Curriculum Vitae

01. What is the CV writing process and how do I get my information to you?


Follow these simple steps.

E-mail your existing CV to info@profcvzone.co.za or fax the information to us on 086 619 7909

If you e-mailed your information to us you will get a reply e-mail with your unique Professional CV Zone Reference and our banking details.

If you faxed your information to us we will contact you on your personal Cellular number or landline to confirm your Reference with Professional CV Zone and our banking details.

Once you have selected the CV or CV plus Resume option you want and made the correct payment into our bank account do we start with your information and draft your Professional document/s.

REMEMBER to use your unique reference when making your deposit into our account otherwise we will not know where the money comes from.

You do not have to notify us about the bank deposit as we get automatic notifications from our bank. You can however e-mail or fax the deposit confirmation to us on info@profcvzone.co.za or fax to 086 619 7909

We will send the completed DRAFT CV and/or Resume to you within 24 WORKING HOURS on e-mail, fax or via the postal services.

That is it.

Now you can look forward to many more interview offers with your Professional Drafted Document/s.

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02. An effective objective: An important part of your Curriculum Vitae

An effective objective is one of the most important components of your Curriculum Vitae because it tells a potential employer exactly why you qualify for a job and how you can fulfill their needs. That is a lot to pack into a three to five sentence objective, but it is critical to creating a Curriculum Vitae that will get you to the interview phase.

Customize the objective

The objective is a key place to customize your Curriculum Vitae so that it matches your attributes with the potential employer's needs. Use this section to highlight your qualifications in a way that parallels the qualifications they want in that job; in other words, tell them specifically how you can benefit them.

Use concise, active language that gives specific information about you. Instead of saying you are an "excellent manager", for example, say that you are an "excellent manager with a proven record of motivating employees and meeting department goals". Can you see the difference? How could you make this statement even stronger without making it long and confusing?

Try this for yourself. Start with a basic description of something you want to emphasize about yourself, and then make it stronger. Use action words that are specific about the attribute you want to emphasize and describe exactly how you demonstrate that attribute.

Structure of the objective

There are a variety of ways to structure the objective part of your Curriculum Vitae, so you should try several methods to see what best shows off what you have to offer a potential employer. Most experts suggest that your objective be three to five sentences long, but that is it. Anything longer than that becomes too wordy and drawn out, losing its effectiveness and power.

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03. Creating and E-mailing a Plain Text Curriculum Vitae

In our modern age, everyone seems to want things much faster than ever. This sometimes also holds true for prospective employers. Many prefer to receive Curriculum Vitae by e-mail, and their reasons for doing this can be varied. Some don't want mounds of paper Curriculum Vitae. Some find it easier to weed out the good Curriculum Vitae from the bad simply by e-mail.

Others find e-mail Curriculum Vitae faster. Still others prefer e-mail Curriculum Vitae because the job position is virtual, so prospective employees can come from anywhere in the world. So it's simply more practical to accept e-mail Curriculum Vitae.

Regardless of the reasons prospective employers have for accepting or requesting e-mail Curriculum Vitae, there is one thing almost every single prospective employer has in common. Very few will want e-mail Curriculum Vitae sent as attachments.

The reason for this is simple. No company wants to risk a computer virus or Trojan infection on their expensive technological equipment. Neither are they interested in seeing fancy HTML coded e-mail's. In some cases, companies' e-mail software might not be able to read HTML e-mail. Besides, nifty HTML e-mail's are usually larger files. Which means they take up unnecessary space in a prospective employer's inbox.

It's best to e-mail your Curriculum Vitae as a plain text Curriculum Vitae.

Which brings up the question, what is a plain text Curriculum Vitae? Well, plain text Curriculum Vitae are also often referred to as ASCII Curriculum Vitae. Plain text Curriculum Vitae have no text formatting. That means no bolding, italicizing or underlining. Plain text Curriculum Vitae have no centering or special characters like the copyright or trademark symbols.

Therefore, in short, plain text Curriculum Vitae contain only typed text and nothing else. Usually every character in a plain text Curriculum Vitae is evenly spaced and the same size. This includes blank spaces and punctuation like apostrophes.

