Purpose of a CV or Résumé
From a candidate’s perceptive
- The résumé is designed predominantly as a "door opener" for you
- It should give the reader enough information to understand your background and how it relates to either a specific position or perhaps just potential opportunities
- To provide information about your skills and achievements
- To get the interview
- The résumé is designed to promote two-way discussion between the interviewer and interviewee
- It should be a "selling or marketing" document rather than simply a clinical record of your career history
From a recruitment consultant or hirer’s perspective
- The résumé is used as a tool to selectively screen candidates for jobs
- It should provide information that will interest them and nothing that will waste their time
- They don’t want a novel; as a guide last three positions, or last 10 years for detail, earlier roles can be covered in a career summary
- It can be used to both include candidates into a "short-list" and exclude candidates from the selection process
- Provides a framework for discussion
- Provides permanent post-interview reference material