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The CV is a piece of self-description that offers an insight into your personality and achievements. It is like an advertisement that tries to sell your potential in competition with hundreds of other candidates who are soliciting the same job. Think of it as the earliest introduction to your employer, who forms his first impression about your worth based on the content and presentation-style of your CV. A professionally written CV can drastically improve your chances of getting a job interview.

What a CV Should Contain

All CVs should provide a convincing answer to the question – “Why should you be given preference for the job over others?”

What every CV should contain:

1. Job Experience – Details in chronological order of where you have worked till now, the responsibilities held, the achievements and how you were rewarded by the company (promotions, out-of-turn salary raise, more responsibility assigned, etc.).
2. Educational Qualifications – Details of education, academic as well as professional, with their date, duration and the qualification acquired. You should also mention areas where you have excelled and how this was recognised by the institutions.
3. Interests and Activities – List all your spare-time interests and activities that project leadership qualities and a well-rounded personality. This is to show that you have an active life beyond the confines of the office and your mental horizons are broad.
4. Skills – Languages known, computer expertise, international driving license, and so on.
5. Personal Details – Your name, date of birth, address, phone numbers, email and personal website.
6. References – Give at least two references like your ex-boss or ex-professor who can vouch for your talent and sincerity.
7. Work Samples – For professions like writers or designers, it is a good idea to attach a copy of your best work with the CV.
8. Your Photo – Adding a colour picture of yours to the resume makes it stand out from other faceless CVs full of black and white text. But in some countries, attaching your photo to your resume may be discouraged to provide equal opportunity to everyone regardless of race or ethnicity. You should follow the trend prevalent in your country.

Types of CVs

There are three standard types of CVs:

1. Chronological – This format is the most popular and displays a candidate’s educational qualifications and job experience in reverse chronological order. Your most recent jobs and qualifications interest recruiters the most, which is why those are presented first. This sequence helps to track a rising career graph from novice to senior management.
2. Functional – This format focuses on the type of jobs you’ve held and the experience gained. It organises your job details by skills acquired, like managerial, mid-level, technical, etc.
3. Combination – A combination CV combines both formats by describing your job skills and also detailing a list of employers in reverse chronological order.

Creating a CV Online

Writing a good CV has over the years been honed into an art form. It has its own rules of what facts to include, how to present the information and how to write the covering letter. But you do not have to spend days writing and perfecting your CV so that it creates a good impression on the employer. Professional CV writing services available on the Web have eased and automated the entire process of creating a winning CV. A number of websites now help you write CVs step-by-step at an affordable rate. Searching the Web can throw up a number of online CV providers and consultants.

Professional CV Consultants – For a fee, you can outsource writing your CV to CV writing consultants. These professionals will craft perfect CVs from the information you provide about your career and qualifications. Utilising their expertise and experience, they decide what to include or omit, what to highlight or underplay, what format and writing style to choose and which parts need special treatment (like gaps in employment). The CV is written and rewritten till it gets your approval. There is also a covering letter which highlights your strengths, which you may adapt for different employers. The charge for these services range from GBP 30 to GBP 60. Payments may be made online through the website. A professionally-written CV will shortly be delivered to you within a few hours.

Create Your Own CV – There are websites that offer you the resources to create an excellent professional CV yourself, without anyone’s assistance. The charges for this service are much lower, about GBP 20 for lifetime access. The websites have an intelligent software that asks you a series of questions about your employment history, educational qualifications and special interests. The answers you fill in are automatically compiled into a great-looking CV.

There are a variety of readymade CV templates and styles to choose from. Once you have selected what you believe is the most attractive option, you can download the CV instantly for printing on your home printer or customise the CV for display on the Internet.

The CV remains permanently stored on the CV writing company’s website. You can log in anytime you want and email it to an employer with the click of a button. You can also keep modifying your CV as you progress in your career or acquire additional qualifications. This ensures that your CV always remains up-to-date with your achievements and professional status.

For an extra charge, the in-house expert can review your CV and suggest modifications. Some CV writing websites even offer online psychometrics and personality tests. You can attach the results with your CV to prove to the employers that you are temperamentally suited to the job and will excel in it if given an opportunity.

Using these online CV writing services, you can now create a professional CV from the comfort of your home, benefiting from ease of access and expert advice.