CVs, Personal Interviews, and

Group Discussions

CVs, Personal Interviews, and Group

Discussions

Applying for Jobs

The Relationship Between a Rsum and an Application Letter

The Rsum of a Recent Graduate
Contents of a Rsum
Guidelines for Preparing a Good CV
Drafting an Application Letter
Interviews
Participating in a Group Discussion

Topic
Outline
Writing CVs

Difference B/W
Resume, CV & Bio-Data
A resume would be ideally suited when experience people

apply for specific positions where certain specific skills are

more important than education.
A C.V., on the other hand should be the preferred option for
fresh graduates or people looking for a career change. It
could also be used by people applying for academic positions.
The term bio-data is mostly used in India when people apply
for government jobs, or for research grants where one has to
submit descriptive essays. Bio Datas are not common in the
international markets where personal information like age,
gender, religion are not required to be submitted by
candidates.

Applying for Jobs

The steps an individual needs to take to get his or her dream job are as
follows:
Prepare a good rsum or curriculum vitae (CV).
Identify potential employers and job openings.
Submit your CV and an application or cover letter.
Adopt good communication skills to be successful.

Writing CVs
The curriculum vitae (CV) is also referred to as rsum, personal profile ,
bio-data, personal data sheet, qualification sheet, and summary.

Points to consider while writing a CV are:

A rsum is usually attached to an application letter. It is, therefore, read
after the application letter, but should be prepared first.
The secret of a good rsum is its ability to project its author as the most

suitable candidate for a particular job. It should be tailored for each

individual application.
A CV should be written specifically in terms of the jobs requirements.
The arrangement of a CV should emphasize its authors strengths.
There is no fixed order in which a rsum should be written and it covers

the same points regarding an individuals background, achievements, and

experiences.

Relationship Between a Rsum and an

Application Letter

The rsum and application letter perform separate functions:

The rsum briefly communicates all relevant and important biographical

information about an applicant.

The application letter interprets the information. For the application letter, the
job applicant selects the most important and relevant facts from his or her
rsum and discusses those in the context of the jobs requirements.

A rsum is formatted for easy access to important points.

The Rsum of a Recent Graduate

The rsum of a recent graduate lists the following:
Personal/biographical details
His or her educational background
Details of his or her work experience
References

All information in the CV should be under bold, clear headings, so that the
reader can easily find the desired information.

The Rsum of a Recent Graduate

A graduates rsum should consist of the following sub-headings:

Heading - The heading should include the applicants name, address, date
of birth, telephone number, and e-mail address.

Objective - Employers want to know practical objectives, not the ambitions

of the applicant. The applicant should mention the specific, desired position
that suits his or her educational qualifications and experience.

Education - The highest qualification is generally the most important and

relevant one. List out degrees in reverse chronological order.

Work experience - Relevant work experience should be listed in reverse

chronological order. This category can include all experience, part-time as
well as full-time work experience.

The Rsum of a Recent Graduate Contd..

Awards and honours - The rsum should have information about

scholarships, prizes, and awards won in college.

Activities - In this section, the applicant should mention his or her

college activities.

References - Under references, the applicant should list the names of

two or three persons who know that they are being listed as references.

Summary - Individuals with a lot of experience sometimes begin with a

summary of their qualifications in place of a job objective.

Guidelines for Preparing a Good CV

A good CV provides basic information to the recruiter in a systematic form. It should
enable the employer to evaluate the applicants qualifications and strengths in just a
few minutes.

General dos for writing a good CV include the following:

Indicate a specific job objective or a summary of your qualifications.
Highlight your accomplishments.
Emphasize education/training/experience related to your job objective.
Give details of professional activities that are supportive of your career objective.
Proofread your CV and, ideally, also have someone else check it for typing errors.
Ensure that all contact information is current and correct.

