How to Develop a Professional CV, RESUME or BIO-DATA

          RESUME: French word meaning, summary

• A resume is ideally a summary of one’s education, skills and employment when applying for a new job.
• A resume does not list out all details of a profile, but only some specific skills customized to the target job profile. It is thus, usually 1 or at the max 2 pages long.
• A resume is usually written in the third person to give it an objective and formal tone.
• A good resume would start with a Brief Profile of the candidate, Summary of Qualifications and then Professional Experience in reverse chronological order to ensure that your skills are relevant to the position.
• Focus is on the most recent experiences (with responsibilities and accomplishments), and previous experiences should only be presented as a summary. This would be followed by Education details, Professional Affiliations and Voluntary Initiatives.
• Resume is used for a new job where the skill set matters more than your academic achievements.

             RESUME FORMAT

• 1 or 2 pages’ max
• Lists only relevant and active certifications
• Customized to a target job description
• Written in a neutral or third person tone
• Most Important Information: Full Name, Contact Details, Experience in reverse-chronological order, Education details, Professional Trainings, Skills & Certifications.

              CURRICULUM VITAE (CV)   Latin word meaning course of life

• CV is more detailed than a resume, generally 2 to 3 pages, or even longer as per the requirement.
• C.V. lists out every skill, all the jobs and positions held, degrees, professional affiliations the applicant has acquired, and in chronological order.
• CV is used to highlight the general talent of the candidate rather than specific skills for a specific position.
• CVs talk about your entire career ever since you graduated. So if you have 20 years of experience, your CV will have details of the entire 20 years even if it means a 10-page document.

  CV FORMAT

• No limit on the pages
• Lists all skills and certifications
• Customized for a larger audience and not for a specific job description
• Written in a first, neutral or third person tone
• Most Important Information: Full Name, Contact Details, Short Bio, Education details, Experience in chronological order, Professional Skills & Certifications, Interests, Courses, Publications, References

BIO-DATA means Biographical data

• Bio data is nothing but an old fashioned terminology for a Resume or CV. Bio Data is the short form for Biographical Data and is an archaic terminology for Resume or C.V.
• In a bio data, the focus is on personal particulars like date of birth, gender, religion, race, nationality, residence, marital status etc. other than education and experience. At times Bio-data also includes applications made in specified formats as required by the company.
• The term bio-data is mostly used in India and are usually used while applying for government jobs
• A chronological listing of education and experience comes after that but only to show what a person has done; it is not for the purpose of a job.
• In some South Asian countries (Bangladesh) it may be used in the place of a resume. A biodata form is also required when applying for government, or defense positions.

BIO DATA FORMAT

• No limit on the pages
• Focus on Date and Time of Birth, gender, religion, race, nationality, residence, marital status
• Customized for the purpose of marriages
• Written in a first or third person tone
• Education and experience: not mandatory
• Salary details: mandatory if using for matrimonial purposes

CV, Resume, Biodata (difference)

1. CV: is the longest of all formats. It is used to write in detail about life events. It is generally used by fresh graduates, or someone who is changing their line of career or for academic requirements. And it documents everything within 3 to 6 pages. It is accompanied by a cover letter which covers the gist of the CV. The content generalizes and is not tailor-made for different companies. It serves to give an overall picture of the person rather than identifying a certain set skill required for the job.

2. Resume: means summary and it is the shortest of all the formats. It hardly extends beyond 1 page. It is generally used in the industry due to the convenience of skimming through details and identifying the right candidate for further stages of qualification in the shortest period. Unlike a CV, it has lots to format, and it customizes according to the requirement of the job position. It is used by those persons who already have job experiences and are currently hunting for another job.

3. Bio data: stands for biographical data. It consists of personal information like name, age, sex, date of birth and other sensitive information. Its usage is nowadays limited to government institutes where one expects to submit such information. Biodata makes it easy to collect such data as they are simple in format and can be easily checked either manually or with the help of a computer