What is Curriculum Vitae? Its major types

The abbreviation - CV - comes from Latin words curriculum vitae. CV may be loosely translated as [the] course of [my] life.

The content of CV may vary depending on the author. Every single person has different work experience, skills, abilities, education and other features; nevertheless, the type of CV you decided to choose should as far as possible accentuate you strong features. Worth remembering is that CV should be no longer than 2 pages' long.

Chronological CV

It is the most common type of CV with the focus on the candidate’s experience. Posts are to be listed in reverse chronological order starting with the latest graduated school or employment. It also contains the detailed information about qualifications and education alongside hobbies.

How to structure a chronological CV?

• personal details,
• education in reverse chronological order,
• employment in reverse chronological order with bull-pointed responsibilities and/or key achievements,
• other useful information, e.g. licenses, courses,
• hobbies and personal interests

Advantages

• if you are applying within the same or similar industry, chronological CV may be found particularly useful  since it presents your career development,
• it is the favorite form for most employers

Disadvantages

• it reveals potential gaps in employment

Functional CV

it emphasizes  skills and expertise that are desired for a given position. The data about work experience and education should be limited to the minimum. Instead of focusing on any particular job, general description of experience is recommended.

How to structure a chronological CV?

• personal details,
• the achievements, skills and personal qualities presented in decreasing order of importance,
• additional useful information: licenses, courses, etc.,
• hobbies and personal interests

Advantages

• the functional CV helps to “hide” employment gaps,
• if you have changed frequently jobs and your experience is gained from different unrelated posts, the functional CV will help to accentuate your skills as a whole rather than in relation to a particular job,
• the functional CV will be advisable for more mature applicant since it takes an employer’s attention off the age

Disadvantages

• it is not a friendly format for those with consistent career progress

Euro CV – it is a standard form used by people looking for employment abroad. Europass CV was introduced by The European Commission as an official CV of European Union. It is a ready-made format that preferably is to be downloaded from The Internet (http://www.europass.europa.eu/). The CV form is available in all the EU languages.

CV samples are available on our website: www.zielonalinia.gov.pl  in the guide book “CV – Know-How”.

remember!

Well-structured CV is your first step to success!