How to write a CV

How to Write a CV

While creating your CV as an inexperienced graduate job seeker here are ideas and tips you can use to make your CV good enough for the consideration of prospective employers despite your obvious lack of experience.



For an inexperienced job seeker or fresh graduate, your CV should have these sections:

Name and contact information
It goes without saying that your CV should begin with your name (boldly written) and contact details, which should include your address, telephone number and email address.

Objective
Why should you include an objective? The recruiter has a limited time to go through hundreds (and possibly thousands) of CVs, so including an objective on your CV that will help the recruiter save time is a plus for you.
The career objective section on your CV is a very crucial section, so a lot planning should go into writing it. It shouldn’t be thrown in as an afterthought, and it should come after the name and contact information section so as to get the immediate attention of the recruiter.
Prepare your career objective around these key elements: the position you are applying for, the career field, and your marketable skills. Avoid vagueness, be concise, and demonstrate your value as an asset.
Let’s consider the example below:

OBJECTIVE: To apply my exceptional communication, interpersonal, and organizational skills, as well as knowledge acquired through a bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication, in an entry-level position on the PR team of an Events Management firm.

We can see from the example that the job seeker is seeking to pursue a career in Public Relations, in an entry level position. The marketable skills are communication, interpersonal, and organizational skills. He or she seeks to apply these skills, which implies they will add value to the employer if employed.

Education
The next is the education section. Here, you include your academic background and qualifications. Recruiters screen candidates to make sure they meet certain minimum job requirements, and one of such requirements may be a degree in a certain discipline.
Prepare this section with your most recent academic qualification coming first.

Experience 
This is an article on how to prepare a CV for an inexperienced individual, right? You are wondering where the experience will come from, right? Okay. If you are an experienced professional in one field seeking to change to another career, include that experience here but focus more on highlighting your achievements in your previous career, while providing hints on how they are transferable to your new career.

For a fresh graduate, include your NYSC work experience, and any internship and volunteer experience you might have. Don’t forget to also highlight your achievements. 
Example, for a fresh graduate;

EXPERIENCE:
EFG Community High School (NYSC)                               Name State, Nigeria.
Teacher                                                                                March, 2006-February, 2007
Responsibilities

• Teach English Language and Literature to students in SS1 and SS2 classes.
• Handle the activities of the school football team, as the team coach.Achievements
• Successfully led the school football team to win the inaugural ABCD Local Government schools football competition organized by the local government.
• Founded the school Literature and Press Club.

• Organized debate competitions between EFG Community High School and HIJ Government School. Both schools are within ABCD local government area of Name state.

XYZ Events Limited                                                                       Name State, Nigeria.
Volunteer                                                                                    August-September, 2004
Responsibilities

• As a volunteer in the PR/marketing team, responsibilities included, but was not limited to, assist in preparing team reports and marketing plans, take notes during meetings with prospective clients, etc.

Achievements

• Gained valuable practical and insightful experience into the workings of the PR team of an events management firm.
• Participated in the successful planning and organization of the award ceremony of The Musicians’ Guild.

Skills and knowledge
This section should contain a bulleted listing of your skills and knowledge. Ensure the skills here correspond with your achievements highlighted in the experience section.
Example;

SKILLS AND PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES:

• Proficient in Ms Office Applications (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint) and Photoshop.
• Exceptional communication, interpersonal, presentation, problem solving, and organizational skills.
• Keen and enthusiastic.
• An excellent team player.
• Good time manager.

As a fresh graduate, volunteer, internship, and part-time job experiences gives you great advantages and should be highlighted in the experience section of your CV/resume.


Other sections you should also include are Awards, Educational Honors, Certifications, and Professional Licenses if you have any. Including a section for hobbies is okay if those hobbies will help highlight your marketable skills.