic Analyst/Programmer with 3 years' experience of developing 'investment management' applications. I am looking for increased involvement in the area of systems design with future progression into a team management role. I prefer to work in the City of London and envisage a salary of around £30,000. |
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Comment |
A concise statement of what the candidate has to offer and what they are looking for. From this information, the employer can easily decide whether to consider the CV further. |
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Example |
A strongly self-motivated,
confident, dynamic, energetic, focussed and practical problem-solver.
An effective team-player with excellent communications skills. I am looking for a challenging position in which I can achieve my personal and professional goals in a positive and forward-looking environment. |
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Comment |
Completely fails to tell us
what the person does or what they want.
Basically a combination of waffle, psychobabble and opinion rather than fact. We are always tempted to add "If I do say so myself" to these kind of statements |
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Avoid |
About 90% of all CVs seem to contain a random arrangement of the following concepts and positive words: committed, self-motivated, ambitious, dynamic, dedicated, energetic, creative, initiative, hard-working, team-player, effective-communicator, work-well-under-pressure, goals, success, strengths, leadership, management, achievement, results, effective-solutions. Funny thing is that you rarely meet anybody who lives up to these attributes. Have yet to see a CV with a more-realistic statement such as: "I set low targets and consistently fail to achieve them" |
Checklist of CV / Resume Detail
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