The document provides guidance on attending a seminar about writing CVs and cover letters, including an agenda that covers writing a good CV, writing a good cover letter, and a question period. It also includes tips on how to structure a CV, write a personal profile and work experience section, and how to prepare a targeted cover letter by researching the company and matching one's skills to the job description.

1. CV and Cover Letter
Seminar
15:00 – 17:00
Wednesday, 10th April

2. Today’s agenda
15:00 - 15:15 InterResource- Who are we and what do we do?
15:15 – 15:45 How to write a good CV?
15:45 – 16:00 Coffee Break
16:00 – 16:45 How to write a good Cover Letter?
16:45 – 17:00 Questions

4. Upcoming events
CV & Cover Letter Group Counseling Exclusive event for graduate
16th April 6th June
careerevents.au.dk

5. Join InterResource!

6. How to find us
au.dk/interresource
facebook.com/interresource
interresource.bss@au.dk
Fuglesangs Allé 4 Monday-Friday 9:00-15:00
Bartholins Allé 9 Monday-Thursday 9:00-15:00

8. CV and Cover Letter
Louise Bach-Nielsen

9. Purpose of seminar
• Targeting your CV and letter of motivation to the Danish
labour market
• Tips for unsolicited applications
• How to approach the enterprises

10. CV

11. Starting to Write your CV
• Is your own personal marketing tool, as it provides the first impression that a
prospective employer has of you.
• Important that your CV is well laid out in a clear format, which makes it easy for
the employer to read and find the relevant information he or she requires.
• Simplicity is always best. Unless you are applying for a graphic design position, -
keep it simple! Avoid using too fancy and complicated decorative fonts and
colours.
• A good CV is clear, concise and easy to read. Make use of bullet points and
headings to provide a clear framework and make the information easy to follow.
• Two pages.
• English or Danish ?

12. Competences
List a couple of your most important competences

13. Two Types of CV
Skills based:
• Focuses on competences and tasks
• Interesting when you:
• have been working in few enterprises
• have limited work experience
• have very different experience
• want to change your field of work
Chronological:
• Focuses on your work history
• Provides a good overview over time
• In Denmark always reverse chronological order

14. CURRICULUM VITAE
NN
501 G Street, N. W.
Washington, DC 20006
(202) 676-0000
SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS
Extensive and diverse health care experience in both acute care and research hospital settings. Knowledgeable of
current regulatory standards, biomedical technology, and medico-legal considerations. Strong background in
designing, implementing, and directing patient care programs. Experience with hospital information systems.
ADMINISTRATION
Administered all operations for in-patient and ambulatory patient care units.
Managed unusual incidents related to personnel functions and medical care.
Acted as liaison between medical and nursing staffs.
Supervised two to four para-professionals.
Participated in auditing medical records for compliance with accreditation standards.
Administered in-service educational programs.
RESEARCH
Collected data for research studies and protocols.
Incorporated findings into clinical applications.
Collaborated in development of clinical investigations.
HEALTH CARE
Assessed, planned, implemented, and evaluated holistic care for diverse patient populations.
Designed, administered and directed teaching programs.
Worked extensively with biomedical technology.
EDUCATION
Master of Health Services Administration, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, January 1987.
BS in Nursing, Hampton Institute, Hampton, VA, May 1976.
EMPLOYMENT
The National Institutes of Health, Warren Grant Magnuson Clinical Center, Bethesda, MD, Clinical Nurse (May 1980
present). ).
Michael Reeves Medical Center, Chicago, IL, Staff Nurse (May 1979-April 1980).
University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, IL, Staff Nurse (September 1976-May 1979

16. How to Structure your Chronological CV
1. Personal details
2. Personal profile
3. Work experience
4. Education
5. Skills
6. Interests
7. References

17. How to Structure Your CV
1. Personal details
Make sure this section clearly states your:
 Name
NOTE: if your name does not obviously show if you are male or female, include this
as well
 Nationality
 Residential address
 Phone number
 Email address - work
 Date of birth (optional, but helpful)
 Photo?

18. Example- Personal details
Name XXX
Date and place of birth XX-XX-XXXX, France
Address XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Denmark
E-mail XXXX@XXXXX.XX
Telephone +45 XX XX XX XX

19. How to Structure….
2. Personal Profile
This is your opportunity to write a brief summary about yourself.
• What are your main skills?
• What are your personal qualities?
• Think in keywords and try to be as specific as possible. Remember that everyone
writes that they are a communicative, team player.
• This is also a good place to put your language skills and an overview of what you
are looking for. Please make sure you change this if it doesn’t match the job
description you are applying for!
• Keep it short and to the point.

20. Example- Personal Profile
A determined and proactive communication manager with international experience
and good administrative skills. An intercultural communicator with excellent French
and English skills. A strong team player who is inspired by other people but also works
independently.
• Administration: reliable administrator with extensive experience in dealing with
administrative procedures from administrating network database to large scale
courses and meetings.
• Communication: experienced and versatile communication professional dealing
with many different stakeholders, both internal and external communication.
• International: a proactive person with good intercultural communication skills and
the ability to relate to wide range of people. A strong team player who is inspired
by other people but also works independently.

