Applying for a Job

If you want to get a job, you will have to invest time and effort preparing yourself for employment. There are five steps in the job search:

1. Self-evaluation (identifying your interests and evaluations your qualifications).

2. Research about the employer (stability of industry, stability of organization, pri­vate/public company, prestige of organization/job, organizational culture, lifestyles of employees, location, opportunities to learn and grow in job/company).

3. The CV (Resume).

4. The Cover/Application Letter.

5. The Follow-Up Letter. лист-нагадування; повторний лист

Curriculum Vitae [ka'nkjubm Vaiti: / VI:tai]

The Curriculum Vitae (CV or just Vita for short) is a summary of your personal details, achievements and experience.

European CVs have varying formats. Each European country has different recruitment practices, but all use CVs instead of resumes. The UK CV comes closest to the Ame­rican resume.

The UK CV should be presented — preferably on a single sheet of A4 paper — in such a way that a prospective employer can quickly and easily assess your quality and suitability. It should be typed and structured under relevant headings, and, though the example below gives you some guidelines, you must be prepared to insert additional sections if you think they are necessary, and omit any which are not relevant to your own background підготовка, кваліфікація and experience.

A CV usually contains information about the following:

personal data: name, address, date and place of birth, sex, nationality

education: name of school, type of education, graduation

work experience: name of company, position

interests: anything that might help you get the job

references: name and position of people who recommend you (teacher, former employer, etc). You may also state: references upon request

Other possible sections for inclusion in a CV could be:

Professional Qualifications

Conferences Attended

Short Courses

Specialist Training Courses

Other Experience (e.g. Youth Leader, Social Work, Expeditions), Membership of Profes­sional Bodies.

The aim of any application is to get an interview. Your CV may get as little as 30-60 seconds of consideration by a potential employer. So, an effective vita must be able to attract (positive) attention, stimulate the reader's interest, create a desire to get to know you better, and generate action. To maximize effectiveness, it should be: Clear — this means well-organized, logical, readable, and easily understandable. Concise стислий; чіткий; короткий —present everything that is relevant доречний; що стосується справи and necessary, but keep it brief. Complete — be sure you have included all of the important and relevant information that the reader needs in order to make an informed decision about your application.

Consistent послідовний — don't use an extensive mix of styles (such as an array of different fonts), and be sure to use the same order in presenting information — that is, if you present your work experiences from most recent to least recent, use the same order of presen­tation for any other data.

Current чинний — remember to include dates with all information; in addition, with a CV, it is particularly critical to continually update the information; ideally, the CV should be revised at least once a year.

Here are some other tips for preparing CVs:

• Present a positive image — emphasize things you have done and competences you have demonstrated.

• Include information on team or group activities, situations where you have de­monstrated initiative, relevant academic, vocational or professional training.

• Exclude comments on your physical appearance, politics, religion or other possibly contentious (спірні) subjects.

• Write on white A4 paper. Do not submit a CV which contains any errors. Make sure all spelling, punctuation and grammar is correct, and keep a copy of the CV.

• Avoid pronoun "I". Use action words* which vividly bring your CV to life.

• Don't sign or date the CV.

• Always send an original of your CV, don't send a copy.

• Fold it carefully, a minimum number of times. Don't use a very small envelope.

• Keep copies of CVs on file for future reference. Once you have a job, update your CV on a regular basis.

• Here is a short list of the action words: accomplished, achieved, acquired, advised, analyzed, audited, changed, coached, competed, conducted, controlled, coordinated, created, designed, developed, directed, ensured, explored, facilitated, guided, improved, increased, initiated, innovated, invented, insured, managed, marketed, monitored, organized, planned, reduced, reorganized, researched, restructured, simplified, solved, structured, studied, succeeded, suggested, supervised, supplied, supported, tested, took, trained, transformed, undertook, updated, upgraded, used, verified, won, worked, wrote.

Example of CV

	CURRICULUM VITAE
Personal details
Name:	John Michael Trevor
Address:	126, Walkman Rise, Wingbridge, Yorkshire, YE 8PQ
Telephone no:	Wingbridge [phone] (Home)
	Wingbridge [phone] (Work)
Age:	19
Date of birth:	October 15 1980
Personal status:	Single
Education
Sept 1997 - date	Yardley College of Further Education
	(Part-time)
Sept. 1992 - July	1997 Sponsford Comprehensive School
Academic qualifications
1999 National Diploma (BTEC) in Business and Finance
1997 GCSE: English (B), Maths (C), French (C),History (C),
Geography (C), Biology (D), Physics (D), Technology (D)
Work experience
1998 - date Trainee Underwriter, Menton-Foreshaw Brokers, Wingbridge
1997 - 1998 General Clerk (Claims), Beacon International Assurance
Corporation, York
Additional skills
Good working knowledge of IBM PC		MS Office; Windows 2000, Microsoft
Word, Microsoft Excel, Adobe Acrobat; proficient Internet user.
Fluent in English, good working knowledge of German.
Driver's license (car).
Interests
Rugby-football (Local Club League)
Surfing/sailboarding
Piano (Grade 5)
References
Mrs PConaghan,		Mr H.Davies, BSc, FCII,
Personnel Manager,		Senior Partner,
Beacon International Ass. Corp.,		Mention-Foreshaw Brokers,
Beacon House, Wantage Street,		127 North Hill, Wingbridge,
YORK. YE5 7PQ		Yorkshire. YE2 7TD