CV vs. Resume The Difference and When to Use Which

CV vs. Resume The Difference and When to Use Which Ever wondered why a Brit applies with a CV and an American with a resume? And why does an Aussie apply with both? There are a few differences between the two types of application documents and this article will straighten out your queries as well as tell you where in the world you are likely to use which document. Let me kick off the bonanza by introducing the contender in the blue corner CV: A CV (Curriculum Vitæ, which means course of life in Latin) is an in-depth document that can be laid out over two or more pages and it contains a high level of detail about your achievements, a great deal more than just a career biography. The CV covers your education as well as any other accomplishments like publications, awards, honours etc. The document tends to be organised chronologically and should make it easy to get an overview of an individual’s full working career. A CV is static and doesn’t change for different positions, the difference would be in the cover letter. RELATED: What Recruiters Really Want to See on Your CV Resume: A resume, or résumé, is a concise document typically not longer than one page as the intended the reader will not dwell on your document for very long. The goal of a resume is to make an individual stand out from the competition. The job seeker should adapt the resume to every position they apply for. It is in the applicants interest to change the resume from one job application to another and to tailor it to the needs of the specific post. A resume doesn’t have to be ordered chronologically, doesn’t have to cover your whole career like and is a highly customisable document. RELATED: 7 Resume Mistakes You Probably Didnt Realize Differences: As stated, three major differences between CVs and resumes are the length, the purpose and the layout. A resume is a brief summary of your skills and experience over one or two pages, a CV is more detailed and can stretch well beyond two pages. The resume will be tailored to each position whereas the CV will stay put and any changes will be in the cover letter. A CV has a clear chronological order listing the whole career of the individual whereas a resume’s information can be shuffled around to best suit the applicant. I would say the main difference between a resume and a CV is that a CV is intended to be a full record of your career history and a resume is a brief, targeted list of skills and achievements. Lets revise: CV long, covers your entire career, static Resume short, no particular format rule, highly customisable Usage around the world: A resume is the preferred application document in the US and Canada. Americans and Canadians would only use a CV when applying for a job abroad or if searching for an academic or research oriented position. In the UK, Ireland and New Zealand, a CV is used in all contexts and resumes aren’t used at all. The CV prevails in mainland Europe and there is even a European Union CV format available for download. In Germany, the CV is more commonly known as a Lebenslauf (true to the latin origins) and is only one of many application document the poor German job seekers must produce to get an interview. In Australia, India and South Africa, the terms resume and CV are used interchangeably. The term resume is used more for jobs in the private sector and CV is more commonplace when applying for public service positions. Question: So what gives if you apply for an American company in Europe or vice versa? The jaded folks in HR will accept both types although I would recommend you use the local version. It’s not that hard to convert your document after all and if you hit a brick wall, just ask me for help. Which do you prefer, the CV, the resume, both, none? Please share your experience in the comments below! RELATED: Whats the Best  Resume Font, Size and Format?

