A curriculum vitae (loosely translated as course of life) provides an overview of a person's life and qualifications. The CV is typically the first item that a potential employer encounters regarding the job seeker and is typically used to screen applicants, often followed by an interview, when seeking employment. A shorter alternative is simply vita, the Latin for "life". In popular usage curriculum vitć is often written "curriculum vitae". The plural of curriculum vitć is formed following Latin rules of grammar as curricula vitć (meaning "courses of life") not curriculum vita (meaning ~ "curriculum life"). The form vitć is the genitive of vita, and so is translated "of life". In current usage curriculum is less marked as a foreign loanword, and so the plural of curriculum on its own is sometimes written as "curriculums", rather than the traditional curricula; nevertheless, the phrase "curriculums vita" is avoided, because vita remains strongly marked as a foreign loanword.
The purpose of the CV is to seek an interview for a prospective job application. There are a few companies that prefer not to receive a CV at all in application, but rather produce their own application form which must be completed in applying for any position. Of those, some also allow applicants to attach a CV in support of the application. The reason some companies prefer to process applications this way is to standardize the information they receive, as there can be many variables within a CV and, therefore, the company often does not get all the information they require at application stage.
In the United States and Canada, a CV is expected to include a comprehensive listing of professional history including every term of employment, academic credential, publication, contribution or significant achievement. In certain professions, it may even include samples of the person's work and may run to many pages.
In the European Union, there has been an attempt to develop a standardized CV model known as Europass (in 2004 by the European Parliament and European Commission) and promoted by the EU to ease skilled migration between member countries, although this is not widely used in most contexts.
A standard British CV might have the following points
There are certain faux pas for CVs:
As with résumés, CVs are subject to recruiting fads. For example,
A résumé is a document that contains a summary of relevant job experience and education. The résumé is typically the first item that a potential employer encounters regarding the job seeker and is typically used to screen applicants, often followed by an interview, when seeking employment. The résumé is comparable to, but substantially different from, a CV.
In many contexts, a résumé is short (usually one page), and therefore contains only experience directly relevant to a particular position. Many résumés contain precise keywords that potential employers are looking for, make heavy use of active verbs, and display content in a flattering manner.
In the past, résumés used to be no longer than two pages, as potential employers typically did not devote much time to reading résumé details for each applicant. In some countries employers have changed their views regarding acceptable résumé length. Since increasing numbers of job seekers and employers are using Internet-based job search engines to find and fill employment positions, longer résumés are needed for applicants to differentiate and distinguish themselves, and employers are becoming more accepting of résumés that are longer than two pages. Many professional résumé writers and human resources professionals believe that a résumé should be long enough so that it provides a concise, adequate, and accurate description of an applicant's employment history and skills. List only the information and achievements required for the position. The transmission of résumés directly to employers became increasingly popular as late as 2002. Jobseekers were able to circumvent the job application process and reach employers through direct email contact and résumé blasting, a term meaning the mass distribution of résumés to increase personal visibility within the job market. However the mass distribution of résumés to employers often can have a negative effect on the applicant's chances of securing employment as the résumés tend not to be tailored for the specific positions the applicant is applying for. It is usually therefore more sensible to adjust the résumé for each position applied for.
The complexity and simplicity of various résumé formats tend to produce results varying from person to person, for the occupation, and to the industry. It is important to note that résumés used by medical professionals, professors, artists and people in many other specialized fields may be comparatively longer. For example, an artist's résumé, typically excluding any non-art-related employment, may include extensive lists of solo and group exhibitions.
Résumé is French, and means "summary", although the actual derivation is attested as via the past participle of French résumer (meaning generally "to resume", and specifically "to summarise"
Résumé is sometimes spelled "resume" and "resumé". The spelling "resume" may cause confusion with the verb (a heteronym) which most commonly means 'to continue' (but has other meanings, including 'to summarise'); the spelling "resumé" is not supported by the immediate etymology, and so has been disputed, but is supported by phonetics and is now accepted by some authorities
In the business world, the word résumé is used in the United States and in English Canada. Curriculum vita and "CV" are used in the US in academic circles and in the United Kingdom, Ireland and New Zealand in all contexts, with résumé having very little currency.[citation needed]
In Australia and India, the terms "résumé" and "CV" may be used interchangeably. However, a résumé more often has a free-form organizational style and is used for seeking employment in the private sector, whereas a curriculum vita (also called a vita, but not curriculum vita, as above) usually has a more standardized look and format for the purpose of seeking positions in academic or educational institutions. Another difference is that a résumé tends to be more descriptive and tailored for a specific purpose or target audience, whereas a curriculum vita tends to be organized in a way that presents data about one's self in a compact fashion, with a clear chronology. For example, a résumé may begin with a statement about a personal goal, followed by a list of most significant accomplishments or characteristics in order of significance, while a curriculum vita often includes complete and unembellished lists of data such as educational institutions attended, degrees received, positions held, professional affiliations, publications authored, etc. A résumé may or may not be represented by the person as a complete history of themselves without omission, whereas a curriculum vita usually implies that there are no omissions, and in particular, no temporal gaps.
A simple résumé is a summary typically limited to one or two pages of size A4 or Letter-size highlighting only those experiences and credentials that the author considers most relevant to the desired position. CVs are typically longer.
Résumés may be organized in different ways:
A reverse chronological résumé enumerates a candidate's job experiences in reverse chronological order, generally covering the last 10 to 15 years.
