The content of your CV should be no more than one double-sided page. The information presented should be succinct and recent. You should aim to present aspects that would allow you to stand out in the field you are applying for. For example, nursing students who aim to work at Children's Hospitals should focus on highlighting their experience in children services.

The following is a list of items you can include in respective sections of the CV. Click on the circle to select the most appropriate items which a CV may include. The first one has been completed as an example.

b. Content - Prioritizing Items for the Work Experience Section

Personal experience mentioned in a CV should be relevant to the job position applied for. Information that would distinguish your abilities should be prioritized. For example, community services should be included, and work experience not directly related to the position applied for should be left out. If the acquired work experience is not directly relevant to the applied job position, prioritize the experience which has taken place in professional settings or has allowed you to gain transferable skills.

Task 3

The following are a list of job positions and work experience stated in a CV. Drag and drop the items for each job position and arrange them in the correct order from the most relevant to the least relevant. The first one has been completed as an example.

Achievements that are quantified with numbers provide the reader with proof of your efforts. It is therefore important to substantiate the accomplishments stated in the items under the "Work Experience" section of the CV. Not all events are quantifiable. It is acceptable to include events that are not quantifiable, but you should provide as much description as possible to justify the inclusion of those events. For example, the acquiring of role-specific skills, such as gaining understanding on the compliance regulations of a listed company are uncountable and should not be quantified. The first one has been completed as an example.

Click on the circle to determine whether the following statements are quantifiable or non-quantifiable.

The final two sections are "Language Proficiency" and "Other Related Skills". Language proficiency is essential in a Business CV because it shows the candidate's ability to communicate. Communication competence is important in every job. Information about written or spoken level should be included. Spoken language skills can be classified as "Native", "Fluent", "Business-level", and "Conversational"; written skills as "Native", "Professional", "Intermediate", and "Beginner". Information about Language Proficiency should be presented concisely and precisely. Long sentences may be avoided. Uses of bullet points are common. For example, a native Cantonese speaker and writer may put, "Cantonese (written and spoken: native)".

The "Other Related Skills" section is optional but could reinforce your ability and may be useful in applications for job positions requiring specific job knowledge. For example, a marketing associate would benefit from photoshop skills, and an auditing clerk would benefit from Microsoft Excel skills.

Similar to the format of the "Education" section, the content of "Language Proficiency" and "Other Related Skills" should be written as simplistically as possible. One or two keywords about the specific skill would suffice.

a. Grammar and Tone

Personal experience mentioned in a CV should be written in past tense. For example, if you have taken meeting minutes during an internship, the description should be: "Recorded meeting minutes". Personal pronouns such as, "I", "me", "he", "she", or "my", should be avoided to construct professional tone. For example, if you attended meetings with clients, the description should be: "Attended meetings with clients".

Where applicable, simple information could be directly depicted without using full sentences. For example, school grades could be represented in numbers.
GPA (2022-23 Final Year) 4.3
IELTs Band score 7.5

b. Constructing Achievement Statements

Now that we have covered the basic structure, grammar, and content, we would move on to the chief elements of a successful CV. Since the primary aim of the CV is to outline personal achievements, the content should be organized in a manner to illustrate quantitative or qualitative results of the specific events in your experience. The idea flow of the content for each experience should start with the job title, followed by a subject or a task, then an action taken by you, and finished with a positive outcome that aligns with your targeted job position. For example, a Legal Secretary would write:

Legal Secretary ( job title) of senior partner Mr. Charles Au Yeung.