As an HR manager, one of your duties is to ensure that employees’ CV stay up to date with their newly learned skills and position changes within the organisation. By maintaining this you are not only assisting the employee in raising his/her skill and experience levels on paper, but you are also raising the standing your company holds in terms of the quality of personnel employed within the company.

The standard CV

This is a document as old as time that is a summary of an individual’s education, skills, achievements and can also include things such as hobbies and goals. This document is intended to promote the writer as a prospective employee to a company and in order to do this it must contain the following;

Personal details:

These include the basic; Full name, contact details, residential details and possibly gender and race. This information can tell the employer general information about you as well serving to humanise you rather than being a number in a stack.

Professional profile:

This wouldn’t include your roles or experience per say, but rather your characteristics in such roles (that would make you stand out and seem unique).

• This is where you need to punt the special qualities you can bring to a position that might not be seen as functional to the position, but will hold you in higher esteem above your competition. An example of this would be ‘A hands-on manager that listens thoroughly to employees and considers their concerns before making decisions that may influence them.’

Professional experience:

This is a simple summary of your life’s work experience, everything from part-time work during your schooling to your current position. Don’t forget that this list is always organised from most recent to oldest. Include the title of the position held, the company name, start and end date, a list of responsibilities and also provide any reasons for why your employment ended at previous companies.

• This is where you will want to mention everything you have done, regardless of its relevance, however reserve more space for the positions you have held before that are more relevant to your current position.

Education:

Again this is a summary of all your formal education (the hula class you had on that beach one time doesn’t count), quite simply it should be a list of educational achievements for which you received some form of certification. This list again is from most recent to oldest.

• Here you can show off your most pride-stimulating educational achievements. For those that are very significant, you can also list the various majors, or even the subject list required for the certification.

Special awards and accomplishments:

Here is the best place to show off the not so usual achievements.

• These don’t need to be exotic but can include minor details such as bursaries, prestigious academic achievements for exceptional scores and even sporting achievements.

References:

Over the years of working and even schooling, you may leave a particularly strong impression with a lecturer or manager, or perhaps you just did your work quietly and efficiently.

• This section is where you can list those usually higher ranking individuals whom you have worked with that could be contacted in order to pass on their experience of working with you.

Hobbies and goals:

This is not a necessary field however if you want to reveal a less formal side of yourself, this is where you do it (remember that hula class?)

• Here you could write whatever you please, so long as it’s true. Don’t say you love doing the things the interviewer does simply to get into the lime light. Because trying to explain how you love fishing is hard if you’ve never held a rod.

Non- Traditional CV Forms

Not many people realise that there are other forms apart from the standard written CV. These CV forms can prove to be even more effective than your usual CV as they show a more in-depth view of the person you are as well as being more available to potential employers. There are two major forms of non-traditional CV’s that we will mention here;

Video CV’s:

In today’s world, it is not uncommon to come across video resume’s. These while not typically holding all the content you would typically find in a regular CV are much more entertaining as well as creative. Needless to say, these types of CV’s are more targeted to creative companies. It’s unlikely that a mining company would consider you for an interview if you had to use this approach.

LinkedIn:

Now here is an evolution of the employment market. This powerful social platform helps you create a professional platform to connect with colleagues, upper management and even companies that interest you. Here you can virtually include all the information you would find in a regular CV, as well as being able to raise your hand by posting intellectually stimulating content that may get you noticed by the top dogs.

The unexpected CV’s

Now you may be thinking that everything has been covered, but there is one very important information pool that can be used to look into the type of person that you are and whether you are indeed the right fit for a position. Here are some key identifying factors that can easily be overlooked;

Social media:

Believe it or not but everything you post online is available for the whole world to see, last time I checked even your boss is included. Be extra careful about posting anything that could be damaging. As much as it can be immoral it could also get you dropped to the bottom of the options pile.

Appearance:

Not only is it important during interviews, but your day-to-day general appearance can say a lot about the person that you are, it can also point towards the way that you would conduct yourself professionally.

Whether on paper, video form or physical appearance, your employees are a constant ambassador for your company’s brand. It is your duty to make sure they promote themselves, and the company in the best light possible through everything they do.