Самостоятельная работа Writing resume activity Employment: Step 3. Résumé

Résumé is a summary of education, work experience, and qualifications. There are two terms which exist in parallel: C.V. (Br.), or curriculum vitae, which comes from Latin and means autobiography, and résumé (Am.) which is borrowed from French and means a summary. There is no much difference between them except that a résumé is usually shorter (one page long) and written by those applicants who have little work experience.

The résumé is very important in job searching. It is a calling card which is purposed to attract the interest of the prospective employer.

The résumé should describe an applicant's personality and demonstrate his energy, ambition, and ability to work in teams. It should give the employer a sense that this candidate would be a good investment for the company.

An effective résumé must make a good first impression. Of course, appearance is important but content is even more cru­cial. The information in a résumé needs to be well-organized, easy to read, and result-oriented. It usually includes personal in­formation, professional and volunteer experience, special skills, education, accomplishments, and references.

An effective résumé should address the employer's needs. Its aim is to show the prospective employers how an applicant's skills, accomplishments and abilities match their needs and organization goals. The best way to achieve this is to include only the work experience that is relevant to the job you are applying for.

Every day employers sort through piles of résumés and typically devote 30 seconds or less to each one. Employers won't read any more than two pages, anyway. If you can fit your résumé onto one page, that's fine! Employers are looking for, among other qualities, strong organizational and communication skills.

There are two main formats of a résumé: chronological and functional. The most popular among the beginners is a chrono­logical résumé. In the chronological résumé a list of education and work experience is presented in a reverse chronological order. This is followed by a statement explaining job responsi­bilities.

In the functional résumé experience and skills are given under the job title, without dates or places of an employment. In the functional résumé, emphasis is placed on what you've achieved and not where and when you achieved it. It is particularly use­ful if you have made many changes from one field to another or previous jobs are unrelated to the current position.

Your résumé also serves as a self-assessment tool, an oppor­tunity to complete a self-inventory and see where you've been and where you'd like to go. The matter of fact is that even an excellent résumé will not get you a job all on its own. But it does show that you take your career seriously and help you to market your skills and experience. A good résumé helps you to pique a prospective employer's interest and prevents you from achieving circular status.

Comments

résumé ['rezju:mei]; Am. [rezu'mei] / C.V. — резюме; автобиография

crucial — решающий

accomplishment — достижение

reverse — обратный

self-assessment — самооценка

self-inventory — подведение своих итогов

to pique — вызывать

circular status — бег по кругу

Task 8. Answer the questions.

1. What kind of paper is a résumé / C.V.?

2. Is any difference between a résumé and a C.V.?

3. What is the origin of the two words?

4. What is their Russian analogue?

5. What is the main purpose of a résumé?

6. What are the three main features of an effective résumé?

7. Why should an effective résumé be short?

8. What are the characteristics of a chronological format?

9. What are the characteristics of a functional format?

Tips

In today's job market, networking is essential. It means using people you know to learn about opportunities. When you are a part of a network, you receive information from some people 'and pass information along to others. Everyone you know in the working world - your former co-workers, your friends and fami­ly — should be a part of your network. Networking is especially helpful when you are looking for a different job. The more con­tacts you have in different companies, the more doors can be opened to you. You can find out about job openings before they are advertised. You can get the names of the right people to call. Circulating your résumé among your network increases your chances to gain employment.

Model: Chronological Résumé

Name:

Address:

Tel./ fax./ e-mail:

Date of birth:

Nationality:

Marital status: (single, married)

Job objective: (optional)

Summary of qualifications/skills: (optional)
Work experience:	(job-by-job history in a reverse chrono­logical order, starting with the most recent position, including dates, companies and their location, positions, responsibilities and duties, accomplishments and promo­tions, military service and volunteer work)
Education:	(degrees, diplomas, and certificates listed in reversed chronological order, names and location of schools/institutes/universities j attended, graduation dates, major, GPA, if it is high, internship)
Honours, awards, fellowships:	(years and names of prizes or awards)
Special skills:	(computer literacy, names of software programs, hardware or other equipment; driving licence)
Languages:	(levels of proficiency: proficient, excel­lent, fluent, good1)
Activities and interests:	(names of organizations, societies, kinds of sport, other specific activities)
References (testimoni­als Am.)	(names, job titles, addresses, phone/fax/ e-mail of 2—3 people who know your work well)