Sorry about the delay on this post. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Name - Most important, with your contact and personal information being secondary. Should be the first thing on your CV.
Photo - Is optional, and in the US, it is mandatory that you DO NOT include a photo. Make sure it is an appropriate photo, and of a standard size.
Phone - If applying outside the country, include country code, in France +33, and do not include the zero at the front of your French cell phone number.
Address - Can be formatted differently in each country. In English, we normally capitalize the first letter of the name of the town or city.(49100 Angers, France)
e-mail (should look like this, all lowercase, optional to have this before your mail since '@' makes it apparent its your e-mail address): can be presented in blue, but is not necessary. If you do not already have a professional e-mail address, now is the time to get one.
An objective is an optional thing. Normally, an objective consists of one short sentence stating the type of job or work you are looking for. This type of information can be included in you letter of motivation, also known as a cover letter. Note: when stating numbers within sentences, if it is under ten, write the word out (ten, nine, eight, etc.) , instead of using the numeral (10,9,8..).
Degrees or Diplomas -
Year started – Present.
ex: 2009 – Present First, the University or School you are currently "enrolled in/ attending" : you have not finished.
Next, the degrees you have completed / finished :
2009 Bachelor's of Tourism, University of Angers,
2006 Lycée Baccalauréat (High School Diploma), specialty (if any), with honors (high standing)
Any training with education courses and certification you may have completed.
Format / Style : Consistency
Try to keep each type of information looking the same, ie. dates, years or months, Job Titles, Companies. Each item should look the same so that your prospective employer can easily find it.
Fonts - Use only one, can be as small as 9pt, and even 7/8 pt in most cases, and still easily read. This will help you keep everything to one page. Use a professional font. Do not use fonts like Comic Sans and Papyrus.
Different types of treatments: Title Case, Sentence case. CAPS, CAPS LOCK. (Capital letters)
Full Time, Part Time, Internships & Short Term
Full Time (abbv. FT) in the US, Full Time work means 40 hours a week, each day a one hour lunch break, and two weeks paid vacation. Each job offers various types of health insurance coverage, normally, that you pay a portion of out of your salary.
Part Time (abbv. PT) in the US, Part Time means anything under 35 hours a week. This sometimes and sometimes doesn't included health care or paid time off.
Internships - are lumped into three categories, paid, unpaid, and work stipend. Paid would be an internship in which you receive hourly wage or a salary, as a normal employee. Unpaid - you earn no money. And a work stipend is a weekly or monthly sum that goes towards transportation or other expenses you may have.
Helpful Terms
CEO - Chief Executive Officer
VP - Vice President
HR - Human Resources
PR - Public Relations
EU - European Union
401 K - American Retirement Account, K = thousands, 1000s
Not Necessary to Include with main Employment -
Short Term - seasonal work, temporary employment
You don't have to explain how much you worked. (For example, how many days a week, or how many hours a week) If you were employed for 2 years, you should say that. You can explain how much work you did at the interview.
This is the same for being paid. Sometimes a job will ask for your salary requirements, and you can include this is your letter of motivation/cover letter. It should be based on previous salaries or an entry salary.
Programs / Computer Skills
A basic way of noting general computer use without being specific would be to say. This only states you know how to turn a computer on and use it. This skill alone will not help you get a job in today's market.
Proficient in PC Environment & File Management.
Levels of Computer or Software use: Expert, Proficient, Intermediate, Beginner.
Daily use is also acceptable.
ex: Expert in Microsoft Office in a PC & Mac environment. Microsoft Office includes all the software in that package, including Word, Excel, Powerpoint, etc.
Proficient in HTML, CSS, and Content Management Systems. If you know any modern internet computer programming or languages, even if you just have a blog or a twitter, you may want to include that. Having strong connectivity on the internet can only help you get jobs these days. Creating a LinkedIn page and including the address on your resume could also be helpful.
Beginner in Adobe Flash and iMovie. It's also important to show you have interest in other software. This shows you encourage yourself to learn new things as well. You never know if this interest could be helpful in a job that you would like to have.
