Topic - X

CURRICULUM VITAE (CV), OR RESUME, BIO-DATA, JOB APPLICATION

LETTER

CV is a brief account of one’s life and career, especially as required in an application for

employment. Infact it is an attempt to “sell” one’s qualifications to the prospective

buyer/employee. A good resume must have (a) clarity and brevity, (b) action words mentioning

skills, (c) statements of experience.

The traditional pattern of CV writing includes the following information:

1. Full name

2. Address and telephone number

3. Age, date, place of birth

4. Nationality

5. Marital status (optional)

6. Educational qualification with names of the institution and the dates of acquiring

those qualifications. Grades must be given.

7. Employment record with the name of the organization details of position held, the

dates of position held. Scale of pay is to be mentioned.

8. More detailed information of current position held including salary. Detailed pay

scale, Description of the job. Designation.

9. Other achievement.

10. Other interests.

 11. Names and addresses of two references who will provide references for character

and professional.

Basically, there is nothing wrong with this kind of bio-data. All the information is important for a

potential employer. But the layout and ordering is dull and does not “sell” the applicant. In

traditional C.V. presentation, this task was left to an accompanying letter that mentioned how the

candidate was suitable for the job. For this purpose the enclosed application had to be detailed

but it implied a heavy reading activity from the employer. To solve this problem the CV was

reordered to make it a “selling document” to produce a prospectus in which the qualifications of

the candidate are given in detail with supporting details. The letter then reinforces the statements

of CV and becomes a proof of the candidate’s ability to write English. The new approach is

slightly different. A successful CV is produced after a careful thought and planning. A employer

is definitely looking for a person who has proper education training, skill, experiences,

temperament for a particular job. A person will get the job who has these qualities and also has

the power to present it attractively through a CV. Thus one needs to think about one’s activities

of the past, the present and the future. Presenting them forcefully would give the candidate the

job. Thus, one must give important facts of life, values and relevance of your character in a given

situation.

A CV presentation demands preparation. One should begin by thinking about (1) Education (2)

experience (3) skills (4) personal qualities.

The stage of preparation that is noting down everything that a candidate would feel is necessary

to present his profile profitable, I brainstorming. Selection and ordering comes later.
(1) In education, educational qualifications with the name of degree, diplomas and

institutions should be included. The grades should be given in brackets and the year of

passing the examination.

(2) In experience, (a) professional training (b) periods of employment : part time and full

time jobs (c) Any foreign travel for education (d) participation in seminars, conferences,

workshops and presentations (e) publication of research articles (f) any voluntary work

undertaken (g) participation in sports and other activities (cultural) must be mentioned.

(3) In skills one has to look into the “experience” section and decide about the skills that

have been used. Skills related to the profession and personal achievements also should

be mentioned. Some personal skills can be:

(a) Making presentation;

(b) Organizing events professional and cultural;

(c) Training staff;

(d) Supervising;

(e) Interviewing;

(f) Meeting the media;

(g) Meeting the public;

(h) Trouble shooting;

(i) Couselling;

(j) Organizing Meetings;

(k) Sale experiences;

(l) Chairing Meeting (which is likely to come at a later stage);

(m) Experiences related to HRD.

 (4) To mention the personal qualities is difficult. Because some like to talk less and some

like to talk more about themselves. It is also difficult to evaluate one objectively. Yet it

is absolutely necessary to tell about your qualities to a perspective employer. To find out

about one’s personal qualities, one can recollect the incidents and events of life and can

pen down the qualities.

Accurate firm

Adaptable imaginative

Can work under pressure hardworking

Committed Independent

Extrovert positive

Congenial organized

Having good rapport with relaxed

Others self-motivated

Diplomatic sensitive

Methodical vigilant

Meticulous leadership qualities

All these qualities combine to give the correct profile of a leader who can handle all the possible

situations.

A traditional / chronological CV is constructed chronologically starting from the beginning and

it omits personal qualities. This CV also clearly pinpoints the breaks in careers.

A functional CV begins from the recent experience first because it interests the prospective

employer most of your present achievements. This method is more beneficial for a candidate.
One can highlight one’s achievement and remain silent about others which are not advantageous.

For the employer also it is easy to select a candidate who has the required qualification.

The order and content of the resume is:

Introduction:

(1) (a) Name (b) Permanent address (c) Telephone (d) E-Mail address (e) Fax No. (f)

Nationality (g) date of birth

(2) Objective tells a potential employer the kind of work one is interested in. The

objective must be presented by keeping the requirement of the employer in mind.

Indirectly, one also refers to the soft skills one has.

(3) Education: Degrees, divisions/positions/levels/honours/grade should be clearly

mentioned, beginning from the most recent.

(4) Training

(5) Work experience beginning from the present

(6) Skills gained

(7) Personal profile

(8) Interest/other information

(9) 2 Referees with their addresses

RESUME CHECKUP

Content
 (1) Order and details should be checked;

(2) Grammar, checkup and review should be carried out;

(3) Proof reading should be done by another person;

(4) Spell check should be carried out in a computer.

