THE EUROPEAN CV

1. Look at this European CV model and fill in the gaps with the words in the box.
action plans
Bachelor of Science
civil servants
coached
competent
interests
mediating
occupational field
onwards
surname
thesis

focus groups
independent
tongue
workshop

Europass
Curriculum Vitae
Personal information
First name / (1) ............................
Address(es)

Betty HOBKINS
32 Reading rd, Birmingham, B26 3QJ, United Kingdom

Telephone(s)

+44 2012345678

Fax(es)

+44 2012345679

E-mail
Nationality
Date of birth
Gender

Desired employment /
(2) ..........................................

Mobile:

+44 7123456789

hobbies@kotmail.com
British
07.10.1982
Female
EUROPEAN PROJECT MANAGER

Work experience
Dates
Occupation or position held
Main activities and responsibilities
Name and address of employer
Type of business or sector
Dates
Occupation or position held
Main activities and responsibilities

Name and address of employer

Type of business or sector
Dates
Occupation or position held
Main activities and responsibilities

Name and address of employer

Type of business or sector

August 2010 (3) ...............................................

Independent consultant
Evaluation of European Commission youth training support measures for youth national agencies
and young people.
British Council, 123, Bd Ney, F-75023 Paris
Independent consultant
March - July 2010
Internship
- Evaluating youth training programmes for SALTO UK and the Partnership between the Council of
Europe and European Commission
- Organizing and running a 2 day (4) ................................ on non-formal education for Action 5 large
scale projects focusing on quality, assessment and recognition
- Contributing to the Steering Group on training and developing (5) ................................ on
training for the next 3 years. Working on the Users Guide for training and the Support Measures
European Commission, Youth Unit, DG Education and Culture, 200, Rue de la Loi, B-1049
Brussels
European institution
October 2009 - February 2010
Researcher / Independent Consultant
Working in a research team carrying out in-depth qualitative evaluation of the 2 year Advanced
Training of Trainers in Europe using participant observations, in-depth interviews and
(6) ................................. Work carried out in training courses in Strasbourg, Slovenia and Budapest.
Council of Europe, Budapest
European institution

Education and training

Dates

2005-2009

Title of qualification awarded

Principal subjects/occupational skills
covered
Name and type of organisation providing
education and training
Level in national or international
classification
Dates
Title of qualification awarded
Principal subjects/occupational skills
covered

PhD
(7) ................................ Title: 'Young People in the Construction of the Virtual University, Empirical
research that directly contributes to debates on e-learning.
Brunel University, London, UK
Funded by an Economic and Social Research Council Award
ISCED 6
2001-2005
(8) ................................ in Sociology and Psychology
- Sociology of Risk, Sociology of Scientific Knowledge/ Information Society;
- E-learning and Psychology; Research Methods.

Name and type of organisation

providing education and training

Brunel University, London, UK.

Level in national or international

classification

ISCED 5

Personal skills and competences

Mother (9) ................................

English

Other language(s)
Understanding

Self-assessment
European level (*)

French
German

Listening
C1

Proficient
user

Reading
C2

Proficient
user

Speaking
Spoken
interaction
B2

Writing

Spoken
production

(10) ...........
C1
user

Proficient
user

C2

A2 Basic user A2 Basic user A2 Basic user A2 Basic user A2

Proficient
user
Basic user

(*) Common European Framework of Reference for Languages

Social skills and competences

- Team work: I have worked in various types of teams from research teams to national league
hockey. For 2 years I (11) ................................ my university hockey team;
- (12) ................................ skills: I work on the borders between young people, youth trainers, youth
policy and researchers, for example running a 3 day workshop at CoE Symposium Youth Actor of
Social Change, and my continued work on youth training programmes;
- Intercultural skills: I am experienced at working in a European dimension such as being a
rapporteur at the CoE Budapest youth against violence seminar and working with
refugees.

Organisational skills and - Whilst working for a Brussels based refugee NGO Convivial I organised a Civil Dialogue between
competences refugees and (13) .............................. at the European Commission 20th June 2010.
- During my PhD I organised a seminar series on research methods.

