g1ant

I've seen a few references to americani"z"ing your CV and making it look like a US resume.

What is the difference between the two?

I'm about to embark on the US job scene and need to get my stuff in order, so any advice on what a proper resume should look like would be appreciaited.

And should I mention on my resume that my team is top of the British Expats Fantasy football league.

alex.

Bob

As far as I can gather, it's more a lifes experiences and dribble of what you hope to achieve at the place rather than just a list of work experience, qualifications and the like on a c.v well it sounds less formal anyway.

http://www.collegegrad.com/resumes/index.shtml
http://jobstar.org/tools/resume/index.cfm

There's a couple sites on writing them and the like.

NC Penguin

The term resume and CV are both used in the US. The difference lies in the content and the industry in which you work/wish to work in.

For example, those in IT and in medicine create CVs. Others may chip in about other industries that use CVs, not resumes.

A good reference book for writing CVs and resumes is a book by Yana Parker. It's called 'The Resume Catalog: 200 Damn Good Examples'. I bought the book myself and it is really helpful for people like us. e.g. those with an education and/or work history from overseas.

The author has a website that contains tips and excerpts from her books (she's written quite a few). Go to www.damngood.com.

Your local library may have a copy available.

Websites like Monster, etc. are of limited help to non-Americans when searching for assistance in writing resumes or CVs. Monster is geared towards those with wholly American educations and work histories.

I've also posted other comments about CV and resume writing in previous threads on the topic in the US forum. Please search for my posts.




NC Penguin

DaveC

I actually find the resume message board on Monster quite useful:

http://forums.monster.com/forum.asp?forum=126

You can post your resume there and other jobseekers will criticise it for you and offer suggestions for improvement. I've seen their Resume Expert giving advice for non Americans in converting their CVs to resumes.

Just Jenney

One thing you'll notice regarding American resumes is the lack of inclusion of certain information which is more typically included on foreign resumes.

For instance, no need to put your birthday/age, whether you're single or married, or whether you have kids or not.

And unless you did not attend college, no need to include your high school (and any test scores) amongst your educational experience.

~ Jenney

NC Penguin

I see physicians CVs (note: not resumes) from time to time and these include details such as age, marital status, no. of children and wait for it, SSN!

I always remove the SSN when I forward such CVs to external institutions.

Actually, high school should be included if you're young (say 24 yo and less) and/or a recent graduate (Bachelors degree). The reason is that such candidates are unlikely to have much work history and the inclusion of obtaining a high school diploma gives readers a fuller picture of the person's skills and achievements.




NC Penguin

Just Jenney

Please note that I'm specifically talking about listing where you attended high school -- NOT about listing achievements you obtained in high school. For example, if you were awarded a college scholarship, were valadictorian of your class, or were president of a school club or something like that, that's fine. Those demonstrate leadership skills and are characteristics of someone who is a hard worker.

But if you are currently attending college or a recent college graduate, listing your university's name, location, and degree is sufficient. There's no need to put what high school you went to, or what your GPA was or SAT scores were.

Now, if your highest education level is high school, then obviously it's a good idea to include that. Otherwise, listing your high school is just a way to fill up space. It also underscores the fact that you are young and inexperienced.

~ Jenney