The point of a CV/ What a CV boils down to

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So, the big idea behind this video is that: while most people know that a CV is important, many don’t know the deep reason why. In addition, most advice out there is about how the CV should look: that is it should be neat, professionally typed up, etc. etc. etc.blah, blah, blah.

But here is the main deeper purpose, that will make it clear WHY you need to BUILD your CV in a clever way.

So, when someone is reading your CV, they are trying to get a sense of TWO big things about you.

Number ONE is whether you have the skills for that specific job, which is covered by your academic qualifications (and later in your career, by your work experience);

But NUMBER TWO, boils down to this: the person reading your CV wants to know how much experience you have in working with others, to get something DONE, or achieve a particular goal.

They want to know:

Have you ever worked in a TEAM before?
Have you been in a setting where you had to work to set GOALS and ACHIEVE something?

Have you ever been given RESPONSIBILITIES?
Have you needed to learn and use COMMUNICATION skills –
Have you ever been in a LEADERSHIP situation before?

Which, again, all boil down to how WELL you have worked with others, to get a particular thing done, and achieve something.

So, the essence of a great CV is one where you show off all the ways you have done that.

So, to build a great CV, you need to get involved in school extracurricular activities; any sports, cultural or social activities or clubs, or any member-ship based organisations. You can volunteer at charities, or faith-based organisations. If you can’t join any organisations, you can even start your own initiatives or a mini-project where you explore something you are interested in.

If you have a few good examples of those in a CV… AND if you can show off how well you took on responsibility, or how well you worked together with others, or how well you achieved something, then you’ve got a good CV.

The type of things that job interviewers will ask you, such as: “how well do you work under pressure” or “how well do you work in a team” are things you are going to learn and get better at by being involved in the activities we just listed.

As a BONUS, a great CV shows that you’ve had some exposure to the specific field you go to.

For example, if you are going into accountancy, have you been EXPOSED to a business, or an organisation that works with businesses? If you are going into law, have you ever been in anything that involves debating, researching or following legal procedures? If you are interested in journalism, have you done any of your own writing? And so on.

The top prize in a CV is showing that you have taken INITIATIVE to get EXPOSURE in a certain field.

For example, if you are interested in engineering, have you ever tried to make stuff on your own? Have you entered in competitions? If you want to get into journalism, do you have a little blog where you write about things that interest you? If you want to get into events, have you ever played at or even hosted talent shows in your local neighbourhood.

The point is that you can STAND OUT, if you can show that you have worked with others in a variety of settings, and that you have gotten EXPOSURE to the field you want to work in.

So, HOW do you go about doing this?

2. Four practical steps you can take to get started

2.1 If you are still quite young, like you are in high school or early college or university, just get involved in clubs, societies, or organisations or volunteering opportunities, or start a mini-project or your own initiative

Get involved with the goal of just learning more, meeting people and enjoy yourself while doing it.

2.2 As you progress, do some research and make a SHORT list of the top three or four things that a person in your career does on a day-to-day basis

This can start with a Google search, since there are literally hundreds of articles online.

Some quicker options are:

– Ask your teacher or lecturer to explain in simple terms what someone in your chosen career does on a day-to-day basis, and how you can hone that skill

– Finding people who do your dream job on Google or social media, and then going onto their LinkedIn profiles to see what they have done. You may not understand all the language, so you may need to further research for simpler explanations. Just keep going til it makes sense.

– Websites like Quora or Reddit are a good starting point to find out the day-to-day vibes of your chosen career path

– If you are a bit more advanced, read carefully through job postings on websites Career 24 or Pnet. Again, keep reading til to get the MAIN ones, and keep Googling explanations until things make sense.

2.2 Look at activities that can help you hone those skills 

Some are easier to do than others. If your future job is structured like a PROFESSION, then there are probably clubs and societies with activities or networks related to your field. Join these, but aim to get involved in things with tangible outputs, like competitions or attending conferences with certificates for participation.

If you are, or want to be, in a CREATIVE field; like journalism or the arts; or a TECHNICAL field, like computer science, think seriously about starting your own portfolio of work. You will probably do practicals in the later parts of school, so it is best to get a head-start, or to build a large, varied portfolio, so you can stand out. Teach yourself how to get started and do small projects, and keep them even if they are not good.

If you know you want to study, but not yet what JOB comes after it, such as studying Political Studies, History or International Relations

2.3 Start building a “portfolio” or “record” of your involvement

If you are quite close to the world of work, keep a journal or some other record of the stuff you did. For example, if you served as a secretary or president of a club, write down all the activities you lead in organising.

Also, practice how you might explain what the organisation or club does, and what you contributed. The point isn’t always that you ACHIEVED something amazing; but rather that you got involved and saw and heard how to do things.

If you were involved in a club or society in the past, take some time to think about the achievements or main activities you did with the organisation.

This summary will form the basis of what you can add to your CV.

Conclusion

The big idea of this video is that: your future career will NOT only depend on your academic qualification and direct work experience.

What also matters is that you have had exposure and experiences to lots of different environments where you have been given RESPONSIBILITY, have had to set and achieve GOALS and gain skills.

In order to STAND OUT, you need to start actively getting involved in extracurricular activities, especially activities where you can actually document what you have done, and be able to use those activities to show off.