Making Sense of All the Recent Changes on LinkedIn - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Making Sense of All the Recent Changes on LinkedIn - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career If LinkedIn is an important part of establishing and maintaining your professional image, your professional brandâ€"and it definitely should be!â€"then you may be among the millions of people on LinkedIn who, because of some significant changes recently made by the site, are confused, confounded, and, yes, perhaps even a little bit angry! Some of LinkedIn’s changes can be viewed by most as quite positive, while other changes, not so much. In any case, if you would like a very comprehensive, detailed analysis of the changes, then I strongly encourage you to check out a five-part blog series by Wayne Breitbarth, author of The Power Formula for LinkedIn Success. (The title of the blog series is “How to Optimize Your New LinkedIn Profile,” and here is the link to the blog: http://www.powerformula.net/blog/?p=2925) In Part 1 of the series, Breitbarth examines the changes in what he refers to as “the top box,” of the LinkedIn Profile Page. Here are some of the key changes he highlights: Some of the more positive changes Headline  Now features a larger font, making the headline not only more visible but gives it added importance as well. Summary of current/previous experience  Jobs not listed in the order you prefer? No problem. Now you can simply use the “up/down” arrows to reorder the list. Your Photo  Also featured in a larger size, making it, like your LinkedIn profile headline, more prominent and important. People You May Know Now more conveniently located for easier access. Why? Because, as Breitbarth points out, “Connections are the ‘gas in the tank’ on LinkedIn.” Activity (Status Updates). This section has been elevated to a more prominent position, and your last several posts are now displayed. Connections have always been able to see your updates; now people outside your network, who may be checking you out, can also see them. Some of the less positive changes Contact Info. This information is now harder to find. People now have to “click” on this section to access your information. Websites. This information is also harder to find, but it still remains only one of a few opportunities to include a hyperlink on the site. Where Did All Those Neat Apps Go?! In Part 2 of his blog series, Breitbarth focuses on one of the LinkedIn changes that has created quite a bit of consternation among users, the elimination of the neat apps section, where you previously were able to feature evidence of your expertise and credibility. “Gone are the days of the really cool LinkedIn applications (SlideShare, Box.net files, Amazon Reading List, Google Presentations, etc.),” he says. “Lots of people were hopping mad about this elimination, but the news is not all bad.” Replacing many of these applications is a new section called Your Professional Gallery. It’s here that you can now share hyperlinks to various media, e.g., video, images, documents, presentations, etc. Professional Gallery hyperlinks can also be placed in the Summary, Experience, and Education sections, Breitbarth points out. “I like this much better than the old applications features,” he says, “because the hyperlink is displayed right in the applicable profile section.” Breitbarth goes into greater detail about how to incorporate media in the key sections of your LinkedIn Profile, e.g., Summary, Job Experience, Education and Interests, in Part 3 of the series. He also points out a new feature that should please most site users: The ability to reorder (by using the “up/down” arrows when in the “Edit Profile” mode) sections on the page. “Moving a section closer to the top of your profile will indicate greater importance and improve the likelihood that people will see it,” he says. And Still More Changes Examined In Part 4 Breitbarth goes on to examine some of the key changes made in the following profile sections: Recommendations â€" Now features a larger headline and photo of people who were your last two recommendations  for each job and educational entry. Also, when looking at someone else’s profile, you can scroll over the name of the person who wrote a recommendation and invite him/her to connect with you, send a message or view his/her profile. Skills Expertise â€" This is another change that has caused angst among some LinkedIn users, Breitbarth says. Endorsements can be received for each skill or area of expertise, but the most frequent endorsements will rise to the top of the list. That means you will want to focus on including only those skills that are currently most important to you. Groups â€" All your groups are listed in alphabetical order and the logos of the first seven groups will be prominently displayed, so you will want to be somewhat selective about the groups you choose to join, i.e., make sure the groups that you know are going to be in the “top seven” are groups you will want to most prominently feature. Following â€" You can follow various types of news and specific companies, and seven of each will be displayed on your profile. So, If you are following, say, competitor companies, their names and logos may appear in this section. If you don’t want to give competitors free publicity, you’ll need to follow a few more companies, in an attempt to get these companies to drop off your front page. And Finally . . . In the final part of the blog series, Part 5, Breitbarth focuses on how to capitalize on two new, key LinkedIn features: Searching Your Connection’s Database and In Common With . . . “In my opinion, researching people and relationships and then using that knowledge to ‘warm up’ cold calls is one of the best ways to use LinkedIn,” he says. “This new feature takes that process to a whole new level.” Breitbarth of course provides detailed instructions on how to make effective use of both of these new features. Because of space limitations I have only hit on the major highlights of the new LinkedIn features. Breitbarth, of course, goes into extensive detail (and provides ample “screen shot” examples) in his blog series. So, if understanding all that’s new with LinkedIn is important to you, then take the time to check out his very informative, quite useful blog series. ________________________________________ Be watching for Skip’s new book in the “Headhunter” Hiring Secrets series of bestselling job-hunting books and publications, Career Stalled?  How to Get Your Career Back in ‘High Gear’ and Land the Job You Deserveâ€"Your Dream Job! TM Publication is scheduled for spring 2013. Author:  Skip Freeman  is the author of the international bestselling job hunting book “Headhunter” Hiring Secrets: The Rules of the Hiring Game Have Changed . . . Forever!  (http://portal.sliderocket.com/BFDSG/Find-Your-Dream-Job)  and is the President and Chief Executive Officer of  The HTW Group (Hire to Win), an Atlanta, GA, Metropolitan Area Executive Search Firm. Specializing in the placement of sales, engineering, manufacturing and RD professionals, he has developed powerful techniques that help companies hire the best and help the best get hired.

