WRITING YOUR CURRICULUM VITAE

The EU Europass CV model is recommended by both the International Office and Recruitment Services
of this university. See Europass information from Turku University website (in Finnish). From the
Europass web site:

What is Europass?
Whether you are planning to enrol in an education or training programme, looking for a job, or getting
experience abroad, it is important to be able to make your skills and competences clearly understood.

Europass is a new way of helping you to:

* make your skills and qualifications clearly and easily understood in Europe (European Union,
EFTA/EEA and candidate countries);
* move anywhere in Europe.
Europass consists of five documents:
* two documents (Europass curriculum vitae (CV) and Europass Language Passport) you can fill in
yourself; and
* three other documents (Europass Certificate Supplement, Europass Diploma Supplement and Europass
Mobility) filled in and issued by competent organisations.
I recommend that you write a Europass CV, but some of the information below may be of interest.

What is a Curriculum Vitae (CV)?

The Curriculum Vitae is not a legal document, but a factual representation of your personal and
professional qualities and merits to date ("the course/story of your life"). Your CV may be used: a) to
apply for a particular position that has been advertised (accompanied by a letter of application or covering
letter); b) to draw attention to your qualifications with future openings in mind. (you may be
"headhunted" at a later date by a company which has your CV); c) to act as the basis for questions asked
in an interview.
It is, above all, your document, a representation of your identity and history, who you are. What you
choose to write in your CV is important. It tells the reader about your past and present, and will influence
your future. It should not be too long. However, if you leave something important out, nobody will know
about it. Conversely, if you add to the truth and lie about your merits, you may be caught out at a later
date. But you are "selling yourself", so present a positive picture of yourself and your achievements. Don't
mention any failures / bad results or make excuses. Also don't leave any blank years - account for what
you were doing (e.g. part-time work). Be comprehensive, concise, truthful, but not too modest!
It's a good idea to write and save a longer CV including everything you have achieved to date, constantly
updating the information as you go along. With each application you make, you will need to select
relevant details for that particular situation. So your CV is not static: it is changing with you and it should
be rewritten for each application.
The receiver /reader of your CV should be foremost in your mind when you choose what to include and
write about. Read the information about the position carefully, think about what the receiver/reader is
looking for and what you have to offer.

Notes on Presentation
It's worth spending time on this! Good quality paper; word-processed, not typed; no fancy fonts; 1 or 2 x
A4 pages; visually pleasing (layout); no spelling, typing, grammar mistakes. First impressions count -
organise and list achievements to immediately attract attention. Be positive!
Your Curriculum Vitae should be written as a separate document, NOT as part of a letter.
Templates for writing a CV can often be found in conjunction with word processing packages. These are
often based on an American model, which may differ in certain ways from the British or other European
models (although this is changing). It is worth thinking about the receiver/reader of your CV, and which
model is expected in the context.

CURRICULUM VITAE

Name:
Nationality:
Address:
Telephone: +358 (0) ....
Mobile / cellular phone:
Email:

Languages

Skills

Education/ Qualifications

Work experience

Leisure Interests

Referees

Signed:

Date:

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Personal details

The choice of what to include is YOURS! Is the information relevant to your application?
In American (and increasingly European/British) CVs, only contact information (name, address,
telephone, email etc.) is included. Sexism, ageism or other -ism's are considerations! Note this advice
from the University of California Careers Service (one of the links listed below on this page).
"DO NOT include on your curriculum vitae the kinds of personal information that have nothing to do
with your qualifications for the position. Here are some items that range from tasteless to illegal if
included. Do not list your height, weight, or any other physical characteristic. Do not give your age,
marital status, sexual preferences, racial or ethnic identity, political or religious affiliations, place of birth,
or other information of this kind. Do not attach a photograph."

Name
One of the websites links below advises applicants with foreign names to indicate Sex: M or F
Marital status
If you do choose to mention your Marital status, note that there are only 2 categories: single and
married.
If you are single, but live with your partner, you might choose to write "single, cohabiting". You don't
need to mention the name of your partner!! Cohabitation is the translation of "avoliitto"; don't use "open
marriage" - it means something completely different, i.e. an agreement between a married couple that
they are each free to have other sexual partners!
If you are divorced (or separated), you could also mention this: "single, divorced", but "single" is your
marital status. Similarly if you are engaged, you could write: "single, engaged", but "single" is your
marital status. You might possibly want to mention your children and their ages, e.g. married, 2 children
aged 5 and 9 years. Names of spouses/children are not necessary in any of these cases.

