06 18519 Communication Skills and Professional Issues

Manfred Kerber and Jim Yandle

School of Computer Science

Lecture 3: Writing a CV

16 January 2009

"No man has a good enough memory to be a good liar."
attributed to Abraham Lincoln

1.  Introduction

You can find information on writing a CV in books such as [Lee-Davies07] and [Jones90] (from these two books a lot of the information is taken in the following). There is also support available from the Computer Science Careers Office http://www.cs.bham.ac.uk/internal/careers/ and the Academic Services department of the University, a starting point is http://www.as.bham.ac.uk/study/support/cec/apply/index.shtml with concrete information on creating a good CV http://www.as.bham.ac.uk/study/support/cec/apply/cv.shtml, writing a covering letter, and interviews. They also run a CV clinic (15 minute sessions), see http://www.as.bham.ac.uk/study/support/cec/offer/advice.shtml#cv - If you make use of this service for your CV to be handed in, you have to declare this on the last page of your submission. - . Another page with quite concise information is a BBC page http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/2950896.stm. You find also a lot of on-line information by AskOxford.com (from Oxford University Press), e.g. on letter writing http://www.askoxford.com/betterwriting/letterwriting/ with a sample letter and useful phrases, and a page on CV writing at http://www.askoxford.com/betterwriting/successfulcv (again with a sample CV). Obviously they also sell books on the topic. Of course you also find material by other publishers, this brief summary cannot list them all. Furthermore there are many web sites which offer their services to help you to write your Curriculum Vitae against a fee. You can also find free information on many of those pages.

Ms Sadaf Alvi has organised 10 minute CV sessions, which you can book, between 9:00 and 11:00 on Friday 23 January 2009 in the Student Study Room. You will receive an email from the Careers email address shortly. Literature is available in the student study room and the careers centre.

A good application consists of at least of an application letter and a curriculum vitae. Obviously it has to include all the information required in the job advertisement. If the advertisement asks you to fill in a particular form, you would obviously comply, otherwise you risk that you application ends up in the waste paper bin without ever being read. The covering letter and the curriculum vitae should follow the general rules that they are

• well structured,
• concise,
• linguistically appropriate (polite, formal language without grammar or spelling mistakes),
• following an appropriate layout and being printed on A4 paper, and
• factually correct (sticking to the truth).

To the last two points: Obviously your application letter and CV should look good. In order to achieve this you have to find a nice layout and good standard size paper (A4). Likewise the envelope should match the paper size and only if necessary be folded. If it must be folded then at most once. Check that all the information you give in your letter and your CV is correct. If it is not you may run into serious trouble in case you are invited to an interview. You may even have to face legal consequences if it can be proved that you provided wrong information deliberately or carelessly.

2.  The Covering Letter

The following information is taken from [Lee-Davies07, p.64-65]. There are certain rules and conventions you should probably follow, [although some may look odd]. Your letter should contain certain information information:

• [Your address:] positioned at the top right or the top centre.
• [The recipient's address:] positioned at the left-hand side. Spelling mistakes should be avoided in general, to misspell the recipient's name is particularly bad.
• [Date:] left or right, but do not forget it.
• [Reference line:] This line should present prominently what the application is about. For instance, if there is a job identification number, it should be added here. This must be accurate. You do not want to annoy the reader even before they have progressed to your CV.
• [The Salutation:] Write "Dear Mrs/Ms/Mr/Dr/Prof/OtherTitle Smith/OtherName" if you know the name or have a chance to find it out. If it is not possible to find out the name write "Dear Sir or Madam".
• [A brief explanation:] Explain in two or three short paragraphs what your experience is, why you apply for this particular job, and what you can especially do in the position. Point to your CV which you have enclosed.
• [Finish:] Finish the letter on an upbeat positive note with something like:

  "I would be delighted to attend an interview to discuss my enthusiasm and suitability for this post." [Lee-Davies07, p.65]

• [Signature:] "Yours sincerely" (to be replaced by "Yours faithfully" if there is no name in the salutation), in the next line your signature in ink, and underneath your fully typed name.
• [Enclosures:] Possibly a list of enclosures. That looks appropriate to me only if there is more than one enclosure. If there is an application form then fill it in.