Design

(1) Use white or off-white paper;

(2) Print on one side of the paper;

(3) Use font size 10-12 size;

(4) Use non-decorative type faces;

(5) Use only one type of type faces;

(6) Font size can be increased and made bold to highlight certain points;

(7) Avoid italics, underlined words and bold lettering during the descriptive sections;

(8) Do not use horizontal or vertical lines, graphics etc;

(9) Do not number the sub-sections;

(10) Personal profile should be written in a paragraph form;

(11) Experiences, skills, educational qualifications should be individually presented from

fresh line. Bold mark can be used for such purposes.

A sample of a modern/functional CV is given below:

1. Name: Ashish Gupta

2. Date of Birth: 15 Nov, 1982

3. Nationality: Indian

4. Address: 22, Ramdaspeth, Nagpur – 700 010

5. Tel No. 0712-2411097

6. Mobile: 09821100890

7. Email: ashish@yahoo.com

8. Objecttive: A highly motivated,

skilled,methodical, honest, committed to new

training and learning, adapt in managing

interpersonal relationships. Mechanical Engineering

Graduate with adequate experience is interested in

obtaining a position as a mechanical engineer in a

prestigious and suitable organization.

9. Education :

2004-2008 B. Tech in Mechanical Engineering (Grade A),

IIITDM, Jabalpur.

2004-2009 Polytechnic Degree obtained from IIT Pilani (A+)

2004-2010

10. Employment:

2002 Jan Assistant Engineer in Reliance Petroleum,

Imagining Design Department, 19 Mahatma Gandhi

 Road, Mumbai – 10. (Pay Scale- Rs. 18000 -36000,

part time basis).

11. Skills: Computer Literate, Member of Design and Printing

Core Group, Member of HRD, selection committee.

12. Other Experiences: Summer training in SAIL, Uniliver, ONGC.

13. Awards: First prize obtained for project execution

14. Interests: Tennis, Music, Reading

15. References: Dr. M.K.Agarwal, Head, Mechanical Engineering

Department, IIT Mumbai.

Prof. N.K. Naik, Head, Dept. of Mechanical

Engineering, Jabalpur.

A Resume is attached with a JOB APPLICATION letter. When a Resume is included, one can

write a brief job application letter. This special kind of letter is actually a “Sale” letter where the

candidate gives a very brief reference to his acquired qualifications, in view of obtaining a job.

This letter is prepared keeping in view the requirements of the job though none of the facts are

suppressed. There is a little change in the orientation and direction of the letter so that the

employer, with given information, has a suitable impression of the candidate.

The format is given below:

 JOB APPLICATION LETTER.

102, Sharda Nagar

Lucknow – 226 005
Tel No. 0522-224612
Email: ashish@in.com
To,
The Personal Manger,
ONGC,
80, Tolstoy Marg,
Mumbai- 220 002.

Subject: Application for the post of Assistant Engineer in ONGC, Mumbai.

Dear Sir,
Please refer to your advertisement for an Assistant Engineer (Mechanical) in The Times of India
on 10 Oct 2008. I believe that I have the right qualifications and the requisite experience for the
job. Hence, I would like to apply for the same. Please find my enclosed CV.
Since graduating from PDPM Indian Institute of Information Technology, Design and
Manufacturing, Jabalpur, I have become interested in developing my career in the direction of
Mechanical Engineering. I would welcome the chance of working in your dynamic team. I am
quite sure that with my skills and training I will fulfill your expectations. I would therefore be
grateful if you give me an opportunity to be interviewed.
I am available for interview when called for. I am looking forward to hearing from you.

Thank you,
Yours faithfully,
Ashish Gupta

Encls: 1. Resume, 2. Certificates.

 Topic - XI

INTERVIEW

A good interview depends on confidence, knowledge, personality, power of communication,

body language and verbal communication.

The word interview comes from ‘intrevue’ meaning ‘sight between’. It is an ‘interpersonal

communication’ (dyadic communication-between two people). It can be one interviewer and one

interviewee. But these days we have interviews between one interviewee and many interviews.
 Since this is a communication between two persons it is used to asses the potentiality of a

single person. The reason of holding an interview is to judge the various qualities of the

candidate that cannot be judged by written tests. It is a holistic appraisal of a personality. Job

interviews are most challenging.

The interviews can be of various kinds. The purpose of the interview decides the kind of

the interview. Interviews are conducted on T.V., Radio: they look private but are meant for

public purpose. There are counselling interviews to give guidance and psychological support to

an interviewee. Police may interview the accused and this kind of interview is known as

interrogation.

Most frequently the interview method is used by the employer to judge the suitability of

the candidate: through an interview the body language, attitudes, general and specific awareness

etc is judged. An employer, wishes to know about the honesty, sense of responsibility of the

person to be employed. For this purpose, interview that is “face to face” interaction is very

suitable. We also have telephonic and internet interviews.

All interviews are very unnerving.

Major objectives are :

(1) To collect information through face to face contact.