DO NOT list surfing the internet as a skill. Anyone can do it. Same goes for e-mail.
Languages
The levels are native (refrain from using your mother tongue), bilingual/fluent (you can speak the language fluently and without hesitation), conversational, and then levels of good, moderate/intermediate, basic/beginner/novice. Written and Spoken can have two different levels, specify if so.
Recommendations / References
Due to privacy concerns, most references would prefer that you keep their information confidential. In order to do this, I place on my CV "Available Upon Request". This means that if an employer really needs my references, they can ask me, and I would be more than happy to notify my reference that someone would be calling them or e-mailing them, and then passing the contact information on to my prospective employer.
If your job listing asks for references, I would list it as follows
Name, Title, Company, Location (optional), Phone, e-mail
Top 10 Job Interview Questions
Most people in charge of hiring tend to ask the same questions. The best way to prepare yourself for an interview, besides dressing well, is to make sure that you practice responding to the questions they are likely to ask. Then, you won't hesitate during the interview and you will seem more confident.
The link to this list of interview questions can be found here, and there are many more lists of questions like this on the internet.
Showing posts with label resume. Show all posts
Showing posts with label resume. Show all posts
27 September, 2011
18 October, 2010
Presentation of Previous Experience
It's often easy to predict what types of questions a prospective employer will ask of you. Here are some examples of typical interview questions.
Where did you work? Name of Company & Location
Was it a paid internship?
How many people were employed there? Were you part of a team?
Have you worked as an intern before?
What were your responsibilities/tasks/goals?
What was the most important/useful thing you learned?
What was your favorite part of the job?
How did you communicate with other members of the team?
I see you worked at a travel agency, how many other people did you work with? How many people were employed there?
What kind of hours did you work? How many hours a week did you work? (Questions can often ask the same thing, and be worded differently)
What makes you a good candidate for this job/position?
Why would you like to work with our company?
Did you enjoy working with Sweet Travel?
What did you learn while working with Hobbit Journeys?
What special skills do you have? What will you bring to the team?
Responsibilities
You should be able to explain your responsibilities, written and oral. A frequent interview question is "What were your responsibilities at Awesome Tours R Us?"
Customer Service: You provide basic help to customer needs. You are there to listen to them, and respond with answers if necessary.
Administrative Duties / Responsibilities : This includes everything in basic office work from answering the phone, photocopying, filing paperwork, and mail.
Account Manager - Client accounts each have a certain amount of money involved, you are in charge of obtaining payments and maintaining the relationship between agency and client.
Product Manager - You create travel plans by contacting various enterprises within the Tourism Industry.
Sales - You are responsible for selling the products to customers or clients.
Frequent Mistakes - These aren't necessarily completely wrong, they just sound strange from a native speaker. Here are the solutions to some of the things you are trying to say:
incorrect : correct:
My mission was.. My goal was
I animated.. I created a project, I made a report, I studied, I searched, I met
Positive Personality Descriptions - Vocabulary
ability to multi-task: to be able to do many things at once
Goal- Oriented: you make goals and look to accomplish them
driven to succeed: you are motivated by being successful, and finishing things
self- motivated: you are energetic and can give yourself tasks in order to be efficient
team-player: you work well with others, you are concerned with helping the team
organized in administration, good file organization skills
detail -oriented: you make sure every last item, large or small is addressed
tasks/goals/projects/ assignments
Others - sociable, dynamic
Letter of Motivation
•Introduce yourself, you current situation, why you are writing
•Give explanation as to why you are suited for the job
•Explain why you would prefer to work with their company or them.
Pointers for writing a letter of motivation/cover letter:
• Try to keep it short and to the point.
When something happened
When did you start (working/classes) today?
I started at 8 am.
When did you first start working at Disney?
I started in May of 2009.
How long something happened
How long did you have work/classes for today?
I had classes/work for eight hours today.
How long did you work for?
I worked for eight hours.
How long did you work at Disney?
I worked at Disney for one year.
How long have you been learning English?
Since and For
She's been working with us since May.
She's been working with us for a year.