Date of birth (not age) is sometimes included; Place of birth may be relevant e.g. to prove you are a
native speaker, or to show that this is different from your nationality.

Nationality
Don't forget to start with a capital letter: Finnish, Spanish, Swedish, German . . .

Languages
Your knowledge of foreign/second languages is definitely worth mentioning. By international standards,
Finnish students have a lot to offer. Specify the level if you can, and describe what you are able to do
with the language in question, for example, Finnish (native), Swedish (fluent), English( advanced),
Russian (intermediate), German (spoken only), French (written only)

Skills
These may include computing languages or packages (specify degree of familiarity), keyboard skills
(NB not piano!), driving. Many UK career services mention having "a clean driving license" as a merit!

Army rank
Contemporary Finnish Military Ranks
This could be mentioned earlier under personal details or later under experience.

Education/ Qualifications
The American sequence of first mentioning present (latest) institution, and dates, and then going
backwards in time seems to be practice in British CV writing nowadays. The receiver/reader
immediately sees the most interesting information first. The last three places of study are enough. Don't
forget the dates (years)!
Master's degree studies. See University of Turku information in English and/or the International Office
"University studies in Finland" for help with terminology. List details about your university education: a
brief overview of subjects studied (major/main and minor/subsidiary) and a brief description of any more
specialised work you have done (master's thesis, seminar paper, project etc.).
Mention dates when you started and finished at different educational institutions between school
and university. If you attended a polytechnic, folk high school or any other college, it is worth finding
out the exact translation of the name of the institution. Also find out what the name of your qualification
is in English (if known).
If your senior/upper secondary school was one of the last three institutions, give dates when you
attended and the name of the school (and name of town). If relevant, mention the subjects you passed
in the matriculation examination: Finnish, Swedish, Mathematics (basic or advanced course), English (A
language), French (B language), General Studies (Physics, Chemistry, History ...). Grades are not
necessary, but if you feel they are relevant, go ahead.
Finnish matriculation examination grades

Work experience / Employment

It is important that every year since school should be accounted for, so even short-term, part-time
employment in gap years should be mentioned, but not in great detail. Give more information about
positions relevant to the one you are applying for. Like educational institutions, go backwards from most
recent to past employment.
If relevant, you might mention that you did /chose the alternative to military service (siviilipalvelu,
civiltjänst) - include dates and place of work, job description.

Leisure Interests
Mention free time activities (especially organised ones where you have taken an active part) that you
can talk about in detail: sports, music, drama and other cultural activities. Mention membership of clubs
and societies, positions of responsibility, prizes etc. Show how these have developed qualities the
reader/receiver will value. Mention the level of achievement you have
reached and specific things you have done, in order to indicate your commitment.

Referees
The names and contact information of 2 persons who can be contacted to give you a reference
should be given here. Ask the referees' permission first, and give them a copy of your new CV, covering
letter and information about the position you are applying for. An academic reference from a professor or
senior member of staff would be appropriate as you are/were at university. The other reference can be
from a previous employer or family friend (not a member of your family). The referees should be in a
position to comment authoritatively on your abilities and potential etc.
Don't enclose work certificates (testimonials) with your application.
American distinction: resumé and CV
Extract from JobSearch:
"What Is The Difference Between A Resume And A Curriculum Vitae
A curriculum vitae is a comprehensive biographical statement (generally three or more pages)
emphasizing professional qualifications and activities. Often C.V.'s are specifically requested. A C.V. is
generally used for the following:
Application for graduate program admission
Academic teaching positions
Academic and institutional research positions
High level administrative positions: Elementary, Secondary, and College level

A resume is an individually designed summary (usually one or two pages) of your personal, educational,
and experience qualifications as they relate to the type of employment you are seeking. It is a written
advertisement: your sales promotion piece. It should be a simple, well-organized presentation of YOU -
your interests, skills, abilities, and accomplishments.
Resumes Get Interviews--Not Jobs! Unless requested, it is usually not appropriate to send a C.V. as a first
contact. When in doubt, send a resume with a notation that a curriculum vitae (and/or references) will be
sent later upon request. This makes it clear that you know the difference between the two. Don't weaken
your employment possibilities by sending the wrong document."