"We help professionals GROW" CVE is a non-profit entity that help professionals to leverage their marketability within the workforce sector via crafting personalized impactful CVs. Coming from a broad range of industries, our dynamic volunteers are also leaders in the field of career coaching - Value adding tips & advice to help you carve a successful career path.

1. AN INTRODUCTION TO
CV WRITING
By Lukman Alhakim
Founder – CV Extraordinaire
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2. WHAT IS A CV?
It is the abbreviation for Curriculum Vitae
It gives a brief overview of a person’s career
achievements, educational background, skill-pool &achievements, educational background, skill-pool &
contact details
It can also encompass career aspirations,
professional affiliations & volunteer work initiatives
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3. WHAT IT IS NOT
A copy & paste from a lengthy job description with
passive verbs & phrases
More than 3 pages long – Like everyone else, theMore than 3 pages long – Like everyone else, the
reviewer is a person who have a short span of time
& patience.
Contains irrelevant information that does not add
value to the hiring process e.g. your blood type, etc
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4. CV FORMAT - CLASSIC
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5. CV FORMAT - CLASSIC
Suitable for technical oriented roles such as
engineers, doctors, lawyers, etc.
Where the sector is more conservative & observeWhere the sector is more conservative & observe
structure as a reflection of competency
Relevant for seasoned professionals with an
extensive list of achievements; valuable to be
highlighted
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6. CV FORMAT - MODERN
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7. CV FORMAT - MODERN
Suitable for dynamic oriented roles such as
marketing & IT personnel, software developers, etc
Where the sector promotes originality & valueWhere the sector promotes originality & value
creativity as part of a desired skill-set
Also relevant for internship & junior professionals
with brief list of achievements to be highlighted
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8. CV STRUCTURE
A well thought CV usually contains:
1. Contact details
2. A career profile summary
3. Skill highlights
Training & certifications4. Training & certifications
5. Professional experience
6. Education history
7. Professional affiliations
8. Volunteer work (if any)
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9. 1. CONTACT DETAILS
Means for reviewer to reach the CV’s owner
Preferably to be inserted in the 1st page’s header.
This will then ensure subsequent pages capturedThis will then ensure subsequent pages captured
those details consistently
Name, email address, mobile number & mailing
address are the basic information to show
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10. 1. CONTACT DETAILS – Q&A
Q: Should I include or exclude my photo?
A: Depending on the country you are applying to
work in. In some nations, equal opportunities are
valued & promoted.valued & promoted.
In this case, sensitive information (such as
photograph, race, marital status & gender) that can
lead to selection bias/prejudice, are not
recommended to be disclosed in the CV
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11. The most critical section of the document
Within a span on 10-15 seconds, the reviewer will
swiftly scan through & build a preliminary
2. CAREER PROFILE
swiftly scan through & build a preliminary
impression of the candidate’s competency
This is done by matching key words & phrases to
the requirements of the role applied
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12. 2. CAREER PROFILE
A simple formula that can be use:
“Amassing X years of experience within (industry Y) &
(Industry Z). Specializing in (your two top most(Industry Z). Specializing in (your two top most
specialization) for (local/global/various market
segment). The first achievement that you would like
to emphasize. The secondary achievement you
would like to emphasize + the strategies deployed
to achieved it”
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13. 2. CAREER PROFILE
Translated into real world experience: (example)
“Amassing 15 years of experience in B2B sales within
APAC territory. Specializing in new accountAPAC territory. Specializing in new account
acquisition within various market segment. Built,
inspired & cultivated a start-up sales team from
ground up. Exceeded annual sales target via value
leadership, salesforce empowerment & guerrilla
marketing strategies.”
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14. 2. CAREER PROFILE – Q&A
Q: What if I am new to the job market? What can I
then include in this section?
A: If you are a fresher or just started to get a
foothold in the sector, the best case is to pitch:foothold in the sector, the best case is to pitch:
1. Career aspirations & goals
2. Value added initiatives for the future employer
3. Success stories in dealing with FYP or most
recent work related task
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15. 3. SKILL HIGHLIGHTS
Encompass of top 4-6 soft skills & work related
competency
Relevant & best match to the role appliedRelevant & best match to the role applied
Using bullet points or visual aid representation
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16. 3. SKILL HIGHLIGHTS
An example from a Jr. Dentist:
An example from a Technical Sales Manager:
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17. 3. SKILL HIGHLIGHTS
An example from an HR executive: Visual Aid
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18. 3. SKILL HIGHLIGHTS – Q&A
Q: What if I have a long list of skills to promote?
How do I filter them down?
A: On either side of the spectrum (limited or
extensive list of skills), the best route is to use theextensive list of skills), the best route is to use the
K.I.S.S formula; Keep It Simple Sally. As time to
review is finite, less is certainly more in this context.
As work history and education are fixed records, the
only customizable parameters are the content of
career profile (#2) & skills (#3). Tailor-made them to
the role applied.
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19. 4. TRAINING & CERTIFICATIONS
Top 10 work related trainings & accumulated
certificates
Relevant & best match to the role appliedRelevant & best match to the role applied
Concise using bullet points or visual aid
representation
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20. 4. TRAINING & CERTIFICATIONS
An example from a Project Manager in O&G sector:
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21. 4. TRAINING & CERTIFICATIONS
An example from a Safety Officer:
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22. 5. PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
To strive for core content excellence as it will be the
primary reflection of character, role competency &
writing fluency
As explained earlier, the biggest sin would be to
copy & paste content from a job description
Be advised, a well trained reviewer/recruiter can
distinguish between an average Joe & a top
achiever 22