Tales of FAILS

Tales of FAILS This post was inspired and sponsored by InsureUonline.org,  a site that strives to educate twentysomethings about insurance.  All views, stories and suggestions are my own.  Read on for some funny confessions and for the chance to win the InsureU FAIL sweepstakes!   It’s been an interesting few months for me as far as insurance goes. I know it  sounds like the lamest topic ever, but unfortunately it’s one that affects all of us. Where do I begin? Well, let’s start at the beginning AKA before I realized insurance was important.  My first apartment in Chicago’s beautiful Gold Coast neighborhood was not even a  little bit beautiful. So naturally, being 23, I didn’t find it necessary to get renters  insurance. Heres an excerpt from one of my favorite blog posts called Reality and the City which I wrote in 2010: My first apartment was an interesting one.   Everything seemed OK at first (other than the fact that my bed barely fit in my room) until a pungent scent of mold started infiltrated our 800-square-foot two-bedroom apartment. I’m talking a freshman-year boys dorm + mold smell.   My own mother wouldn’t even come in when she visited. After the smell came the bugs.   After  several  rounds of treatment by exterminators, the  bugs were  still there.    I didn’t  realize African safaris existed in  Chicago’s Gold Coast neighborhood, but I was wrong.   Oh, and there are also typhoons here.   Such as the one that came from my upstairs neighbor who left his kitchen sink on before going out of town for a week.   One night, I walked into my room to find a huge rush of water coming out of  the ceiling.     It ruined my bed and put me out of a room for two weeks until the ceiling was repaired.   I guess that’s what you get for paying $700 each for rent in Chicago. I purchased renters insurance immediately after becoming temporarily homeless and have had it ever since. In fact, if you continue reading that old post youll realize that God was apparently trying to teach me an important lesson about all kinds of insurance throughout my first year or so in Chicago  My car windows got bashed in my first Monday morning as a Chicago resident.  My car was constantly  vandalized thereafter and in need of repairs.  Thank God for car insurance. Or the time that I feared a lawsuit (and prayed my insurance would pay the brunt of my sins) after I hit a man with my car, knocking him out of his wheelchair One morning on my way to work, I pulled out of my parking garage only to hit a man in a wheelchair.   He fell out of his chair.    I thought I had killed him.     I happened to be really decked out that day for an event I was attending after work, which for some reason only made me feel and look that much dumber.   How stereotypical that a done-up blonde girl in a  cute  skirt suit, huge Chanel sunglasses and a flashy red luxury car would hit a man in a wheelchair. Ugh.   I obviously wasn’t strong enough to pull him back up into his chair in my heels, so luckily  two men came by and got him back into it- all the while scowling and cursing under their breath at me.   I apologized and  gave the victim my hot pink Ms. Career Girl card.   I  figured a law suit was on its way to my  inbox.   Instead, the guy called my phone that night to let me know he was ok and asked if I’d like to go out sometime That is a true story. My runins with insurance have continued over the years. In September, I talked a police officer out of giving me a ticket two days before my wedding: I really, really needed my ID to go on my honeymoon to Hawaii. Anndddd my future husband would kill me if our insurance rates went up!  In attempt to give something back after my pleas, I said: Ive been stuffing gift bags for hours would you like one? Theyre right here in the back with the pink tissue paper. I got off with a warning and a cold stare after asking the officer for last-minute  marital advice.  He had none. This Thanksgiving, the hubby was on his way to pick me up from work when he hit a gorgeous Mercedes and bent its axle and wheel, smashed in our bumper and delayed our trip to Michigan for three hours. A week later, he received a note from a woman who hit our rental car in the parking lot Thanks again insurance One of my least favorite insurance moments was after I got laid off and had to figure out how to get my own, independent health insurance.  Yuck. And, on to this week open enrollment period at my new job when I had to think very hard about buying short-term disability insurance in case I ever have a baby and need more maternity leave not covered by the small business I work for.  I also purchased long-term disability and life insurance this week for the first time in my life.  If something were to happen, I wouldnt feel right not having a way for one of us to pay the bills. Whats the point of me writing about insurance? Yes, a few funny things have happened to me along the way.  These types of things arent always funny though.  When funds are tight after graduation, its easy to think that these types of accidents wont happen to you. Its also easy to get overwhelmed by all the options and just avoid protecting yourself all together. Last week one of my Twitter friends emailed me about a site called InsureU.  And no, this site isnt trying to sell you anything!  Rather, InsureUs mission is to educate other twentysomethings about insurance options that I learned about the hard way. Im letting you know about this because I think its important. InsureU is holding a Sweepstakes for chances to win the Ultimate Apartment Safety Kit.  I encourage each of you to enter! Enter by clicking on the picture below! The folks at InsureU realize insurance isn’t always top of mind for twentysomethings, so to make it more interesting, they created 10 really fun “Life Lessons cards” about all types of insurance-related situations. I featured some of my favorites throughout this post, but there are others that might speak more to you. I challenge you to check out all 10 cards,  Pin them and/or share one or more on Facebook. Everyone who comments back to this post with a thought or to share their insurance story will be entered in a drawing to win an Ultimate Apartment Safety Kit, filled with items to help keep your apartment (or home) safer.  It includes items such as as wireless door and window alarms, glass breakage alarms, a mini safe that looks like a jar of rice, and more. The kit is worth $120! Comment by 12/31/12 for the chance to win.

