Archives: Resources

Resume or Curriculum Vitae (CV)

The Curriculum Vitae serves as a good supplement to your statement and other application materials. Here you can summarize all of your qualifications, honors, education and interests.

 Before preparing your CV/resume, take some time to evaluate your skills and think about those skills you will want to highlight. Then make a rough draft. You can edit later. There is NO one ‘right’ way to construct a CV/resume. No matter how you do it, there is bound to be someone who would suggest a different approach.

In this particular type the most reasonable format to use is Chronological Resume, which presents work experience/education in chronological order by listing most recent events first.

The following are some general guidelines, please tailor them to your needs and create a resume which represents you in the best possible way.

What to Include

Basic Information

• Your name as you want to be referred to professionally (Jon Baker, Jonathon Edward Baker, Jon E. Baker)
• Current address and phone number with area code (where you can be reached now!)
• Your e-mail and web-page if you have one
• It is not necessary to include other personal information such as Social Security Number or Marital Status

Objective

Including an objective in this type of resume is optional. Career objective should answer this question, “What do I want to do?” Some example objectives are: 

• Acceptance to graduate program in Physics
• Research position in biochemical laboratory

Educational Background (for each degree conferring institution)

• Institution
• City, Country
• Dates attended or graduation date
• Degree or certification obtained
• GPA (if proud of it)
• Major/minor/emphasis area
• Relevant coursework
• Specialized instruction

Experience

This part of your resume may include several sections such as work experience, volunteer experience (internships, community service, student teaching), campus leadership and any other area in which you may have significant experience, such as computer knowledge.

Briefly describe for each position

• Title, dates, organization name, location
• Responsibilities
• Use action words and verbs in active form to describe situations and achievements
• Include scope of responsibilities
• Concretely outline any outstanding results

Honors/Activities/Leadership/Special Skills

Front load these with those most important or most pertinent to your objective. You may want to use specific headings such as professional organizations, computer skills, and leadership positions. Include any honors, scholarships or recognition awards that you’ve received. If you were actively involved in any clubs, teams or committees while in college, those may be included also. The key to this section is keep it brief. If you feel you need more detail, use the guidelines for Experience and make it a complete section.

Interests

List some your interest which show you as an interesting and well-rounded person.

Layout

• is limited to 1-2 pages, unless you have extensive work or educational experiences
• uses white space consciously and balances words on the page
• is laser printed on quality paper (20# white)
• uses consistent visual elements to attract attention and emphasize highlights (bold, italics, underlining, font sizes, bullets)
• use standard sans serif typefaces such as Helvetica, Futura, Optima, Universe, Times (not 10 pt.), Palatino and New Century Schoolbook, in size 10-14.

Writing quality 

• is clear and concise (easy to read and understand)
• is consistent, using similar style throughout
• uses a variety of action verbs which describe situations and actions
• is perfect! Absolutely no typos, spelling errors, or grammatical errors
• uses appropriate tense (usually past, unless currently in activity)
• avoids passive voice

An experience certificate is a letter that is written on behalf of an employee. It helps confirm the time the employee was associated with the company and attests his skills, intelligence and work habits. The experience certificate is one of the very important documents that helps secure a new job or bridge the education GAP. An experience certificate should be just about one paragraph long and not an entire page long like the reference letter format.

How to Write an Experience Certificate

When you begin an experience certificate, you should type the date at the top right corner. Then, skip a line and write, ‘To Whom It May Concern’ on the top left side of the certificate, below the date line. It is important to write an unspecific salutation as the person may make copies of the certificate and provide it as a reference to various prospective employers.Next you need to write for an ex-employee and state their full name. Then write about the capacity in which the person worked for the organization and give the person’s exact job title. Then give the period the person worked for you and provide the exact dates.

You need to describe the character, work habit and resourcefulness of the person. You should choose your words carefully and show positiveness regarding your knowledge about the person. The closing sentence should be a summation of your opinions and thoughts about the person you are writing about. You can end the experience certificate with ‘I wish him every success in life’ or ‘He’ll be successful at any endeavor he embarks upon’. The letter should be closed with ‘regards’ or ‘sincerely’ and your name typed underneath, followed by the title you hold.

Letters of recommendation are important to admissions officers because they provide contextual interpretation of your academic performance. Writers share critical insight into your work habits and learning style as well as your ability to respond to challenges and setbacks. They can help explain irregularities in your academic program and/or performance and shed light into key factors that define your learning environment.

So who should you choose to write your letters? The people best positioned to support your application are those who know you well from your recent work in the classroom. They are familiar with your intellectual abilities and academic skills. They have watched you respond to a range of challenges in the classroom and understand your capacity and desire to learn.

They are your teachers, counselors, and advisers—they are your champions. Let them help you.

The following are five tips for securing recommendation letters that can help strengthen the overall presentation of your applications. As you anticipate the start of your senior year, keep the following in mind:

1. Choose teachers who know what you can do:

These are the teachers who push you and don’t let you settle for “good enough”—the folks who are more likely to be invested in your long-term success. Contrary to popular belief, your most insightful supporter may not be the teacher regarded as the most popular. Generally speaking, at least one of your recommends should be someone who is familiar with your critical thinking and communication skills.

2. Give your counselor and teachers the courtesy of time:

Your recommends need time to think about and prepare the letter. If you are a high school senior and still have not asked folks to write on your behalf, do it now! Extend the same consideration (time, access to information) you would want if confronted by a writing assignment that accounts for most of your grade in a class.

3. Talk with your recommenders about why college is important to you:

Share your dreams and ambitions. Reflect on your strengths and weaknesses. If there are factors beyond your control that have influenced your ability to perform as you would have liked, make sure your recommenders are sufficiently informed so they can help you tell your “story.” Give them the necessary information and insight so they can write well-balanced letters on your behalf.

4. Share a brief résumé of your activities and achievements:

While your teachers know you well from your work in their respective classrooms, they may not have the benefit of the big picture that defines you.

5. Provide a list of your application deadlines and the appropriate forms:

This includes the pre-addressed, pre-posted envelopes used by each of the colleges for letters of recommendation. While your recommenders may elect to use their own forms, they will still benefit by being able to respond to the guidelines and information requests provided by the colleges to which you are applying.

IELTS stands for the International English Langauge Testing System. It is a direct language assessment that is internationally owned and globally recognized. It is conducted in almost every part of the world. People who are seeking professional recognition, getting admission to international Universities, immigration purposes, and global standards. This assessment is highly practical as it examines four skills of a person that is listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking. IELTS exam is owned, developed, and delivered through the collaboration of British Council, IDP, and University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations.

Brief Introduction,
You can start the SOP with the famous quote by someone whom you admire or briefly introduce yourself, your ethics and values, your areas of interest, and your family background.

Academic Background
Mention your academic score and all respective date in chronological order. Include the achievement and the grants if you were provided during your academic year. Additionally, if any training, volunteering, and internship is done,  add them too.

Regarding gap
Mention the relevant gap with the supporting documents. Eg- Work Experience, Internship.

Highlight Purpose for Proposed Course of Study
Mention the actual reasons for taking the proposed course, properly indicating your wish to specialize in the particular field as applicable. Highlight the reasons for choosing proposed country as well as the particular institution of study.

Career Goals
Mention what you have been planning to do with your life. Your goals, long term, short term dreams