Topic 3 How to write CV and cover letters, tips on job applications, validation process of previous degrees
The importance of CVs and cover letters
- When applying for a job, your CV will give a glimpse to your potential employer about who you are and why you want to work there
- It is therefore the first thing your potential employer sees
- If your CV is intriguing, relevant with the job position, and well-structured, there is a good chance that you might be asked for an interview
→ But what exactly makes a CV stand out? (Discussion / reflection)
- Short and sweet! Maximum 2-pages long
- Clear and well-structured. Concise
- No typos, spelling or grammar mistakes.
- Relevant. You don’t have unlimited space. Make every word count.
- Contact information
- Work experience
- Educational background
- Skills
- Professional certifications
- Hobbies and interests
- Languages
- Volunteering
- Awards
- Conferences / seminars
How to make your own CV - Europass
- There are so many ways to develop your own CV, from finding templates online to doing it yourself from scratch – although the first option is always more efficient
- However, we will focus on creating a Europass CV
- The Europass CV is one of the best-known CV formats in Europe. It is easy-to-use and familiar to employers and education institutions.
- You will first have to create your Europass profile with information on your education, training, work experience and skills.
- After you complete your Europass profile, you can create as many CVs as you want with just a few clicks. Just select which information you want to include, pick your favourite design and Europass will do the rest.
Click in the link here to start. Then, click on “Create my profile” if you don’t already have a profile on Europass (if you do, then just click on Upload my Europass CV)
After you click on “Create my profile”, you will be directed to a page where you are asked to complete your personal information in 4 steps: “Personal information”, “Work experience”, “Education and training”, and “Personal skills”. Take the time to carefully complete all fields. When you finish one section, go through what you have written once again to make sure there are no typos or spelling mistakes. When you are ready, click “Next” and proceed in the same way with the rest of the steps.
After you finish your profile, then you can go back to this page, click on “Create a new CV” and start working on it!
- In this page, there are multiple fields to complete regarding the information to include on your CV. When you finish with a page, simply click “Save” at the bottom of the page and then “Next” to be directed to the next one. You can always go back and review or change your CV content.
- After you complete all sections, you have the choice to download your CV in PDF format. Simply click on “Download” and you are finished!
- A great feature of Europass is that you can easily create different CVs depending on the job position you are applying for, without having to go through the process of creating a CV all over again
- To do that, it is first necessary to download your CV in PDF format and have it on your device – computer / phone (see previous page)
- Then, you can go to this page and click on “Upload my Europass CV”, then select “My device” as shown below. You can then select the CV PDF you already downloaded from the previous step.
- Once you do that, you are ready to make any changes or adjustments on your CV and download it again – different version!