The reverse chronological résumé format is the most commonly used. In using this format, the main body of the document becomes the Professional Experience section, starting from the most recent experience going chronologically backwards through a succession of previous experience. The reverse chronological résumé works to build credibility through experience gained, while illustrating career growth over time. In the United Kingdom the chronological résumé tends to extend only as far back as the subject's GCSE/Standard Grade qualifications.
A functional résumé lists work experience and skills sorted by skill area or job function.
The functional résumé is used to assert a focus to skills that are specific to the type of position being sought. This format directly emphasizes specific professional capabilities and utilizes experience summaries as its primary means of communicating professional competency. In contrast, the chronological résumé format will briefly highlight these competencies prior to presenting a comprehensive timeline of career growth via reverse-chronological listing with most recent experience listed first. The functional résumé works well for those making a career change, having a varied work history and with little work experience. A functional résumé is also preferred for applications to jobs that require a very specific skill set or clearly defined personality traits.
The combination résumé balances the functional and chronological approaches. A résumé organized this way typically leads with a functional list of job skills, followed by a chronological list of employers. The combination résumé has a tendency to repeat itself and is therefore less widely utilized than the other two forms.
The Internet has brought about a new age for the résumé. As the search for employment has become more electronic, résumés have followed suit. It is common for employers to only accept résumés electronically, either out of practicality or preference. This electronic boom has changed much about the way résumés are written, read, and handled. Delivering a résumé in person is better than online, but if there is no other easier way, sending résumé online could be attempted. Giving a résumé in person enables the prospective employer to see you.
Some career fields include a special section listing the life-long works of the author. For computer-related fields, the softography; for musicians and composers, the discography; for actors, a filmography.
Keeping résumés online has become increasingly common for people in professions that benefit from the multimedia and rich detail that are offered by an HTML résumé, such as actors, photographers, graphic designers, developers, dancers, etc.
Job seekers are finding an ever increasing demand to have an electronic version of their résumé available to employers and professionals who use Internet recruiting at any time. Internet résumés differ from conventional résumés in that they are comprehensive and allow for self-reflection. Unlike regular 2 page résumés, which only show recent work experience and education, Internet résumés also show an individual's skill development over his or her career.
For job seekers, taking résumés online also facilitates distribution to multiple employers via Internet. Online résumé distribution services have emerged to allow job seekers to distribute their résumés to employers of their choices via email.
Another advantage to internet résumés is the significant cost savings over traditional hiring methods. The Employment Management Association has included internet advertising in its cost-per-hire surveys for several years. In 1997, for example, it reported that the average cost-per-hire for a print ad was $3,295, while the average cost-per-hire with the Internet was $377. This in turn has cut costs for many growing organizations, as well as saving time and energy in recruitment. Until the development of résumés in an electronic format, employers would have to sort through massive stacks of paper to find suitable candidates without any way of filtering out the poor candidates. Employers are now able to set search parameters in their database of résumés to reduce the number of résumés which must be reviewed in detail in the search for the ideal candidate.
Finally, the internet is enabling new technologies to be employed with résumés, such as video résumés—especially popular for multimedia job seekers. Another emerging technology is graphic-enabled résumés, such as Visual CV.
A cover letter or covering letter or motivation letter or motivational letter or letter of motivation is a letter of introduction attached to, or accompanying another document such as a résumé or curriculum vitae.
Job seekers frequently send a cover letter along with their resume or employment application as a way of introducing themselves to potential employers and explaining their suitability for the desired position. Employers may look for individualized and thoughtfully written cover letters as one method of screening out applications who are not sufficiently interested in their position or who lack necessary basic skills. Cover letters are typically divided into three categories:
Cover letters are generally one page at most in length, divided into a header, introduction, body, and closing.
Cover letters may also serve as marketing devices for prospective job seekers. Cover letters are used in connection with many business documents such as loan applications (Mortgage loan), contract drafts and proposals, and executed documents. Many US MBA Schools, such as, MIT and Harvard request a cover letter as part of their admission application. Cover letters may serve the purpose of trying to catch the reader's interest or persuade the reader of something, or they may simply be an inventory or summary of the documents included along with a discussion of the expected future actions the sender or recipient will take in connection with the documents.
This is a list of the 50 most-requested job titles on Careerbuilder's CBSalary.com in the last 30 days. Their salary calculator uses salary survey data provided by ERI and PAQ's eDOT Skills Project. This list was last updated on November 14, 2009.
1. Customer Service Manager
2. Registered Nurse
3. Administrative Assistant
4. Marketing Manager
5. Teacher Aide
6. Bank Teller
7. Office Manager
8. Clerical Assistant
9. Accountant
10. Hotel Clerk
11. Clerical Supervisor Generic
12. Pharmaceutical Sales Representative
13. Music Teacher
14. Account Manager Sales
15. Executive Assistant
16. Project Manager (Experience)
17. Accounts Payable Clerk
18. Nurse Head
19. Bookkeeper
20. Sales Clerk
21. Consultant
22. Sales Analyst
23. Preschool Teacher
24. Certified Nurse Assistant
25. Receptionist
26. Legal Secretary
27. Nursing Aide
28. Design Drafter
29. Manufacturing Manager
30. Financial Analyst Accountant
31. Manufacturing Worker
32. Food Tester
33. Business Analyst
34. Home Care Nurse
35. Purchasing Manager
36. Management Trainee
37. Warehouse Worker
38. Purchasing Clerk
39. Engineering Manager
40. Retail Store Manager (Experience)
41. Occupational Therapy Assistant
42. Manufacturing Engineer
43. Construction Worker
44. Shipping Clerk
45. Quality Control Manager
46. Shipping & Receiving Supervisor
47. Software Engineer
48. Education Manager
49. Business Broker
50. Government Sales Manager