Guidelines for Preparing a Good CV

Contd..
General donts for writing a good CV include the
following:
Do
Do
Do
Do
Do
Do
Do

not use an uncommon format.

not mention the expected salary.
not leave any unexplained gaps in your experience.
not give reasons for leaving earlier jobs.
not use coloured paper.
not send a handwritten rsum.
not mention personal details such as the number of
children, marital status, or other details that are not relevant
to the job.
Do not be too brief or too lengthy.

Drafting an Application Letter

An application letter is planned like a sales letter: it gains attention and asks
for action. It needs to be written very skillfully.
The first paragraph

The first paragraph identifies the objective exactly.

In the first paragraph, the applicant should specifically state the position/job he or she
is applying for and how he or she came to know about itusually through an
advertisement or a contact.

The second paragraph

The second paragraph gives evidence of the applicant's ability/qualifications.

In the second paragraph, the applicant should explain how he or she is qualified for
the position/job.

The third paragraph

The purpose of the letter is to convince the prospective employer to interview the
applicant. The applicant can make his or her request in the third paragraph.

Drafting an Application Letter Contd..

The following principles are key to writing an effective application
letter:

Coherence
Concreteness
Simplicity
Emphasis
Originality
Sincerity
Empathy

Convention

Principles

Interviews
An interview can be defined as an oral tool used to test a candidates
suitability for employment.

Types of interviews frequently encountered by job applicants are:

Panel interviews
Telephone interviews
Lunch/dinner interviews
Preliminary interviews
Sequential interviews
Skill-based interviews
Academic interviews
Personality interviews

Interviews Contd..
According to the employers needs, interviewers look for the
following attributes in candidates:

Clarity
Depth
Personality
General awareness
Application of concepts to real-life problems
Communication skills
Integrity

Interviews Contd..
Most interviews focus on the following issues:

Technical competence - Technical competence is assessed by

examining the candidates academic background and previous job
profiles.

Motivation - All employers want to evaluate a prospective employees

level of interest in a job and how strongly he or she wants to fulfill his or
her goals.

Handling difficult questions - The interviewee should not get flustered

when he or she has to handle tough questions. Instead, he or she
should maintain eye contact and use positive facial expressions, tone
and volume of speech.

Interviews Contd..
Job applicants can equip themselves with the following information
and knowledge before an interview:

Know yourself - Some ways to know yourself better are to:

Identify your skills - concentrate on what you can do well.
Determine what you value - things that are important to you and
influence your behaviour.
Be clear about what motivates you and what you are looking for
whether it is status, security, power, expertise, material rewards,
creativity, or autonomy.
Describe your personality - be aware of your behaviour and mental
characteristics.
Find out how you think know if you are especially logical, intuitive, or
creative, for instance.

Know the company - Job applicants must gather information and research the
company they are applying to before the interview.
Know the job profile - At the interview, one should never be carried away by the
salary or designation of the job; rather, the job should be considered in terms of its
profile, scope for growth, and ones professional goals and ambitions.

Some Typical Questions

Tell me/us about yourself
What are your strengths & weakness
What do you wish to work in our organization
Why have you been changing your jobs
Tell us/me how you can contribute to our

company
To get the job done will you bribe the people
in govt dept.

Participating in a Group Discussion

The group discussion (GD) tests interpersonal skills. It is used to screen
candidates after a written test.
An individuals behaviour in a group means much for his or her success as
a manager or an executive responsible for coordinating and organizing
activities. The evaluators, therefore, focus on group dynamics rather than
the content of each participants views.

Participating in a Group Discussion Contd..

Group discussion and its important aspects:

Leadership

GD protocol

Discussion
techniques

Listening

During the course of a group discussion, a

leader often emerges. He/she should not
dominate the group to become the leader.
Group discussions are formally informal.
There are rules of conduct to be observed by the
participants.
Participants may disagree with or support others
points of view, or bring up a new point of view.
But it is essential for all participants to always show
respect for others.
It is better to try to join the discussion tactfully
and use words that demonstrate that you have
been listening to others.