Computer skills and competences

Additional information

(14) ................................ with most Microsoft Office programmes and some

experience with HTML.
PUBLICATION
How to do Observations: Borrowing techniques from the Social Sciences to help Participants do
Observations in Simulation Exercises Coyote EU/CoE Partnership Publication, (2010).
PERSONAL (15) ................................
Creating pieces of Art and visiting Modern Art galleries. Enjoy all sports particularly hockey,
football and running. Love to travel and experience different cultures.

2. Put these skills and competences in the right group in the following chart. Then answer the four questions.
ability to adapt to multicultural environments
command of quality control processes

carpentry command of Microsoft Office tools

communication skills

database searching

experience in logistics experience in project or team management

design diplomacy
hobbies

knowledge of graphic design applications leadership negotiation skills music

operation of medical equipment
team spirit
Q1:
Q2:
Q3:
Q4:

presentation skills programming

word processing

sense of organisation sports

work for volunteer organisations writing

Which of these skills and competences do you have?

To what degree (basic, good or very good)?
How did you acquire them (through training, work, seminar, voluntary or leisure activities)?
What other skills and competences not listed here do you have?

..........................
..
..........................
..
Organisational
..........................
..
..........................
..

..........................
..
..........................
..
Social
..........................
..
..........................
..

Skills and
competences

..........................
..
..........................
..
Other
..........................
..........................
....

..........................
..........................
....
Artistic
..........................
..........................
....

..........................
..
..........................
..
Technical
..........................
..
..........................
..
..........................
..........................
....
Computer
..........................
..........................
....

READING: THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST IN YOUR CV

1. What do you know about...?
The Apprentice
George Orwell

Barrack Obama Bill Clinton Bonnie Tyler Burton & Taylor Ernest Hemingway
Marvel Comics Nelson Mandela Oscar Wilde Tony Blair Usain Bolt William Faulkner

2. Read this article about the current trend of over highlighting achievements in CVs. Choose the right answer
(A, B or C) to the questions that follow.
The Importance of Being Earnest in Your CV
Recently, I had a chance to read through a pile of graduate job applications. As I did so, I came to
appreciate what Oscar Wilde had meant by the "vital importance of being earnest." Because after a day
spent ploughing through dozens of CVs, earnest was the last word on my mind.

