第一篇：CV and Cover Letter FAQ

CV and Cover Letter FAQ

What is the difference between a Curriculum Vitae and a Résumé?

Is it necessary to send a cover letter with every CV?

Can a graduate CV be longer than one page?

In the cover letter, is it necessary to address it to a specific person?

Should the CV and the cover letter be sent together?

What are the most important things I should consider when writing a CV?

What is the difference between a Curriculum Vitae and a Résumé?

Firstly there is a language difference;Curriculum Vitae is Latin in origin and means “course of life” whilst

Résumé is French for “summery”.Curriculum vitae is used in Commonwealth English and often abbreviated to CV.Résumé, which is sometimes spelt resumé or resume, is used in North American English.Commonwealth English is used in English speaking countries;apart from the USA.Canada is an exception as Canadians use elements of both Commonwealth and North American English.In British English we only use the term CV and, in form, it is what the Americans would call a résumé.It is short, usually one or two pages, and contains a summary of relevant job experience and education;it is this form of CV that we are looking at in this series of topics.In American English a CV contains a list of all your professional history.This would include all your employment experience, academic qualifications and significant achievements.It could even include samples of your work and would run to many pages.Is it necessary to send a cover letter with every CV?

Even if you have spent many hours polishing your CV, without a good covering letter, your work is only half done.The cover letter is an introduction and a hook to get the employer’s attention.It should make him or her want to know more about you, so he or she will bother to read your CV.Can a graduate CV be longer than one page?

A new graduate CV should be no longer than a page;even job applicants with a long job history should limit themselves to two.Of course there are exceptions;a student, who has done numerous internships, volunteer work or other relevant work experience, may use two.However the general rule, for those who are first time job applicants or who are graduates, is one page only.In the cover letter, is it necessary to address it to a specific person?

Yes, it is important to find out a name and personally address it.It shows initiative and shows you are really interested.Also make sure you know if the person is a man or a woman!

Should the CV and the cover letter be sent together?

Yes, always.Even if the employers don’t specifically request a cover letter;send one!You can’t know whether a particular company values cover letters or not.To be on the safe side, always include one.What are the most important things I should consider when writing a CV?

There is an acronym FAKTSA you might like to remember to help you.It stands for five things:

Focus

Appearance

Keywords

Transferable Skills

Accomplishments

Focus on the employer’s needs rather than your own.The appearance should be clear and concise.It should contain job and skill related keywords.These keywords are important because employers will use search

programmes to match these words with CVs stored in their database.If your CV has these keywords you could be considered.You can find these keywords by researching the company website and related job

advertisements in your industry.Transferable skills are all the skills you have acquired from your previous jobs, schooling or day to day life that are relevant to what the new job requires.Your accomplishments are, especially, those strengths that match the requirements of the job;good references are important here.Glossary

Commonwealth(noun)Perfecting

Hook(noun)Power to begin something

Specifically(adv)Collection of data or records

Transferable skills(noun)Achievements, triumphs