The expression “curriculum vitae” originated from a Latin phrase meaning “course of life.” It can be described as a concise review of an individual’s academic qualifications, professional experience, and skills, usually attached to a job application when seeking a job. Whereas a curriculum vitae or CV is used particularly to apply for academic, educational, scientific, and research positions, or even for fellowships and grants in the United States, it is used to apply for all kinds of white collar jobs in other parts of the world.
CVs are usually one to two-page formats that describe very little about you and your life, but they certainly are the first thing that a potential employer encounters and uses to form an impression about you. Employers use CVs to screen candidates for personal interviews and to aid in the final employee selection; therefore, it is important for a CV to be catchy, attractive and interesting. Good CV writing thus becomes an important part of finding a good job.
In spite of CVs being so popular, there are a few organizations that prefer to have job seekers apply for a job using a format designed by the company itself. The reason is simple: these businesses rate job seekers based on their answers to a series of standardized questions. A custom format ensures that all candidates provide the desired information, as opposed to a CV, which is somewhat flexible and makes it more difficult to compare two individuals.
CV writing could be divided into groups based on the purpose for which a CV is written:
- General or all-purpose CV writing is when a CV is written to suit all general purposes.
- Management CV writing is when an executive writes a CV for a managerial level job.
- Graduate CV writing is when a new graduate writes a CV for his/her first job.
- Technical CV writing is when an individual writes a CV to convey his/her technical views to a less technical employer. This form of CV writing is especially difficult and has to be done skilfully.
Good CV writing is not something everyone can do. As a result, a huge number of professional CV writing companies have cropped up in recent years, each promising a better CV than the other. You could approach a company in person in order to get your CV made, or you could simply hire a CV writer online, from the comfort of your home. The choice is yours. Each CV designing company makes different promises and claims.
A lot of their services vary, but most companies offer:
- Effective CV writing and editing.
- An impressive cover letter.
- An assured interview call.
- Confidentiality.
- Customer support.
- Customer satisfaction.
The cost of preparing a curriculum vitae differs, depending upon the quality and complexity of the CV. Additional services can be purchased separately. Alternately, such services can be included as part of a customized package.
Article written by Mike Kelley, Professional CV Writer at M Kelley Ltd T/A First Impressions. You can find and download free Sales CV examples and fully worded templates on my website http://www.cv-service.org/
