Discussion
I'm putting a one page CV together for an application to a graduate scheme to a major bank. I've come across various conflicting viewpoints on how things should be done...
1st person or 3rd person? Should I say "Tim did this", "did this" or "I did this"? I'm leaning more towards "did this".
Bullet points or continuous prose for my employment history? Some people say bullets, others say a paragraph of written text is the way to go...?
1st person or 3rd person? Should I say "Tim did this", "did this" or "I did this"? I'm leaning more towards "did this".
Bullet points or continuous prose for my employment history? Some people say bullets, others say a paragraph of written text is the way to go...?
Why one page? Two is the accepted norm - or have they requested a super-short one?
Third person is what I've always been taught/told at school, for formal writing. A CV dotted with "I did this" or "I worked as part of team x" would make you sound uneducated IMO.
Bullet points would make your CV stand out better. You can always talk about items at length once in the room.
Make sure your grades are highlighted (if good) or suitably glossed over (if bad).
Which bank?
And another thing - don't lie. If necessary, be a bit economical and let them probe, for example, a 2:2 could be listed as "BSc/BA (Hons) <whatever you read>, 2nd class honours". Make sure you have good answers though.
Third person is what I've always been taught/told at school, for formal writing. A CV dotted with "I did this" or "I worked as part of team x" would make you sound uneducated IMO.
Bullet points would make your CV stand out better. You can always talk about items at length once in the room.
Make sure your grades are highlighted (if good) or suitably glossed over (if bad).
Which bank?
And another thing - don't lie. If necessary, be a bit economical and let them probe, for example, a 2:2 could be listed as "BSc/BA (Hons) <whatever you read>, 2nd class honours". Make sure you have good answers though.
Edited by A.Wang on Wednesday 28th October 15:51
I would go for "did this", the beauty being that it can be first- or third-person. I personally think third person sounds just plain odd. If I were writing a section of prose, for example to briefly summarise my career to date, I might switch to first person. I don't think it matters any where near as much as the content, but you're always going to come up against people who care. Unfortunately with CVs it really depends on who is reading it. All you can do is have it make sense, and try to put yourself in their shoes. For example, if there are basic minimum requirements (such as a degree or experience in a particular industry) quickly show you meet them. Above all, your CV must make sense and contain enough information for a reviewer to tell if you are suitable enough to interview.
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