I haven't worked at Disney since September.
I haven't worked at Disney for a month.
I have been a tourism student for five years.
Exception to prove the rule : we do not use for with all ( all day/all night/all of my life).
I've lived here all my life.
Extra Vocabulary -
bilan - balance sheet
assemblée - convention (professional)
salon des métiers - trade show
remue-méninges (?) - brain storming
faire d'avant-projet (?) - project planning
Chronologie du projet - project timeline
Where did you work? Name of Company & Location
Was it a paid internship?
How many people were employed there? Were you part of a team?
Have you worked as an intern before?
What were your responsibilities/tasks/goals?
What was the most important/useful thing you learned?
What was your favorite part of the job?
How did you communicate with other members of the team?
I see you worked at a travel agency, how many other people did you work with? How many people were employed there?
What kind of hours did you work? How many hours a week did you work? (Questions can often ask the same thing, and be worded differently)
What makes you a good candidate for this job/position?
Why would you like to work with our company?
Did you enjoy working with Sweet Travel?
What did you learn while working with Hobbit Journeys?
What special skills do you have? What will you bring to the team?
Responsibilities
You should be able to explain your responsibilities, written and oral. A frequent interview question is "What were your responsibilities at Awesome Tours R Us?"
Customer Service: You provide basic help to customer needs. You are there to listen to them, and respond with answers if necessary.
Administrative Duties / Responsibilities : This includes everything in basic office work from answering the phone, photocopying, filing paperwork, and mail.
Account Manager - Client accounts each have a certain amount of money involved, you are in charge of obtaining payments and maintaining the relationship between agency and client.
Product Manager - You create travel plans by contacting various enterprises within the Tourism Industry.
Sales - You are responsible for selling the products to customers or clients.
Frequent Mistakes - These aren't necessarily completely wrong, they just sound strange from a native speaker. Here are the solutions to some of the things you are trying to say:
incorrect : correct:
My mission was.. My goal was
I animated.. I created a project, I made a report, I studied, I searched, I met
Positive Personality Descriptions - Vocabulary
ability to multi-task: to be able to do many things at once
Goal- Oriented: you make goals and look to accomplish them
driven to succeed: you are motivated by being successful, and finishing things
self- motivated: you are energetic and can give yourself tasks in order to be efficient
team-player: you work well with others, you are concerned with helping the team
organized in administration, good file organization skills
detail -oriented: you make sure every last item, large or small is addressed
tasks/goals/projects/ assignments
Others - sociable, dynamic
Letter of Motivation
•Introduce yourself, you current situation, why you are writing
•Give explanation as to why you are suited for the job
•Explain why you would prefer to work with their company or them.
Pointers for writing a letter of motivation/cover letter:
• Try to keep it short and to the point.
When something happened
When did you start (working/classes) today?
I started at 8 am.
When did you first start working at Disney?
I started in May of 2009.
How long something happened
How long did you have work/classes for today?
I had classes/work for eight hours today.
How long did you work for?
I worked for eight hours.
How long did you work at Disney?
I worked at Disney for one year.
How long have you been learning English?
Since and For
She's been working with us since May.
She's been working with us for a year.
I haven't worked at Disney since September.
I haven't worked at Disney for a month.
I have been a tourism student for five years.
Exception to prove the rule : we do not use for with all ( all day/all night/all of my life).
I've lived here all my life.
Extra Vocabulary -
bilan - balance sheet
assemblée - convention (professional)
salon des métiers - trade show
remue-méninges (?) - brain storming
faire d'avant-projet (?) - project planning
Chronologie du projet - project timeline
11 October, 2010
Resume / CV Notes - Week 2
Name - Most important, with your contact and personal information being secondary. Should be the first thing on your CV.
Phone - If applying outside the country, include country code, in France +33, and do not include the zero at the front of your French cell phone number.
Address - Can be formatted differently in each country. In English, we normally capitalize the first letter of the name of the town or city.(49100 Angers, France)
e-mail (should look like this, all lowercase, optional to have this before your mail since '@' makes it apparent its your e-mail address): can be presented in blue, but is not necessary.
