What is a Resume or CV?

Your Zoom is your greatest chance to create a positive image in the mind of the professor or employer and increase your chances of academic or job admission. If you have never written an English resume before, you probably have a lot of questions in your mind about how to write  a CV for a job and academic  application, and you may want to take an idea from some English resume samples to apply.

Don't worry, in this comprehensive article, we will first tell you what a  CV  is and how it differs from a resume, and then we will provide you with a guide to writing  a CV for academic and work applications  and its important points.

Nowadays, you can't apply for a job or get admission unless you have a professional and attractive resume. 

What is the meaning of CV and how is it different from a resume?

A resume and CV are documents written by an individual to show their educational, work, skills, and achievements to an employer or university. In fact,  a CV or resume is a brief description of each person's academic and work life that you must provide to an employer when applying for a job or when applying to Canada to study at a university.

Difference between a resume and a CV:

The two words resume and CV  are used interchangeably in many countries, but the meaning of these two words is different in some countries.

  CV stands for "curriculum vitae" and is a complete and detailed version of each person's educational, work, skills, and interests, so a CV can be long, several pages long, and used for academic purposes.

In contrast, a resume is a concise version of a person's skills, work history, and education, so it is shorter in length and  is used to find a job in Canada  and apply for a job.

A summary of the differences between a resume and a CV:

Guide to CV Writing for Applying for a Job and Receiving a Job Offer

Unlike an academic resume, you need to personalize your resume according to each job posting and each company  , so for each job position you apply, change your resume a bit and write it accordingly. This will greatly increase your chances of success compared to others.

We mean that you should personalize and adjust your work history and skills section according to the description of each job post and its keywords. By doing so, the employer will consider you the best option for that job.

Writing a  CV for a job application is very similar to an academic resume, however, some of the details and the way the resume and academic resume are arranged are different.

Generally, a resume can include, in order:

1. Personal and Contact Information – Contact Information
2. Introduction or Resume Headline – Professional Summary or About Me
3. Work Experiences
4. Professional Skills – Skills
5. Educational Background – Education
6. Professional courses and degrees (only if they are job-related) – Professional courses and degrees
7. Language Knowledge (if you are fluent in several living languages in the world) – Languages

1. Personal & Contact Information - Contact Information

At the top of your resume, write your first and last name, contact number, email address, and professional social media address, especially LinkedIn. In the address field, it is better to write only the name of your country, province, and city, and there is no need to write the full address.

Also, if you have a personal site in your field, include the address of that site in the Personal and Contact Information section.

• Note:

Include your LinkedIn address on your resume only if the job history on it is related to the job you are looking for. If your LinkedIn is general and has nothing to do with the position, it's best not to include the address on your resume.

Also, make sure that your LinkedIn settings are such that even people who are not connected to you can see your full profile.

. Resume Introduction - Professional Summary

Writing a short introduction of yourself can show the employer your abilities, goals, and interests. This short summary should be written separately and specifically for each job position   , emphasizing the keywords that are important to the employer.

For example, if you are applying for a teaching job, call yourself a teacher or professor. This section should be between 2 and 3 lines, and you can write it immediately after your contact information.

Try to include information in these two to three lines, such as the length of work experience, the relevant field in which you worked, and related expertise, and avoid writing stereotypical words such as "ability to teamwork or motivated."

For example:

“Website Programmer with more than 2 years of experience; Familiar with the field of graphics, with a history of designing and programming more than 50 websites and online stores since 2015”

• Note:

The  Professional Summary or About Me section should be changed to fit each job posting. For each job position, use the necessary keywords and expertise for the same job.

۳. سوابق کاری - Work Experiences

The most important part of a resume is the work history section. Describe each of your previous work experiences by mentioning your job position, the name of the company or organization, and the start and end dates of the partnership. The order of the record list should be based on date and from last to first, which means that your most recent work experience will be at the top of the list.

Under each job experience, briefly introduce the company you have worked for, because the Canadian employer has no knowledge of the companies in Iran.

Then, you can bolt-down specific work tasks or accomplishments you've had for the company.

A better option is to quantify 3 to 5 of the measurable achievements you have achieved for your previous workplace in quantitative and statistical terms.

Important Tips from an HR Specialist:

  "In the Job Records section, just  write Relevant Work Experiences. In this section, the following information should be written:

• Job Position and Company Name
• Start and end dates of cooperation
• A Brief Summary About the Employer
• Finally, 3 to 5 of your achievements in the company are bolted

Note that in writing bullets, the verb tense should be in the form of action verb and simple past. Also, your achievements should be personalized for each job and written according to the requirements in each job posting.

Finally, if you are applying for a job that requires you to have 4 years of work experience and you have 10 years of work experience, you do not need to write down the exact amount of work experience, as it may cause  you to be overqualified. In this situation, you can write More  than 4 years of experience."

• Note:

 If your job is web-related or you can provide an online portfolio link in any way, put it under the relevant side, after the description.

IV. Skills

If you don't have a lot of work experience or are applying for a job that is not related to your previous jobs, be sure to focus more on the skills section.  It's best to change skills to suit each job position and use keywords relevant to each industry.

For example, you can mention job-related software or mention your individual skills, such as the ability to work in a team. To find keywords related to each industry, in addition to the job profile on the JobBank of Canada site, you can also use sites like Word Cloud Generator. Simply put the ad text on these types of sites to provide the relevant keywords You will be placed.

V. Academic Background - Education

In the Academic Records section, write a list of your academic records (from last to first) and your academic honors. For each case, mention the name of your major, university, and the start and end dates of your studies. If you have a high GPA, it is better to write your GPA as well, but if you have a low GPA, avoid writing it.

۶. دوره های حرفه ای - Professional courses and degrees

If you have proof of completion of a course, such as technical-vocational degrees or other courses related to the job position, list them in order of date (from last to first) or by importance. If these documents are not relevant to the job position, avoid writing this section as well.

VII. Language Knowledge - Languages

If you are fluent in several living languages in the world, you can write a list of the languages you are familiar with and the level of proficiency in these languages (or language score) in this section. Note that if you are only fluent in Persian and English, there is no need to write the languages section of your resume, as it is assumed that you are fluent in English.

The employer will assess your English language proficiency in the job interview.

Important Tips for Writing a Resume for Work and Education Application

• The resume should have blank spaces, which  are called white spaces. The existence of blank spaces is so that the employer's eyes do not get tired at first glance (the first 6 to 10 seconds).

• Usually, the employer will pay attention to the top left part of the  resume first. Keep this section attractive and simple, and write some important information there.

• Use  the same font in all parts of your resume. Usually,  Arial, Calibri, and Times New Roman fonts are used to write a resume.

• The font size of the name and surname can be 14 to 16 and the rest of the parts of the resume  can be 10 to 12.

• Review your resume a few times before you send it. Also, ask someone who is fluent in English to correct spelling and writing errors.

• Use Bolt to make your resume attractive and keep your resume as simple  as possible.

• Just include a link to work social networks (like LinkedIn) on your resume. Putting a link to media like Instagram won't help your admissions process.

• Most of the time, it is not recommended to include a photo on your resume unless an  employer has requested a photo in the ad due to the specific circumstances of the job (e.g., modeling or in-person sales of products).

• Don't include things like age, marital status, or religion on your English resume. In some countries, such as Canada, asking such cases by the employer is not appropriate and may even be considered a crime.

• Take second and third languages and computer skills seriously. These will have a positive impact on the employer or the university administrator.

• The format of the resume should  be PDF. Name the  PDF file of your resume as your first and last name. You can also write the phrase  "Resume" after your first and last name.