Once, career advisers had to encourage graduates to talk themselves up. Not anymore. Nowadays
CVs are nothing but lists of superlatives. On one CV, in the section describing the applicant's skills and
achievements, I counted five "excellents". And that was just in one paragraph. On another, the applicant
claimed to possess "world-class communication skills" a boast which if true, places her in the same stellar
category as Nelson Mandela, Bill Clinton, Barrack Obama and Tony Blair. She was 21-years-old.
From a recruiter's point of view, such rampant egotism can leave you feeling slightly intimidated.
After all, who are these wonder kids with their "vast experience," their "unrivalled career success," their
"fantastic organisational skills," their "hunger for responsibility" and their "superb leadership potential?"
Where do they come from and why do they sound so familiar?
I think it's got something to do with television shows like the Apprentice. It's become almost
accepted that if you're applying for a job that's the tone of voice you have to use. Only that can explain why
writing applications, so many clever, talented graduates resort to such meaningless management jargon. Of
these, one of the worst examples is the expression: "proven track record." Usain Bolt has a proven track
record. It's called 9.58 seconds. Equally awful is the "thinking outside the box." Combine "thinking outside
the box" with "proven track record" and you've got the graduate jobseeker's equivalent of white socks worn
with a black business suit.
But at least there's an upside to reading hundreds of job applications. You get a priceless insight into
the 21st-century psyche. You'll be amazed, for example, at what people today say they're "passionate" about.
Once, it was customary to only get passionate about high emotions such as love, anger, jealousy and lust.
Today, it's perfectly normal, when applying for jobs, for people to declare a passion for mundane things like
working in teams, meeting deadlines, even, in one case, Excel spreadsheets. On one CV, an applicant wrote
how she was "passionate" and "fabulously excited" about working with people as if on the job spec,
working with another species was ever an option.
But this isn't real passion. When it comes to serious passion, Burton-and-Taylor passion, nothing
compares to the heroic passion applicants claim to feel about "change". "I am passionate about change,"
wrote one applicant; while for another, change made her nothing less than "extremely passionate". So what
is it about change that people get so passionate about?
For me, all this phony change-mania signifies a misreading of the job market. True, no job or
organisation today is immune from change. Change, as we all know, is revolutionising work practices,
redefining the economic landscape. But at the same time, employers still need people who can stick around
long enough to get things done: people who can follow processes, handle routine, adhere to regulations.
Constant change is being replaced by process and control. What employers say they value are people who
are both dependable and organised. It's difficult to see how these self-declared change-addicts will cope in
this sort of work environment.
Bonnie Tyler might be looking for a hero, but most graduate recruiters are looking for competent,
hard-working team players; people who get things done with minimal fuss and without causing mass
walkouts. As one employer told me, "If we'd wanted a superhero, we'd have gone to Marvel Comics."
So how can you avoid making your CVs sound like they've been written by a contestant from the
Apprentice? The following advice is based on an essay by no less an authority than George Orwell. It worked
for him, so why not take his advice when writing your next job application?
Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print. In
particular, this goes for "thinking outside the box" and "proven track record".
Never use a long word where a short one will do. Keep your language simple and to the point. When
Ernest Hemingway was criticised by William Faulkner for using short and simple words, he replied,
"Poor Faulkner. Does he really think big emotions come from big words?"
If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out. Like great literature, when it comes to job
applications, less is more.
Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English
equivalent
Break any of these rules sooner than writing anything which makes you sound like a contestant on the
Apprentice.
Adapted from The Guardian
1. Graduates used to need encouragement to
A. express their ideas in public
B. make themselves appear more important
C. describe their skills and achievements
2. The egotism of nowadays wonder kids
A. is difficult to control
B. upsets the recruiter

C. intimidates the competition

3. Using empty expressions when applying for a job
A. has become a requirement imposed by television shows
B. shows a lack of good judgment
C. is the prerequisite of modern management
4. The advantage of reading many job applications is that it gives the recruiter
A. an amazing view of people's extraordinary passions
B. a free evaluation of the human mind
C. a useful understanding of people's feelings
5. The passion for change
A. is a deceitful interpretation of the job market evolution
B. springs from revolutionary work practices
C. prevents people from sticking to regulations
6. Employers and recruiters want people who
A. do their jobs in a neat and silent manner
B. like to work in teams and can control the masses
C. can be trusted to do what is expected of them
3. What references does the writer make in the article to the names listed in 1? What is the effect?

LISTENING: THE CV CLINIC

1. Listen to the first part of an interview with a CV expert. What do these numbers refer to?
8
...................................
1,000,000
...................................
30,000
...................................
22
...................................
100
...................................
2. Listen to the second part of the interview and choose the right answer.
1. Few CV writers recommend the use of
A. personal rather than impersonal pronouns
B. action words instead of pronouns
C. the first person over the third person
2. The American style of CV writing differs from the one in the UK by
A. introducing personal statements
B. highlighting education
C. qualifying and quantifying everything
3. Adjusting the CV to the job ad is
A. not recommended for every particular job
B. more important than adjusting the cover letter
C. encouraged if you're applying for more than one job
3. Add the missing vowels to obtain action verbs like those suggested in the interview.
a_a_ _ s_ (data)
_oa_h (people)
c_ _p_e_e (projects)
_o_ _r_l (quality)
c_ _ _d_ _a_ _ (teams)

_es_ _n (procedures)
d_ _e_o_ (plans)
_i_ec_ (staff)
i_ _l_ _en_ (changes)
_n_re_ _e (sales)

m_ _it_ _ (results)
_eg_ti_ _e (deals)
o_ _r_t_ (equipment)
_es_ _rc_ (markets)
s_ _e_v_ _e (trainees)