Career Center – Cover Page / CV

As the central element of an application, Human Resources professionals usually examine the CV first before deciding whether an application is worth considering. A CV should therefore always be tailored to the advertised role. The more matches there are, the greater the chance of being invited to an interview. A compelling CV is up to date, tailored to the role and can be taken in within a maximum of two minutes. As with the cover letter, the same applies to your CV: design it with purpose! You are in control of the structure of your CV and how the reader’s eye is guided through it.

Key criteria for a CV:

• Current events
• Completeness
• Full contact details (header optional)
• Tabular format (time and content columns)
• Dates in the ‘Time’ column: e.g. 04/2010 – 03/2011
• Organisation into thematic sections
• Reverse chronological order (most recent first) within the blocks
• A targeted focus on the role, e.g. by providing details of previous roles in a way that is tailored to the role
• Max. 2 A4 pages
• Place, date, signature (blue ink, scan or signed by XY)

• Possible blocks:
• About the author / Personal details (possibly on the cover page)
• Educational background
• Work experience
• Internships / Further training / Additional qualifications / Projects
• Stays abroad (only if there are several)
• Commitments / Voluntary commitments
• Part-time work / Student jobs
• Other skills (foreign languages, IT)
• Interests / Hobbies
• Example of your academic background:
• Correct name of university, town, country (in bold)
• Degree programme
• Key areas / Areas of interest / Specialisations
• Final assignment topic (mark)
• Final result (mark)

Example of work experience

• Correct company (organisation) name, legal form, town/city, country (in bold)
• Function, Division, Department, Project
• List of up to 3–4 activities/tasks (in bullet points, goal-oriented)

• Your CV is the centrepiece of your application! However, that doesn’t mean you need to be afraid of approaching it properly or even try to hide anything. Be honest and thorough, and guide the recruiter’s attention towards the points you want to highlight in your CV. You should see your CV as an opportunity to showcase yourself and put yourself in the spotlight!

• A CV evolves over the course of your life. Keep refining and honing it based on the experience you’ve gained. You might also compare it with the CVs of your friends and colleagues for reference.

• Sometimes a simple CV is much more appealing to Human Resources professionals than one that’s overloaded with graphics. Human Resources professionals want to see the key information at a glance and not have to piece everything together themselves. Be clear and specific, and show readers what matters to you.

• A CV, just like all of us in life, needs room to breathe! Don’t fill every millimetre of free space; instead, keep the layout clear and easy to read. Don’t experiment with unusual fonts or overly elaborate designs.
• Don’t be afraid of going into detail! You want to come across as interesting, stand out from the crowd and draw attention to yourself. So what’s the point of writing everything exactly the same way as everyone else? Don’t be afraid to break away from the crowd and express yourself.