An objective is an optional thing. Normally, an objective consists of one short sentence stating the type of job or work you are looking for. (Note: when stating numbers, if it is under ten, write the word out, instead of using the numeral.)
Degrees -
Year started – Present.
ex: 2009 – Present First, the University or School you are currently "enrolled in/ attending" : you have not finished.
Next, the degrees you have completed / finished :
2009 Bachelor's of Tourism, University of Angers,
2006 Lycée Baccalauréat (High School Diploma), specialty (if any), with honors (high standing)
Any training with education courses and certification you may have completed.
Format / Style : Consistency
Try to keep each type of information looking the same, ie. dates, Job Titles, Companies
Fonts - Use only one, can be as small as 9pt, and even 7/8 pt in most cases, and still easily read. This will help you keep everything to one page.
Different types of treatments: Title Case, Sentence case. CAPS, CAPS LOCK. (Capital letters)
Full Time, Part Time, Internships & Short Term
Full Time (abbv. FT)
Part Time (abbv. PT)
Internships
Not Necessary to Include with main Employment -
Short Term - seasonal work, temporary employment
You don't have to explain how much you worked. (For example, how many days a week, or how many hours a week) If you were employed for 2 years, you should say that. You can explain how much work you did at the interview.
This is the same for being paid. Sometimes a job will ask for your salary requirements, and you can include this is your letter of motivation/cover letter. It should be based on previous salaries or an entry salary.
Travel, Trips, Cruises, Vacations
There are many ways to describe journeys. In English, a journey is usually a long period of time. For example, a journey abroad would be more than one month somewhere, with more than one destination.
A vacation is normally a trip taken with the main concern being leisure. You want to relax and enjoy your time in a 'laid-back' fashion. You can have a vacation that takes you to more than one place, and takes over a month. It the purpose of the vacation that makes it a vacation, and not a journey. In America, you normally have two weeks vacation time per year, so it's important to relax during this time.
A trip is usually to list one destination. For example, "We took a trip to New York City for the weekend." Or, "We took a cross-country road-trip to California on Route 66." Road-trip is taken in a car, truck, van or camper/RV.
Cruises are pretty obvious, they are on a boat. They can be for a multitude of reasons. There is Cruises for Senior Citizens, focusing on an age-group with similar interests. Cruises for single people, looking to date while on the Cruise. Family Cruises, Adventure Cruises, Sight-Seeing Cruises (to Alaska for example.)
"Journeys & Voyages"
A journey is often seen as being a long trip with multiple stops.
I took a backpacking trip to Europe. It was a real journey.
Marco Polo journeyed to China and back again.
A voyage is similar to a journey, being very long, but on a boat.
Christopher Columbus took a voyage across the Atlantic to discover "the West Indies".
Programs / Computer Skills
A basic way of noting general computer use without being specific would be to say.
Proficient in PC Environment & File Management.
Levels: Expert, Proficient, Intermediate, Beginner. Daily use is acceptable.
ex: Expert in Microsoft Office in a PC & Mac environment.
Proficient in HTML, CSS, and Content Management Systems.
Beginner in Adobe Flash and iMovie.
DO NOT list surfing the internet as a skill. Anyone can do it. Same goes for e-mail.
Languages
The levels are native (your mother tongue), bilingual/fluent (you can speak the language fluently and without hesitation), conversational, and then levels of good, moderate/intermediate, basic/beginner/novice. Written and Spoken can have two different levels, specify if so.
Recommendations / References
Due to privacy concerns, most references would prefer that you keep their information confidential. In order to do this, I place on my CV "Available Upon Request". This means that if an employer really needs my references, they can ask me, and I would be more than happy to notify my reference that someone would be calling them or e-mailing them, and then passing the contact information on to my prospective employer.
If your job listing asks for references, I would list it as follows
Name, Title, Company, Location (optional), Phone, e-mail
Phone - If applying outside the country, include country code, in France +33, and do not include the zero at the front of your French cell phone number.
