Fulfilling Occupation
Reinventing your CV Looking for a fulfilling occupation in your host country? The curriculum vitae (CV) that served you well back home might not be doing you any favours in your new locale. The first step to finding paid employment, study, or volunteer work is simple: tailor your CV to the culture you live in. teXt Maria Foley
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he CV is an important tool for the job seeker. It makes it easy for HR professionals to see at a glance what applicants have to offer, by summing up education, experience, and skills in one tidy package. But its benefits extend far beyond the search for paid employment. Anyone looking for voluntary work would certainly benefit from an
Curriculum vitae is Latin for ‘(the) course of (my) life’.
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up-to-date CV, for example. Having relevant information at their fingertips means recruiting organisations are better able to ensure the volunteer’s aptitudes and skills will be put to good use. The same goes for expat partners planning to spend their time abroad starting a business or studying. Global Connection member Ludmilla Foy-Sauvage included her CV in her recent university application. “It’s not like I’m a twenty-year-old student,” she says. “My social, personal, and professional experience can help the administration direct me to the courses that are most relevant for me, and help them understand why I’m taking up studies at forty!”
The CV’s relevance in an online world The explosion of LinkedIn and similar sites has led some pundits to proclaim that the paper CV is dead. But to paraphrase American writer Mark Twain, reports of its death have been greatly exaggerated. “In a world where there is so much white noise and information overload, a simple, concise and well structured resumé speaks volumes about who you are, [and] what you have achieved,” writes Alistair Cox, Chief Executive of Hays, a global recruitment agency. Charlotte Hågård is convinced networking sites such as LinkedIn will forever change the career landscape, but she also sees the value in a paper CV. “Put it this way: if you were a company, you’d have a brochure to show prospective clients what makes you stand out in the marketplace,” says the Stockholm-based career expert and author. “That’s what the CV does.”
What format? If you still think Microsoft Word is the gold standard for CVs and resumés, think again. Sending your document as a PDF means there won’t be any formatting glitches that could undermine your professionalism and lessen your chances of snagging that dream job. Source: bbc.co.uk
Rethinking your current CV Remember, you only get one chance to make a good first impression. Your curriculum vitae is your calling card, the first glimpse a hiring manager or admissions officer will have of you. In the same way you adjust your behaviour to better fit into a new culture, you should also adjust your CV to reflect cultural norms. It positions you as a true international: adaptable and culturally sensitive. At the very least, it’s a professional courtesy.
You only get one chance to make a good first impression That doesn’t mean it’s easily done. In the United States, including photos and personal details such as date of birth, sex, and marital status is taboo. Elsewhere, this information is mandatory. Jon, an American expat recently settled in Peru, feels as though he’s landed in an alternate universe. “I have my US resumé, but my understanding is the CV here is something different,” he says. “I’ve been told to include a photo, but I was trained to conform to US antidiscrimination laws, and I’m confused.” Having been instructed since her teens that CVs should be
Resumé or CV? A resumé is a one to two page summary of the applicant’s education, experience, and skills. In some countries (the USA, for example), it’s the standard document for most job applications. The exceptions are positions in academic or scientific fields, where a CV is the norm. A curriculum vitae (CV) is a longer document that develops the information found on the resumé in more detail. It’s the standard in much of Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Source: about.com
succinct and no more than two pages long, English expat Hayley was dismayed to find her CV didn’t pass muster with Australian employers. “They want to see everything you’ve ever done, and don’t care if it’s five pages long, stretching back fifteen years,” she says, frustrated. Like Hayley, many expats struggle to overcome the ‘brief is better’ bias. In Russia, the idea is laughable. Russian CVs are expected to be full of detail and written in narrative style – no bullet points here. And although this is changing somewhat, handwritten CVs are still common.
Words matter It’s not just the CV format that can trip up unsuspecting expats: it’s wise to pay close attention to the tone and language as well. In countries such as China and Norway, where excessive self-promotion is distasteful, any suggestion of bragging will hurt your chances.
‘Tooting your own horn is okay – even essential’ In Canada, however, modesty gets you nowhere: you’re expected to aggressively sell yourself by using ‘power words’ to highlight your achievements. Emmanuelle, a French expat, found this a bit unnerving at first, but soon got used to it. “Tooting your own horn is okay – even essential – as long as
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Fulfilling Occupation
It’s all about who you know Bregje Swinkels thought finding a job in Shanghai would take months of hard work, but it turned out to be easier than she expected thanks to two things: networking, and Pinterest.