When you prepare to e-mail your plain text Curriculum Vitae, there are a few things to keep in mind. As tempting as it is to simply paste your entire Word-processed Curriculum Vitae into a plain text format, don't do it.

Simply pasting a pre-written Curriculum Vitae into plain text format will cause all sorts of layout and formatting problems. Sentences might get squished together. Paragraph breaks could disappear. In addition, characters as simple as commas could appear as gibberish.

A plain text Curriculum Vitae with layout and formatting problems, and poorly converted characters will present you in a poor light. And a poorly presented Curriculum Vitae, whether print or plain text, is less likely to be read by a prospective employer.

To prevent this, you have two options. You can originally write your Curriculum Vitae in plain text. Alternatively, you can re- type your original Curriculum Vitae into plain text format. Just be sure that your plain text Curriculum Vitae is less than 65 characters wide.

Some experts also suggest you include several words related to the industry you're trying to get a job in. These are called keywords. And these keywords make it easier for a prospective employer to find your Curriculum Vitae if he or she is searching through an online database.

When typing your plain text Curriculum Vitae, be sure to use capital letters to emphasize headings. In addition, be sure to left align your content. Also, don't use your tab key. Use five spaces instead.

A plain text Curriculum Vitae can be created in your Notepad program. (To access it, click the Start button, then Programs, and then Notepad. Type away and save.

To convert a word processor document into a text file, select all the text. Change the text to 10 or 12 point Courier font. Adjust your margin to 4.5 or 5 inches. Then re-save as a text only file.

Creating and e-mailing a plain text Curriculum Vitae takes only a few minutes to do, but the rewards of doing one correctly could pay off for many, many months.

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04. Creative Curriculum Vitae Writing: Stick To The Facts

Writing your Curriculum Vitae can be a challenging process, especially if your job history is not as strong as you would like it to be. Somewhere along the way, as you are trying to find the best way to highlight your skills and attributes, you may be tempted to embellish some of your qualifications or to hide some of your weaknesses. This type of creative Curriculum Vitae writing is not acceptable and will come back to haunt you at some point down the line.

Just the facts

Make sure that the information you put into your Curriculum Vitae is factual and complete. For example, if you were the team leader on a project that met its objectives then you should state the actions and results you took very clearly. Do not overstate your role in the process, exaggerate the benefits of the results, or discount the efforts of the other people on your team.

Any factual information you put into your Curriculum Vitae must be verifiable. If you say that you were the top salesperson for three months in a row you should have documentation available that confirms this statement. Employers can and do check the accuracy of Curriculum Vitae, so be prepared to back up whatever information you put into your Curriculum Vitae.

Tell the truth

Never, never, never make up information or lie about your qualifications on a Curriculum Vitae. It is surprising how many people will add just a bit to a statement about themselves, or claim a college degree that they do not really have, all the while thinking they will not be caught. The reality is, though, that most often they are caught and then find themselves in a worse position than before.

What are the consequences of lying on your Curriculum Vitae? Sometimes they are immediate - you are screened out of the hiring process, or are found out during the interview. Other times they are a bit longer coming - maybe the truth comes out after a month or two on the job and you are quickly removed from the position with no severance or other accommodation. When you stop to think about it, you quickly realize that it is just not worth it to stray in any way from the truth on your Curriculum Vitae.

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05. Defining Your Career Through Your Curriculum Vitae

If you're uncertain about what career path you'd like to take, a Curriculum Vitae can help you define it. Yes. That's right. The act of writing a Curriculum Vitae can help you define your career path and can help you figure out where you want to go in your working future.

Think about it. A Curriculum Vitae is a personal selling tool. Moreover, to sell yourself as effectively as possible, you're going to have to do some very close self-examination. You're going to have to take a long, objective look at your weaknesses and strengths.

When you determine your weaknesses and strengths, you'll be able to figure out what you're really good at and what you're really lousy at. Your strengths and weaknesses will help you define your career path. Naturally, you'll want a career that allows you to use your strengths to their maximum potential. And, of course, if you're like most people, you won't want to pursue a career where you're required to use skills that you really don't have.

