CV

Having a CV is one of the basics for finding a job. It helps you communicate to the reader who you are, which helps them figure out if you may be the right fit for the position. The following article gives some context to the CV, as well as tips for writing the contents.

Recruiter 

When sending in your CV, there are a few different stakeholders looking at the CV. This is important to take into account when making a CV, as it may affect the way you will make the document. Below, we give an overview of what this flow for a CV may look like. 

For medium-sized to larger companies, the first check of your CV is not done by a human, but rather an ATS (Applicant Tracking System). This system helps the recruiter keep track of all CVs, and also assesses them based on key-terms in the document. Based on terms that the company has deemed important for the vacancy (soft-skills, technical topics, etc) it will score your CV. Therefore, it is recommended to include clear key-words in your CV, and make use of multiple synonyms in the documents. You usually can conclude these key-words from the vacancy itself. Be careful though to not adjust your CV too much to the vacancy. It is important to stay true to your skills and values. Besides the key-terms, take into account the layout of your CV when making the document, as some layouts can be hard to read for the system. You can confirm if your CV can be scanned by submitting (an anonymized) version to an online ATS checker. 

After the first selection is made by the ATS, the recruiter will look at the CV. Usually, recruiters are not from within a company, but rather from a recruitment company that is hired for this vacancy. Therefore, it is likely that this person does not have any expertise about this field of study. Be sure to keep the CV understandable for them, to assure that they can check if you fit the requirements and desires from the company. Besides that, they usually work based on quantity, rather than quality, meaning a clear and easy to read CV will suit them better. For them, you just need to quickly convince them you would fit the requirements. Take into account that a recruiter on average takes only six seconds to decide if they discard your CV or want to keep reading. 

Only after you have passed the recruiters selection, your CV will be shown to a person hiring at the department of the vacancy. They are the people you will likely also meet with. For this party, it is mainly important that the CV sparks some enthusiasm and personal connection. By showing personality and passion, you create curiosity from the reader, which can help you get to the interview stage. For this person, it is also important that the CV supports your interview; it is helpful if the document gives basic information and learning points for experiences, to make sure that you do not spend too much time of the interview explaining experiences, but rather have time to highlight specific cases, and learning points. 

Central narrative 

In general, it is important to create a CV based on some central points you would like to highlight. Since you only get one or two pages, and possibly 30 mins of interview, you need to make a selection of skills and expertise that you highlight. For this, the following steps can help: 

1. Read through the vacancy, define what is deemed important in the text. Look for soft-skills, but also descriptions of the position. If they for example mention that the position is in a close team, you may want to highlight your social skills and preference for teamwork. 

2. Now think of your personal selling points, in terms of soft-skills, hard skills and skills within your field of work. You can also incorporate a bit of personality outside of the skills. It may help to google a list of terms and select the ones you relate with, or ask a friend how they would describe you. 

3. Combine these two steps into a coherent story of how you fit the vacancy, and what unique qualities you bring. Make a selection of only the most important ones, to make sure your CV is not too full. 

4. Now start making your CV, highlighting these points. You can do this by naming the skills within your experiences, or even by filtering and selecting only the experiences that match this part of yourself you want to bring out. 

CV Contents 

General Tips:

• The layout of your CV is up to you. It can be a means to communicate your personality, so picking a layout that suits you can help communicating your narrative. Be careful to not make the CV to cluttered, as it should be easy to quickly read. 

• The experiences on your CV should be order in reverse chronological order based on the end date of experiences. (So the most recent/current positions go on top). 

• Though most CV templates show the work experience at the top, students are usually recommended to add their education as the top section since this is usually their most valuable experience. 

• Including a picture is not a must for a CV. Though it may help the reader create a personal bond with you and remember you better, it may also create biases. It is advised to do whatever feels best to you.  

Personal details:

Display your personal contact information such as phone number, e-mail address, place of residence and LinkedIn URL. It is really important that the reader can get in touch with you. 

• Be sure to not include your student email in the CV. If they keep your CV and try to contact you later, your address may no longer be reacheable. 

• Due to the ATS systems keeping track of CVs over a longer time, it is allowed but not advised to include your full address due to your own privacy. 

Personal profile:

Briefly describe who you are (current function, characteristics), what you have to offer (soft-skills, technical skills) and what your objective/ambition is (preferred challenges, team structure). This part should be no more than 3-4 lines.  

• You can choose to also include a tagline above your personal profile to catch attention. Usually here you can include your focus area and main soft-skill. 

Education:

Start with your most recent study, stating the full name of the program and institute. To give a more clear understanding of what your studies entail, add a short description and possibly notable project such as your Bachelor End Project and/or a few relevant courses or minor to the description. 

• Since courses may not mean as much to someone from outside your educational institution, it is helpful to describe their topic and call these your focus area’s or fields of expertise. 

• If you find it hard creating a short description of your studies, check out the TU/e website for this. 

Work experience:

Describe your position(s) and briefly elaborate on your responsibilities and obtained results. Quantify information as much as possible, and do not be afraid to clearly state what you learned at these experiences.  

• Be careful to include unpaid positions as work experience. Projects and extracurriculars get their own section. 

Extracurricular activities:

Mention the roles you fulfilled in e.g. committees of a (local sports, study, etc.) association, voluntary projects, board year. Be clear on what your main tasks, responsibilities and results were and briefly mention those. Again, do not hesitate to clearly state the skills learned. 

Skills:

Soft, technical skills (e.g. software programs, libraries) and languages you speak. If possible, also state your current level (e.g. full working proficiency, 1-5). 

Personal interests:

Use a few keywords to mention what you like to do to in your spare time (e.g. drawing, soccer, 3D printing). 

Applying in different countries

Applying in different countries may result in very different CV etiquette. The focus of the article above is on Dutch companies, so be sure to search online or ask people in the country you are applying for their standards. Differences lay mostly in the area of how to communicate your (soft-)skills, the importance of personality in your CV (e.g. show hobbies or not), and layout. For example, Dutch companies value soft-skills and personality a lot more than other countries.