Are You One of The #MissingTypes

Are You One of The #MissingTypes Most everyone has been invited to participate in a blood drive.   Are you one of the only three percent of Americans who donate?   Or are you one of the 97% who dont?   Theres a constant struggle to keep adequate supplies of blood on hand.   But just who needs those blood donations?   What do all those blood designations mean?   Is all blood equal, or are there #missingtypes that are badly needed? If youve never needed blood yourself, you probably havent thought much about who does.   Every two seconds, someone in the U.S. needs blood.   This list of just some of those in need probably hits closer to home than you realized.   It includes: Kids battling cancer Accident victims New moms with childbirth complications Of course, its easier to be concerned when its friends or family.   But every one of those in need is a real person, with family and friends of their own.   And they need your help. When It Comes To Blood, Were Not Equal One of the reasons that its difficult to maintain adequate supplies of blood is that we dont all contain the same blood, or blood type to be accurate.   You probably know the most basic classifications, A, B, and O.   But in reality there are 35 different human blood groups.   Some are compatible with others, and some are not.   Some are more common in different ethnic groups, others are more or less common in different regions of the world. What are The #MissingTypes ? Obviously, if blood types were evenly distributed throughout the world, it would be less challenging to be prepared for blood needs.   But the uneven distribution, compatibility (or non-compatibility), and a host of other factors means that there are #missingtypes that are desperately in need of replenishing.   And its not about what you may have heard about rare or common types.    In fact, no matter what blood type you may have, theres a need.   We’re missing some letters, and only you can bring them back. Without more donors, patients will not have the type A, B or O blood they need. Thats why Boise Paper and The American Red Cross are trying to raise awareness through the Missing Types Campaign.    Now in its second year, the Missing Types campaign is an international movement to inspire 325,000 people â€" including 50,000 who have never donated blood before â€" across the U.S. to help save lives by setting an appointment to donate blood. Ms Career Girl is proud to be able to help spread the word and encourage you to make a pledge to donate blood at https:/rcblood.org/2QgrVLP and visit RedCrossBlood.org/MissingTypes to make an appointment today. Get Committed!   Get Involved! Someone Needs Your Type! Once youve made a commitment, theres more you can do to support the Missing Types campaign.   As part of its Paper with Purpose ® promise, Boise Paper is committed to making a difference in the communities its customers and employees call home. In 2019, the company is demonstrating that commitment through its ongoing support of the American Red Cross. Boise Paper is hosting a Sweepstakes   June 11-30.   You can click here for the chance to win up to $500. To learn more about the Red Cross and the #MissingTypes campaign, be sure to join Boise Paper for the #ShareTheMissingTypes Twittter Chat on June 25 at 2pm CT.   With your help, the Red Cross can continue to supply thousands of hospitals with life-saving blood.

Interview Series - Career Experts - Donna Svei from Avid Careerist CareerMetis.com

