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• How can the SOC help me?
• Guidance on finding a job
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• Working in the seasonal agricultural campaigns 2009

The CV

The curriculum is the first new that a company receives of a candidate. In this section the basic rules are indicated to write up a good curriculum.

THE CV

In this document you will find ideas and instructions that will help you to draw up your CV in order to send it to a company, and several examples that will help you to fill it in.

A good CV, accompanied by a letter of introduction, is a very important tool to present your candidacy for a job at a company in you sector (self-candidacy) and to reply to a job offer.

After the publication of a job offer, the first reference that a company receives about a candidate is the letter of introduction and the CV.

The CV is a document that includes the candidate's personal and professional information that is necessary, which highlights all those positive and worthy aspects of his or her experience. The aim of the CV is to be called to take an interview.

The statistics show that 75% of the candidacies are rejected due to their CVs before reaching the interview stage. For this reason, the CV is an advertising tool for those persons who are searching for employment and is, therefore, a very important document which requires special attention.

CONTENTS OF THE CV

The basic structure of a CV is common to all formats, the differences can be found in the way its elements are ordered:

Personal details: name, surnames, address, telephone number (land line and mobile phone) and email address. This section can also include, although it is not compulsory, date and place of birth, nationality, national identity number.

Studies carried out: this section must include the dates during which the studies were taken, the degree obtained and the centre where the studies were taken.

This section is very important for those people who are searching for their first employment; in this case, if the average grade is considerable, it would be necessary to state it.

Other studies: other than the regulated and officially acknowledged studies, you may have carried out supplementary studies. If so, you should specify them.

Languages: you must the language and the level you have reached. In the case of mother tongues, you only need to mention them.

Computer skills: programmes that you master and environment you know how to use (PC and/or MAC). It is also important to specify your knowledge regarding the Internet.

Professional experience: you must provide information about:

• Companies and sectors in which you have worked previously.
• Functions and responsibilities assumed.
• Period of time during which you worked for each one of them.
  

In this section it is also interesting to highlight the experience which is relevant for the job that you are applying to.

Other information of interest: in this section you can specify different aspects that can reinforce your CV for once and for all: hobbies, references, personal skills, etc.
It is not a mandatory section and is not necessary unless otherwise specified by the company.

CUSTOMISING YOUR CV

There is not a unique CV model. In order for your CV to be effective, you should adapt it to each offer taking into account your educational and professional background and the details of the offer for the job in question.

You can change the order of the blocks or sections, if your are going to achieve more efficiency doing so. For example, you can place your experience before your training when you consider that your experience is more important than your studies for a certain job.

We are now going to introduce you to four types of CV so that you can choose which one suits your current situation, always taking into consideration the job for which you are applying:

1. Ascending chronological CV: if you have hardly any experience, order the dates in chronological order, in order to stress your positive evolution.
2. Descending chronological CV: order the dates starting with the most recent one, if you have plenty of experience or if you wish to apply for a job related with your most recent activities.
3. Functional CV:: order the information of the CV according to functional areas if you have worked in two or more different sectors that seem different or are not clearly related.
4. European CV: especially indicated to apply for a job in the European Union.

DRAW UP YOUR OWN CV

The SOC provides you with a tool to help you to draw up your own CV in a simple (5 steps) and rapid (30 minutes) manner. Once finished you can save it on your computer, modify it and edit it with a text editor.

You may also send it directly via email.

• Use the tool to draw up your CV in Catalan.

THE LETTER OF INTRODUCTION

Here you will find ideas and instructions that will help you to write a letter of introduction, as well as some examples that vary depending on whether we are dealing with a letter of reply for a specific offer or a self-candidacy letter.

A good letter of introduction is as important as drawing up a good CV, since it will schematically make the selecting party aware of the post for which we are applying. It is convenient to highlight the most important aspects of your experience or training regarding the job that your are interested in.

To draw up a letter of introduction to answer an advertisement:

• Read the job offer or advertisement carefully.
• Analyse the needs of the company. What type of professional are they looking for?
• Write a tailor-made letter: select those aspects of your CV that are worth highlighting in order to attract the attention according to the needs of the offering company.

Drawing up a letter that will be sent on your own individual initiative (self-candidacy): this method is used when you send your CV to a company on your own individual initiative so that they can take it into consideration when there is a vacancy or when a new post is created.

• Make sure you gather as much information as possible about the company and its needs.
• Find a reason to prove your interest to work with them.
• Choose those aspects of your CV that you are interested in offering the company because you know that they will value them positively.