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regje’s adventure started the day her husband Harm van Kemenade came home with some important news. “He had a big smile on his face, and he said, ‘Philips asked me to go to Shanghai’,” says Bregje.
‘I told everyone I was moving to Shanghai. I made a lot of connections here’ “It was a good opportunity so early in his career, and we had no reason to say no. So here we are.”
Moving fast The couple has been in Shanghai for six weeks, but Bregje started networking long before. “I told everyone I was moving to Shanghai, so I made a lot of connections here. Once I arrived, I looked for jobs online, and fixed up my CV.”
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An inspired CV Her original CV, made with a template, was “very grey, very boring. So I looked on (photo-sharing website) Pinterest for inspiration.” Bregje designed the CV using Microsoft Word, adding a touch of colour to brighten it up and including the link to her LinkedIn profile.
Networking pays off Bregje ended up finding her job through someone she met at the Dutch association. By the time you read this, she’ll be busy branding new products and positioning them in the marketplace. Her advice to other job seekers? “Network,” she says. “It really pays off, especially here in China, where relationships are so important. It’s easier to get an interview when you know people in the company.”
To see Bregje’s CV, go to ‘Magazine Online’ at www.global-connection.info
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you can back it up with concrete examples,” she says. A note of caution: even if you speak the local language, you may be unaware of certain regional nuances that can distort your message.
Listing ‘tramping’ as a hobby is unlikely to result in a job offer in England Natasha, a New Zealander, still blushes when she thinks about the CV she sent out when she first arrived in London. She listed ‘tramping’ – the word for ‘hiking’ in her homeland – as one of her hobbies. In England, ‘tramp’ has several meanings, none of which is likely to result in a job offer. “Those were fun interviews,” Natasha says dryly.
Do the work You’ve overcome jet lag, unpacked your shipment, and you’re ready to start revamping your CV. Where to begin? “You’ve heard the expression, ‘finding a job is a job’?” asks Hågård. “Well, so is becoming self-employed, or looking for volunteer work. And in a new country, it’s a very big job. I wouldn’t just hope and pray things would work out; I’d go about it as I would any professional project.” That means starting off with plenty of research – not a difficult proposition in the Internet Age. “There’s a lot of information out there,” Hågård says. “Scout around your network to see if you know anyone from your host country. Check out the CVs on LinkedIn – there are 300 million profiles there, so there’s a good chance you’ll find something useful.” Once you’re satisfied with your new CV, don’t stop there. Get feedback from someone in the know – either a professional, or a local who can spot those tiny slip-ups that mark you as an outsider. And make sure your knowledge of cultural expectations is up to date, as nothing ever stays the same. “In Sweden, CVs used to be a single page, with education, job titles, employment dates, and nothing else,” Hågård says. “Now it’s more common to see the American style: two pages, a summary at the top, achievements listed instead of job tasks. The other way seems old-fashioned now.” Your CV is your passport to a fulfilling occupation in your host country. Think of the time and effort you spend making it culturally appropriate as an investment in your future – one with the potential for huge returns.
Why having a CV is important for every expat partner Most people think of CVs in relation to job searches, but it’s not a bad idea for expat partners to keep their CVs up to date whether or not they’ll be looking for work. Think of it as a skills and experience inventory that lets you see how far you’ve come and reminds you what you’re capable of. Ludmilla Foy-Sauvage lives in Côte d’Ivoire with her husband Antoine, who works for Yara. Ludmilla updated her CV when she applied to university, but she strongly recommends it as a useful exercise for every expat partner. “It forces you to summarise everything you’ve achieved,” she says. “It answers some important questions: What are my competencies? What do I want to do now? How can my experiences serve my objectives?” Ludmilla points to a common occurrence in the expat world: a partner stops working, perhaps because of visa restrictions, perhaps to take some time to engage in another fulfilling obligation. “After some years, they might feel that they can’t work anymore,” she says. “But every experience is useful, even when it is not paid! Taking care of the children, voluntary work, or simply living in a new culture – it’s all worthwhile. Writing a CV can be a good opportunity to realise and valorise that.”
READ MORE For more on CVs, including some extremely creative examples, as well as articles on multimedia resumés, CV standards in various countries, and a profile of Ludmilla, please go to the ‘Magazine Online’ section of our website at www.global-connection.info
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