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CV & Motivation Letter Workshop

1st March 2014

Christina LIM,VP, Group HRIS

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Agenda

Introduction – CV & Motivation Letter

Preparing the Motivation Letter

Writing a Good CV

Sample CV

Key Takeaways

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Why is the CV / Motivation Letter important?

25/09/2013 |

Curriculum Vitae & Motivation Letter A major part of the recruitment process is screening of CVs of applicants

For international applications and particularly in France, a motivation/cover letter is important

Your CV is a ‘first impression’ on yourself

It helps you to market yourself; the ‘packaging’ of the CV and Motivation Letter is critical

It's the best opportunity you will have to make a professional statement

It enables the reader to understand your professional and educational development

It explains your interests and aspirations

A good CV will increase your chance of being called for an interview.

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What is a Motivation Letter?

25/09/2013 |

Preparing the Motivation Letter

A well prepared motivation letter is tailor-made to the position and refers clearly to the job content and requirements.

It gives the first insights on the motivation & personality of the applicant; it’s like you are giving a short speech about yourself (on video!)

It should convince the reader to look further through the CV

Paragraph 1:

Position you are pursuing and how you came to know of the opening, including an alumnus or family or other contact in the organisation if applicable

Why you are interested in this position (in one or two sentences)

If you do not know what opening is available, highlight your interest and motivation linked to your discipline/study and past experience

Paragraph 2:

Highlight skills and experiences you have that will make you successful in the position (studies taken, activities you have been involved in, summer experiences you have had).

If you do not have directly related experience, think about the skills you have gained from what you have done and how those could relate to the duties of the position you are applying for.

It is key to highlight related accomplishments that will make the reader want to learn more which will lead him/her to read your CV. The goal is to show that you have confidence in your ability to succeed in the position.

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Structure / Content / Context

Preparing the Motivation Letter (cont’d)

Paragraph 3:

Demonstrate that you have done some research about the company you are applying to

Show that you have taken some time to think about the position and why you fit the position

It shows that this is not a standard letter where only the address and contact name is changed for each position especially if you are a fresh graduate. This makes a very good impression on employers as you may not have enough work experience to support your application

Paragraph 4:

State that you would welcome a personal interview to further discuss this opportunity

If you need to explain anything out of the ordinary on your CV, this is the place to do it

Finish by thanking them for their attention and express a desire to meet them sometime in the near future.

You might mention that if you do not hear anything from the potential employer in two to three weeks time that you will call to follow up this letter to see where they are in their process. You need to pursue!

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Structure / Content / Context

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What is a good CV?

25/09/2013 |

Writing a Good CV

Make your CV unique - present it in a way that will make it different and will stand out from all the other ‘normal’ CV.

Make an impact on the first page; most recruiters will decide whether to call you/otherwise by reading the first page.

Customised and Specific

A good CV is well-written, logical, coherent and customized to the specific job and the company you’re applying for.

Do not just copy a standard template and fill in the blank!

The more specific you can get, the better chance you get to have an interview.

Your Capabilities & Accomplishments

Your CV must effectively highlight your capabilities and accomplishments. To be stated briefly each in one or two lines and be directly related to your job target.

Your list of capabilities should answer the question, "What can you do?" Your list accomplishments should answer the question, "What have you done?“. Be specific about achievements.

Achievements and honours awarded by the university or any other institution should be mentioned to highlight your successes

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The Essentials

Writing a Good CV

Your interest and aspirations

Focus on a clear and specific job target or occupational field you want to pursue.

Express your career objective and aspirations with a brief profile of yourself

Involvement in community work and extra-curricular activities is also relevant to demonstrate your interest

Education and professional experience

Employers are normally interested in your work experience.

Show coherence between education and professional experience but if it is not related explain the context

If you do not have any or have limited work experience, think about the internships and projects during your study to demonstrate your skills and behaviours.. Your exposure and contribution during the internship adds to the marketability of your CV.

Professional Certifications & Development

Relevant professional memberships and affiliations can be useful to support the application

Participation in professional development courses helps to highlight your motivation for development

Keep it short and simple

Make sure the facts are well organised and in simple language. Do not write too much or repeat same information

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The Essentials

Sample CV

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Contents

• Full name, photo would be optional

• Contact details, phone number and email

• Career objective with a brief profile of yourself

• Educational background and achievements

• Work experiences (if any), involvements in any university activities, communities and etc.

• Accomplishments and achievements.

• Capabilities, key skills, courses attended.

• Relevant professional memberships, if any.

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Do’s Don’ts

Key Takeaways

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Do’s• Contents must be logical and coherent –

aspirations, interests, discipline of study, past experience and achievements

• Demonstrate why you fit the position• Explain why you fit the company• If there is no specific opening, demonstrate

your motivation for a specific area/domain/role

• For internship, your interest should be linked to the discipline of study and your career objective

• ‘Self Marketing’ & ‘Good Packaging’ is a must!

Don’ts• Do not repeat information and provide too

much details (recruiters will lose interest to read)

• Do not copy and paste a standard CV template (will not attract the attention of recruiters)

• Do not just list duties on work experience without any reference to context and achievements (how do you convince the recruiter?)

• Do not keep the options of position/discipline too open when you are not sure of the opening available (will show that you are not sure of yourself)

• Do not copy company background from internet or write too much about the company (recruiters have this information!)

Key Takeaways

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Thank You