CVs For Dummies, Portable Edition
by Joyce Lain Kennedy and Lois-Andrea Ferguson
CVs For Dummies, Portable Edition
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data: A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN: 978-1-119-97438-3 (pbk), 978-1-119-97505-2 (ebk), 978-1-119-97506-9 (ebk), 978-1-119-97507-6 (ebk)
Printed and bound in Great Britain
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
About the Authors
Joyce Lain Kennedy is Americas first nationally syndicated careers columnist. Her twice-weekly column, CAREERS NOW, appears in newspapers and websites across the land. In her four decades of advising readers young, old and in-between Joyce has received millions of letters enquiring about career moves and jobs searches, and has answered countless numbers of them in print.
Joyce is the author of seven career books.
Lois-Andrea Ferguson is Managing Director of Professional CV Services Ltd and Senior Consultant / Developer for www.professional-cv-services.co.uk. Like many readers, Lois has switched careers over the last 20 years: from being an international journalist and writer to legal advisor on Privy Council issues, then professional fund-raising, securing more than 15 million for various community sector groups, then into the recruitment and selection sector.
Lois-Andrea has also conducted interviews with people such as former US President, George Bush Senior, and former US Secretary of State, Colin Powell. She had the memorable privilege of interviewing Dr Rob McNain, an astronaut who, two weeks after the interview, sadly died in the Challenger explosion. Lois has also contributed to BBC World Services and published short stories in North America and the UK.
Authors Acknowledgments
Any book is a collaborative effort and I owe applause to a variety of people who guided me through a challenging process: Kathryn Troutman, Sarah Blazucki, James M. Lemke, John S. Gill, Traci Cumbay and Kelly James.
JLK
Thanks to Erglin and Leila Ferguson; Dr Sybil Wilson; Bobby, Yannic and Makeba McKoy; Emile, Eyton and Judy Ferguson.
LF
Publishers Acknowledgements
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Commissioning, Editorial, and Media Development
Commissioning Editor: Wejdan Ismail
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Production Manager: Daniel Mersey
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Cover Photo: iStock / Anne-Louise Quarfoth
Cartoons: Ed McLachlan
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Indexer: Potomac Indexing, LLC
Introduction
T ake a trip down memory lane, to 20 years ago, when CV writing was so simple and straightforward. Those were the days when you scoured the dailies for job advertisements, sent your CV on plain paper, stating your name, your address and more often than not, your land line number along with your employment and education history. Then you listened out for the telephone to ring for an interview.
Today the journey is more hurried, with lots of clicks and the electronic voice You have email! Sometimes, you no longer only send your CV through the post. You sit at the computer, uploading your targeted CVs, filling in countless agency forms and contributing to a massive database which picks up key words youve had the insight to include. Then you await an offer of an interview perhaps via email or text.