A THREAD

Yesterday I had an online session on CV writing with the members of Darnley Alexander Chambers, University of Ibadan and below are a few practical notes from my session.

Difference between a CV and a resumé:

While a resumé is a sprint through your profile (shorter), a CV is a leisurely walk through your academic, professional and personal achievements (longer)

Today, both terms are used interchangeably.

CV = Resumé

A good CV should typically contain:

Education.
Certifications
Experience
skills
Conferences attended
Achievements
Publications
Volunteering activities
Leadership position
Hobbies and interests
Referees

The first rule of CV writing is good optics. Formatting must be great — alignment, font style and size etc.

1. Use bullet points to indicate roles and tasks

2. Dispense with personal summary or career objective.

3. Never include your age or photograph (you may suffer bias)

4. Put your unique selling points (USPS) at the very top!

5. Do not use 1st or third person pronouns

E.g. I led the team, Jamie drafted

Just say:

• Led the team of 4 that designed the chambers’ first website

6. Avoid passive terms because they do not show the role you played.

Avoid use of ‘assisted’ ‘helped’ ‘observed’

Use “drafted” “prepared” “organised”

Correct

• drafted the minutes of the meeting, prepared attendance notes and filed the documents into the data room

7. Get a trusted friend or colleague to proofread your CV for typos.

Typos in a CV are a huge disaster.

8. Tailor your CV towards your application.

If you’re apply to Jackson, Etti & Edu for an IP associate role:

- taking the course and the grade
- being a member of the IPL club
- take a WIPO course

will be very relevant.

Cover letters can help you achieve this.

9. While 1 or 2 pages are ideal, if you have 5 pages of relevant experiences and achievements you do not have to restrict yourself to 1 or 2 pages unless the advert expressly says so.

10. Finally, the earlier you have a CV, the more conscious you are to fill it up.

Get a model CV and start strategising on how to fill yours up with relevant experiences.

You may seize this period to take as many online courses. Start with things within your control.

I encourage you all to register for Leverage 1.0

ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT:

— Masters/PhD applications including funding

— BoA, Goldman Sachs, Afrexim internship applications

— Fellowship and grant applications.

Use this link to register http://Bit.ly/3elTizY