Interview Series - Career Experts - Donna Svei from Avid Careerist â€" CareerMetis.com In this interview series, we caught up with Donna Svei from Avid Careerist who shares her expertise and insights about job search, career change, etc. in today’s marketplace.Tell us a little bit about your companyevalI write resumes and LinkedIn profiles for executives.How did you get started in this path?I had been a retained search consultant for 25-plus years and wanted to change roles to work as an executive advocate.Is this something you decided early on in your career?I was a CPA with Deloitte in my first career. That background makes it easy for me to understand my clients’ accomplishments and quantify them.What is the Best Career Advice You’ve ever received?Never expect your boss to do something you can do What is the most exciting part of working in thisindustry?I like holding a mirror up to someone’s career and helping them understand how much they’ve accomplished.How do to stay abreast of the industry as an expert?Reading.What are some of the things that you see job seekers struggle with the most?Owning their accomplishments and generating job leads.What are the common mistakes that you see them do?Waiting too long to get professional help.How should job seekers approach job search today?It helps to understand job search as a sales cycle.If you’re not comfortable with any aspect of the process, get professional help.I advise executives to find experts for each phase of the process. At that level, no service provider can be expert at every piece.I refer to coaches who can help people decide what they want to do next, then I write their marketing collateral.Following that, I refer to expert job search process coaches.Most executives already have an attorney who can help them negotiate employment agreements, non-competes, and NDAs.What is the biggest trend(s) you see that job seekers will face in the next 2-3 years?Companies’ sustained efforts to develop, produce, and distribute their products with fewer people.What is one advice you would give someone just out of college today?Be prepared to continue your education throughout life. The biggest advantage college confers is enough performance pressure so that you learn how to learn.Now, keep learning!What is one advice you would give someone who is switching careers?Understand the progressive difficulty of a career change:1)The easy job search is same role/same industry.2) Next is same role/new industry.3) Following that is new role/same industry.4) Finally, you have new role/new industry.Consider running a same role/same industry or same role/new industry job search in tandem with your career change.You might need a multi-step transition to a new role and new industry. And you might need a fallback job offer or two!How should job seekers get the most out of LinkedIn?Keyword optimize your profile and provide signals that you check your messages (a premium account badge, a weekly post, engaging with others’ posts).Recruiters have more motivation to contact you if the y think you will see their messages.Unemployment is at the lowest levels, why do you think that is?We’re in an extended economic expansion.What is the biggest trend(s) you see that hiring managers will face in the next 2-3 years?They’re getting hit with a plethora of new employee selection technologies without much proof that any of it accurately predicts job performance.Donna, what are you currently working on?Beyond the work I do with my clients, I blog at AvidCareerist.That lets me help a wide range of global jobseekers at no cost to them.What are the best resources you recommend to job seekers?Avid CareeristCareer SherpaWhat is the best way for our audience to reach you?WebsiteConnect with or Follow Donna Svei on Social Media:LinkedInTwitterFacebook GroupYouTubeDonna Sveiand Avid Careerist have also been featured in our recent compilation of the most resourceful career experts and career blogs â€" Top Career Advice Websites.

Top 10 happy workplaces - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

Top 10 happy workplaces - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog In a comment to an earlier post about Chief Happiness Officers Kristian asked me for my Top 10 list of companies that make for happy employees. So without further ado, heres my Top 10 happy companies list: 10. jetBlue for emphasizing fun 9. Irma for putting people first (in danish) 8. Pixar for the cool offices (in danish, bottom of the page) 7. Patagonia for being cool about surfing on company time 6. Pike Place Fish for throwing fish around 5. IKEA Denmark for giving their lowest paid employees a 20% pay hike 4. ServiceGruppen for listening and learning (in danish) 3. Southwest Airlines for emphasizing love 2. Kjaer Group for loving cars, people and life And the number one company to be happy at: 1. Any company where YOU yourself are willing to make a difference and make yourself and others happy. Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related

How to Make a Resume For Writing Great

How to Make a Resume For Writing GreatThe best way to make a resume is to think about the reason you want to get a job and write down your qualifications. If you want to write a resume for writing great, you can choose a template, but you can also choose one that can be customized according to your specific needs.When it comes to buying a template, you have a lot of choices to choose from. One option is to use an online service. You can either go to the website of the template company or you can download a free template from the Internet. You may not like downloading a template if you are on a budget because you will have to pay the service a fee for their services.Before you choose a template, you have to know the criteria that you need to consider before you start to write a resume. First, you need to decide whether you want to have your resume professionally printed or just written on a word processor. Second, how long do you need to take before you can have your document professi onally printed? Finally, what should be your plan on how you can learn more about using templates?Your resume will have a professional look because it will be professionally written. It will be professional because it will be polished. Once you choose the template that you will use, you have to go over the section to determine what information you would like to include in the section. You can include this information when you decide to hire a professional to do the job for you.Your main objective when you are writing a resume is to communicate your value. This means that you must include the most important information so that employers will notice. Your resume should reflect what skills you have so that it reflects who you are.You can find a free resume online if you search for it. Also, you can use the sites where you can write your own resume. All of these sites have many templates that you can use to create your resume. In order to make your resume unique, you must make sure that you include the information that is needed to apply for the job.The best part about creating a resume is that you can personalize it according to your needs. You can take a look at the different templates that are available online and choose one that you think fits your needs. Remember that you can customize the template according to your unique needs.You can hire a professional to help to create a professional resume for writing great. The professional help can help you with the planning of your resume. Once the professional help has completed the resume, you can then print it out for a more professional look.