(2) Formation of Hypothesis. It is an exploratory device.

(3) Collecting information about qualitative facts, views, feelings, psychology, etc.

(4) Collecting additional information.

(5) One can have a psychological assessment during the interview.

(6) A source of verification of information.

Variations of Interview:
(1) The most common methods of interviews are sequential interview where one candidate faces

many interviewers. Each interviewer acts separately but ultimately gives a combined report.

(2) One can also have screening interviews where the candidate’s minimum qualification can be

filtered.

(3) In structured interviews, the entire group of candidate’s are asked the same questions on a

particular topic and then, they are judged.

(4) Situational interviews stimulate a condition and the candidate is asked to demonstrate his

skills and traits to deal with the situation.

(5) Stress interviews test the ability of the candidate to work under stress. The candidate is asked

many questions simultaneously and his intentionally irritated to find out, how he can work under

stress.

(6) A patterned interview is one where the selector has a restricted field of questions to select. To

maintain uniformity, similar /uniform questions are asked.

(7) Indirect interview is another variety. It searches fro the candidate through indirect questions.

The key to success in an interview is prior preparation. To succeed in an interview following

points should be kept in mind.

(1) The first preparation is the knowledge of the job and information that needs to be

collected, general awareness.

(2) Papers for the interview: CV, letters of application, original certificates of all kinds.

(3) Punctuality must be observed.

(4) Appearance and attire, dress code should be followed. It need not be expensive but smart

and dignified.
(5) Body language should be positive. Shaking of hands expresses confidence. One should

not fiddle with one’s hands. One should never put hands in one’s pocket during an

interview.

(6) Eye contact reveals a candidate’s honesty and confidence.

(7) Show your confidence but not over confidence.

(8) Politeness always pays in an interview.

(9) Positive attitude should be communicated constantly.

(10) One must reveal one’s leadership qualities.

(11) Listen to the complete questions and answer accordingly.

(12) Use of communication skills is essential.

(13) Use of soft skill is appreciated.

(14) Be brief unless asked to answer in detail.

(15) Be honest and never try to fool the board.

(16) Place the best of the self before the interviewer.

(17) Try to control the interview.

(18) Answer confidently without fumbling.

(19) Anticipate a possible question.

(20) Information about the organization is helpful.

(21) Mention what can be one’s specific contribution.

(22) Must have a sense of humour.

(23) Never contradict your statements.

(24) Sell yourself.

Simple questions are related with the candidates, like personal information, and educational

qualifications, attainments.

While facing an interview one should keep in mind the questions that are being asked,

and the answers that follow. There are two types of questions:

Open ended questions are to be answered in length, rather than answer with one or just a few

words –

1. ‘Why would you like to work for us?

2. What interests you about this job?

3. Are you looking for a long-term commitment?

4. Why do you think you would be suitable for this position?

5. Are you prepared to work late if and when necessary?

Closed questions is a place where a short answer will suffice-

1. How many years have you worked at Farmers & Company?

2. How well do you mix with your work colleagues?

3. Will you be interested in promotion?

4. Do you consider yourself to be a popular person?

5. Can you cope with a crisis?

6. What salary do you expect?

The applicant’s body language is also taken into consideration. If the applicant is watching into

the eyes of the employer then they are likely to be telling the truth, if they look at their feet all

the time, they are extremely shy or nervous or they are hiding something.

A student needs to be very careful while handling an interview as they are mostly young and

inexperienced in both interviews and the ways of the world in general. They are treated in a
responsible manner as adults and they should behave in a matured manner. If a student applies to

take a course, either at a state college or at a private institution, he is interviewed to establish his

suitability. All interviews begin in a reassuring way and simple questions are asked.

Some questions can be prepared in advance. For example, in interviews usually similar

questions are asked and if one can prepare oneself for these questions, then half the battle is

already won. It’s possible that they will try to ask the same questions in different ways, so one

should be prepared for variations of the questions. The questions about you could be …

 What are you good at

 What do you like (or)

 What do you enjoy ( : )

 Do you like to communicate with people? How?

 Do you like meeting people?

 Do you like working with others?

 Do you like being a team player?

 Do you like solving problems?

 Do you like making decision quickly?

 Do you like meeting deadlines?

 Do you like working under pressure?

 Do you like working independently?

 Do you like thinking critically?

 Do you like thinking creatively?

 Do you like travelling?

 Do you have any special skills?

 Do you have any special training?

 Do you have any experience?

 Do you have any experience working as an ____ (job title)

 Do you have any special certificates or diplomas?

 Do you have any other qualifications?

 Tell me why you have applied for this job/or this company?

 Why did you leave your last job? What were your duties?

 What makes you think that you are suitable for this job?

 What can you offer to this job/company?

 Tell us about your interests?

 How do you spend your time when you’re not busy working?

 What are your strengths?

 What are your weaknesses?

 Tell us about your work experience in relation to this job.

 Where do you see yourself in five/ten year’s time?

 What are your dreams regarding your career?