21. How to Structure…
3. Work experience
• List your most recent experience first.
• Give the name of your employer, job title, dates of employment and, of
course, what your tasks and achievements were. Well known employers in your
country may not be known in DK
• Use an appropriate job title if the one you actually have is misleading. Relate to
Danish educational system.
• If your professional work experience is lacking, you can also mention any
internships (as long as they don’t go back further than 5 years)

22. Example - Work experience
2011 Communication Consultant French Business
In partnership with the Management team, defined France
and planned the communication strategy. Responsible www.website.com
for all communication activities relating to
restructuring activities.
2007 – 2010 Public Relations Specialist & Assistant to Global Marketing
managing director France
Management and facilitation of numerous marketing www.website.com
projects and communicating with business partners.
Created, maintained and further developed a large
business network in UK and France. Produced
training and marketing material in French and English.
2011 Communication Consultant
French Business, France
In partnership with the Management team, defined and planned the communication
strategy. Responsible for all communication activities relating to restructuring activities.

23. How to Structure…
4. Education
• Start with your most recent education first.
• List the subject and where you studied.
• If you have a degree please state the level and skills you achieved. Relate to Danish
conditions.

24. Example Education
2006 - 2007 Public Relations Consultant & Communication ECUK, UK
Manager
Distance learning. Diploma with final grade 1,8
(grade scale 1-10 with 1 being the best)
1994 - 2000 MA: Information & Communication University of
Communication and information planning, Paris, France
communication in organizations, oral communication
and information, project handling
1994 – 2000 MA: Information & Communication
University of Paris, France
Communication and information planning,
communication in organizations, oral communication,
and information, project handling

25. How to Strucure…
5. Skills
• Language proficiency, clearly and honestly stating your fluency level.
• Computing experience and possession of a driving license should be included.

26. How to Structure…
6. Interests
• These are particularly relevant if you were involved in activities in which you had leadership
responsibilities, or which involved relating to others in a team.
• Once again be precise, e.g. Reading [what exactly? i.e. 20th century fiction], Sport [which
sports? i.e. tennis or squash].
• Similarly if you have published any articles, jointly or by yourself, give details. If you have
been involved in any type of volunteer work, mention this.
• Prospective employers will often look at the hobbies and interests listed in someone’s
résumé as it gives them a more comprehensive picture of the candidate and can give vital
clues on personality and motivation. This is especially often the case if the candidate is a
graduate with not much work experience.

28. How to Structure…
7. References
There are two options here:
• you can use the generic statement 'References are available on request’, which
means that the future employer has to ask permission for access to your
references;
or
• you can include the names and contact information of your references on the CV, if
you have approval.

31. Europass CV

34. Points to Remember
• Max 2 pages
• Use simple language
• Documentation: do not send documentation unless mentioned in the job ad
• Have someone read over your CV
• Do a spell check! (“I speak fluent Englesh, Inglish, Eniglish” does not really instill
confidence)
• CV in Pdf.
• Print out your CV

35. Strategy for applying This I know also
Not something
they asked for,
but still interesting
You
This I match
Put your focus
here
focus here
The job
This I can learn
Don’t touch upon
this before the job interview

36. Cover Letter

37. Preparing your Cover Letter
Start by;
• Researching the company well
• Reading over the job description thoroughly
• Preparing your letter by thinking about the following points;
Why do you think you are specifically suitable for the role?
What are the competences you possess that match the role?
Why would you want to work for that particular company?

38. Cover Letter – inspiration
Motivation
• Why are you applying for this specific job?
• Show appreciation for the organisation
• Do you know their strategy/ mission?
• How do you see yourself fitting in the organisation?

39. Cover Letter– inspiration
Professional competences
• What can you offer? Explain your professional competences – how will
they match the tasks
• What advantages will they gain from hiring you?
• Relate to the task and how you can use your competences to solve them

40. Cover Letter- inspiration
Personal Competences
• Remember to include your personal and social competences
• Give examples – not just hot air and buzz words – e.g. what do you
mean by flexible and structured?

41. Guidelines
• Future oriented and targeted
• One A4 page
• Use examples
• Pick the top 3-5 essential requirements from the advertisement and
answer them carefully
• Make sure you close positively - "I look forward to meeting you at an
interview to discuss further…"

42. Solicited

43. Unsolicited applications
Headline.
Description of you and your proposed function in the enterprise
What can you offer:
”sales speech” – how and why will the enterprise benefit from hiring you
Summary:
Summarize your competences and explain how they match the
proposed function

44. Tips
• Focus:
Stay focussed and be explicit regarding your job wishes
• Contact the enterprise:
Phone, e-mail, personal contact
• Follow up.
Show your motivation and make them remember you

45. Unsolicited

47. Contacting an Enterprise

48. Identify the Job/enterprise
• What is your market value?
– Which companies could be interesting for you – and not least interested in
you?
– Think in broad terms – focus on matching the possibilities with your
competences!

49. Contacting an Enterprise
To phone or not to phone?
• Yes, only if you have relevant questions.
• You could be remembered as the person, who wasted time.
• Prepare the questions beforehand.

50. Examples of Questions:
• Do they recruit people with your educational background?
 if yes, for which positions?
• What kind of responsibilities do those employees have?
• Which personal competences are important to have in the job?
• How long will they keep an application