One of the steps involved in writing a Curriculum Vitae is looking at the level of education you have, and presenting that level of education in the most flattering way possible. Taking the time to closely examine your education can be another way to use your Curriculum Vitae to define your career. If upon closer examination of your education level, you discover you're lacking skills, then you know it's time to upgrade.

Writing your Curriculum Vitae can help you define your career goals by helping you focus on your career-related skills like values, personality, temperament, interests, talents and fascinations. That's the benefit of self-marketing! You really have to take a close look at yourself.

So, to summarize. If you're not entirely sure what your career objectives are, take the time to write a Curriculum Vitae. Write a Curriculum Vitae even if you're not looking for a specific (or any) job. Curriculum Vitae writing forces you to take a look at your skills from a self-selling perspective. It forces you to see your strengths and weakness. Moreover, once you're better aware of your strengths and weakness, you'll be able to more effectively define your career goals.

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06. Making The First Impression Count

Just as it is when you meet someone for the first time, your Curriculum Vitae only has one chance to make a good first impression. Make the most of this opportunity by creating your Curriculum Vitae to have the maximum impact in the short amount of time that most HR professionals have to screen the documents they receive.

Length - Your Curriculum Vitae should be no longer than four [4] pages, and less if it is possible to do so without crowding the information or using extremely small type size.

Format - Choose the Curriculum Vitae format that best communicates your particular strengths. Determine whether you are best served with a chronological, functional, or combination format.

Content - The content of your Curriculum Vitae should be specific and tailored to the needs of the job position. Highlight those aspects of your skills and qualifications that match up will with the requirements of the job.

Layout - The layout should be pleasing to the eye, not crowded or busy. Use clear, simple headings that draw the reader's eye to each section and put information in the most logical order for the job position you are seeking. Use white space to your advantage by keeping your margins wide and allowing enough space between topics and statements.

Overall look and feel - Think about how your Curriculum Vitae looks and feels to the reader. Is the paper sturdy and high quality, or is it thin and floppy? Is the printing clear and sharp or is it faded and inconsistent? Is the paper plain enough so that the content is the main focus or is it a trendy colour that distracts the reader's attention from the content?

Once you have your Curriculum Vitae put together in a way that you think looks good, test it out by sharing it with a trusted friend or knowledgeable peers. Ask them for their honest feedback and input about what kind of a first impression the document makes and any improvements you could make. Visit a local job agency or recruiter and ask for their feedback, as they are accustomed to seeing all kinds of Curriculum Vitaes and could likely give you excellent suggestions for making your Curriculum Vitae stand out.

Another option is to consult with a Professional Curriculum Vitae Service. A person such as this has special expertise in making a Curriculum Vitae as strong as possible, and you will likely find that it is well worth the cost of getting an objective, professional opinion. The cost of these services will vary depending on whether you are looking strictly for proofreading and layout help, or if you are looking for help with content development as well.

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07. Marketing Yourself With An Effective Curriculum Vitae

An effective Curriculum Vitae is a key component in your job search success. Without one, potential employers will not fully understand why your skills and attributes would be a benefit to them. Here are a few tips for making sure your Curriculum Vitae is as effective as possible:

1. Is it tailored to the job for which you are applying? Look at the qualifications and desired skills listed in the job advertisement; does your Curriculum Vitae clearly communicate how well you match up with the employer's needs?

2. Is it concise? Nobody wants to get bogged down reading a wordy, rambling Curriculum Vitae so make sure yours is clear and concise, using active language.

3. Is it attractive? The first glance sets the tone for your Curriculum Vitae, so make sure it is attractive and appealing. The content should be easy to read, not crowded onto the page, and use a font style and size that is comfortable for the reader.

4. Is it appropriate? Some industries are naturally more conservative than others are, so make sure your Curriculum Vitae is appropriate for the job you are seeking. If you want to work at a bank, do not print your Curriculum Vitae on fluorescent orange paper... you should NEVER use such colours anyway; if you want to work as a salesperson, do not fill your Curriculum Vitae with details about your accounting prowess.

5. Is it exaggerated? You want your Curriculum Vitae to clearly communicate your attributes, but be careful not to get carried away. Promote your achievements and skills in a manner that illustrates your abilities while also acknowledging that you may have worked as part of a team, committee, department or other group.

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