23. 5. PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
The headline typically includes the name of the
company, service start-end in months & years, role
designation & your niche specialization
Content
Headline
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24. 5. PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Content - The breakdown focus:
To compose each lines with brevity & avoid
repetitive use of words
To utilize active verbs e.g. implemented,To utilize active verbs e.g. implemented,
exceeded, pioneered, spearheaded, introduced,
integrated, etc.
To enumerate achievements e.g. slashed
operational cost by 25%, rectified 250 errors in
the system, surpassed sales target by 200%, etc. 24

25. 5. PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
An example from a Safety Supervisor:
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26. 5. PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
An example from a Regional Manager:
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27. 5. PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE – Q&A
Q: With an extensive years of service, how do I limit
my content & what becomes priority?
A: Since a CV is limited to maximum of 3 pages, we
need to consolidate & segment achievements intoneed to consolidate & segment achievements into
top & lower priories.
The ones that accentuate your credibility & contains
figures should be given higher stake. A rule of
thumb is to limit three (3) career list into a single
page. Other information can then be transfered into
what we call Portfolio.
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28. 5. PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE – Q&A
Portfolio examples: Technical & Commercial
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29. 6. EDUCATION HISTORY
This section gives the reviewer a background
perspective; what shapes the candidate in the
context of learning & curricular involvements
The key is to accentuate your strengths; be it in
academic field, curricular initiatives, charity
involvements, etc.
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30. 6. EDUCATION HISTORY
The headline typically includes the institution’s
name, start-end in years, course description &
grade achieved (if relevant)
Content
Headline
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31. 6. EDUCATION HISTORY
Content - The underlying focus:
To utilize active verbs e.g. implemented,
exceeded, pioneered, spearheaded, introduced,
integrated, etc.
To enumerate achievements e.g. graduated
amongst top 10% of students, etc
To emphasize curricular initiatives e.g. facilitator
for XYZ volunteer program, etc.
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32. 6. EDUCATION HISTORY – Q&A
Q: I did not attained a decent GCPA, how do I go
about from here?
A: As mentioned earlier, focus on your thriving
strengths. As your career progress, it will be lessstrengths. As your career progress, it will be less
relevant to disclose passing grade, as recruiter will
scrutinize more on role & work related
competencies.
The next section can be use as useful leveraging
tool to foster a positive cognitive bias
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33. 7. PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
This section speaks volume in the context of career
development & professional networking
Post industrial era, people tend to be valuatedPost industrial era, people tend to be valuated
based on the web of network they solidified
Affiliations to esteemed & established entities will
be seen as value added advantage
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34. 7. PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
An example from a Technical Oriented
Professional:
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35. 8. VOLUNTEER WORK
If you are passionate about the concept of “paying it
forward”, this section can be use to highlight those
initiatives
However observe the space constraint, make it
concise & impactful
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36. 8. VOLUNTEER WORK
Examples:
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37. CV REVIEW – PROOF READING
After completion of the write up, it is wise to check
for spelling, grammatical and sentence structure
errors & mistakes
Get a partner to proof read your content andGet a partner to proof read your content and
request for genuine feedback
Preferably, seek assistance from professionals in
the field. Typically a financial fee will be incurred in
return for their services
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38. CV REVIEW – ONLINE EVALUATION
www.rezscore.com provides a free evaluation
service where users can upload CVs and get
instantaneous feedback based these fundamental
parameters:
BrevityBrevity
Impact
Depth
This platform utilize data analytics to enable cross
checking of words & phrases against an online
database containing thousands of CVs 38

39. CV REVIEW – ONLINE EVALUATION
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40. CV REVIEW – ONLINE EVALUATION
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41. "We help professionals GROW"
CVE is a non-profit entity that help professionals to leverage their marketability
within the workforce sector via crafting personalized impactful CVs.
Coming from a broad range of industries, our dynamic volunteers are also
leaders in the field of career coaching - Value adding tips & advice to help youleaders in the field of career coaching - Value adding tips & advice to help you
carve a successful career path.
For career consultations, CV review or resume makeover feel free to drop us an
email at:
ExtraordinaireCV@gmail.com
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Terms & Conditions of Service:
1. All services are on pro-bono basis
2. Subjected to first come first serve policy