Address - Can be formatted differently in each country. In English, we normally capitalize the first letter of the name of the town or city.(49100 Angers, France)
e-mail (should look like this, all lowercase, optional to have this before your mail since '@' makes it apparent its your e-mail address): can be presented in blue, but is not necessary.
An objective is an optional thing. Normally, an objective consists of one short sentence stating the type of job or work you are looking for. (Note: when stating numbers, if it is under ten, write the word out, instead of using the numeral.)
Degrees -
Year started – Present.
ex: 2009 – Present First, the University or School you are currently "enrolled in/ attending" : you have not finished.
Next, the degrees you have completed / finished :
2009 Bachelor's of Tourism, University of Angers,
2006 Lycée Baccalauréat (High School Diploma), specialty (if any), with honors (high standing)
Any training with education courses and certification you may have completed.
Format / Style : Consistency
Try to keep each type of information looking the same, ie. dates, Job Titles, Companies
Fonts - Use only one, can be as small as 9pt, and even 7/8 pt in most cases, and still easily read. This will help you keep everything to one page.
Different types of treatments: Title Case, Sentence case. CAPS, CAPS LOCK. (Capital letters)
Full Time, Part Time, Internships & Short Term
Full Time (abbv. FT)
Part Time (abbv. PT)
Internships
Not Necessary to Include with main Employment -
Short Term - seasonal work, temporary employment
You don't have to explain how much you worked. (For example, how many days a week, or how many hours a week) If you were employed for 2 years, you should say that. You can explain how much work you did at the interview.
This is the same for being paid. Sometimes a job will ask for your salary requirements, and you can include this is your letter of motivation/cover letter. It should be based on previous salaries or an entry salary.
Travel, Trips, Cruises, Vacations
There are many ways to describe journeys. In English, a journey is usually a long period of time. For example, a journey abroad would be more than one month somewhere, with more than one destination.
A vacation is normally a trip taken with the main concern being leisure. You want to relax and enjoy your time in a 'laid-back' fashion. You can have a vacation that takes you to more than one place, and takes over a month. It the purpose of the vacation that makes it a vacation, and not a journey. In America, you normally have two weeks vacation time per year, so it's important to relax during this time.
A trip is usually to list one destination. For example, "We took a trip to New York City for the weekend." Or, "We took a cross-country road-trip to California on Route 66." Road-trip is taken in a car, truck, van or camper/RV.
Cruises are pretty obvious, they are on a boat. They can be for a multitude of reasons. There is Cruises for Senior Citizens, focusing on an age-group with similar interests. Cruises for single people, looking to date while on the Cruise. Family Cruises, Adventure Cruises, Sight-Seeing Cruises (to Alaska for example.)
"Journeys & Voyages"
A journey is often seen as being a long trip with multiple stops.
I took a backpacking trip to Europe. It was a real journey.
Marco Polo journeyed to China and back again.
A voyage is similar to a journey, being very long, but on a boat.
Christopher Columbus took a voyage across the Atlantic to discover "the West Indies".
Programs / Computer Skills
A basic way of noting general computer use without being specific would be to say.
Proficient in PC Environment & File Management.
Levels: Expert, Proficient, Intermediate, Beginner. Daily use is acceptable.
ex: Expert in Microsoft Office in a PC & Mac environment.
Proficient in HTML, CSS, and Content Management Systems.
Beginner in Adobe Flash and iMovie.
DO NOT list surfing the internet as a skill. Anyone can do it. Same goes for e-mail.
Languages
The levels are native (your mother tongue), bilingual/fluent (you can speak the language fluently and without hesitation), conversational, and then levels of good, moderate/intermediate, basic/beginner/novice. Written and Spoken can have two different levels, specify if so.
Recommendations / References
Due to privacy concerns, most references would prefer that you keep their information confidential. In order to do this, I place on my CV "Available Upon Request". This means that if an employer really needs my references, they can ask me, and I would be more than happy to notify my reference that someone would be calling them or e-mailing them, and then passing the contact information on to my prospective employer.
If your job listing asks for references, I would list it as follows
Name, Title, Company, Location (optional), Phone, e-mail
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)