Can the covering letter be written by hand? Yes, but only people with a very neat handwriting should try that. The covering letter (as well as a CV) must look professional. It is the first impression that your potential employer gets from you and if it is substandard they must assume that your future written communications with costumers will not be any better.

3.  The Curriculum Vitae

There is no fixed format for writing a CV, and there are national differences of what should and should not be included in a CV. In general, however, the same rules apply, that is, it must be well structured, concise - this means for somebody at the start of their career that it should typically fit on one or two pages -, linguistically appropriate, have an appropriate layout (A4 paper), be factually correct. Remember your whole application is only to get you invited to an interview. Check-ups will be made and if you do not stick to the truth it will most likely be found out.

Your CV should contain the following information (possibly in this order).

• [Contact details:] name, address, phone/mobile number, email address. Further personal information may be included such as nationality, marital status, date of birth, or a photo. However be aware that there is a potential problem with that because of anti-discrimination laws. In some countries you should definitely not do it, while in others you should definitely do do it. Sometimes you may be asked such information on an application form, although it may be illegal. Some people keep an on-line CV. If you do, you may point to it. But be sure that it is professionally done and that it does not contain any information you would want your potential employer not to know.
• [Education:] summarise your qualifications, typically backwards, that is, starting with the most current qualification. Concretely for a job application after your studies, you would start that you are currently studying towards a degree of a "BSc in Computer Science at the University of Birmingham" to be awarded in July 2010, and that you expect to achieve an upper 2nd class mark (or whatever your expected degree, degree class, and expected graduation time is). For a job before graduation you would not mention the graduation, but still that you are currently studying. You should be precise about dates and institutions so that an employer can check them up if they are relevant. You may include relevant training courses (or put them into a separate section).
• [Employment History:] (to be included obviously only if you have any). Again you present this in reverse order. Again, be precise, keep it concise, either use bullet points or bold time durations like "2007-present". Explain time gaps. Allocate most space to the most recent or most relevant previous appointment. Try to cover all relevant skills (such as team work, responsibility, working towards deadlines). If words from the original job advert are applicable, then use them here.
• [Interests:] You mention here hobbies and interest which you think are relevant for the job and are positive for you, for instance, playing football means that you know how to function in a team, going to the theatre suggests that you have valuable linguistic skills, community/charity work is proof of emotional intelligence. But remember, the cover letter and the CV can at best get you invited to an interview. Your interviewer may discuss your hobby with you - over lunch or as start of the interview - and if you have pretended to be somebody who you are not and are found out, in all likelihood you have lost your chance to get the job because of a negligibility.
• [Personal Profile:] What are your personal strengths (e.g., reliability, ability to work under pressure). Lee-Davies [Lee-Davies07, p.71] recommends to take eight strengths and get a colleague to compile a paragraph around them. (Do not do that for your assessed CV!) This is a good idea since you may personally feel embarrassed to boast about your strengths. While modesty can be a virtue, a CV is not the place to be modest. You have to present yourself in the best possible light and stress your true strengths, since how could your potential employer possible know about them (and invite you because of them) if you do not tell him/her. Obviously you must not overdo it.
• [References:] Either name two or three referees (with their contact details) whom the employer can contact and ask about you (you have to ask the referees whether they agree), or you can mention that referees will be named on request.

4.  Summary

Your covering letter and your CV should be well structured, concise, appealing, and true. And obviously you want to look interesting and standing out of the crowd (if you feel you do not, then perhaps you should now do something about it). But never forget a well written application can only achieve that you will be invited to an interview. Then you have to live up to what you have written in the application. For that reason (but not only for that reason) it is important that you stick to the truth.

References

• [Jones90]  Alan Jones. How to Write a Winning C.V. Business Books Ltd., Guernsey, Channel Islands, 1990.
• [Lee-Davies07]  Linda Lee-Davies. Developing Work and Study Skills. Thompson, London, 2007.

© Manfred Kerber, School of Computer Science, University of Birmingham. Last update: 20.1.2009.
The module page can be found as http://www.cs.bham.ac.uk/~mmk/Teaching/commskills/index.html.
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