What is Resume or CV? Bio-Data in Business Communication

What is Resume -What is CV? Definition of resume, definition of CV, resume definition. The resume or bio-data is a brief record of the applicant’s personal details, educational qualifications, specialized training, experiences, references and any other relevant information. It is a summary of one’s personal and educational accounts. A resume is considered as a formal advertisement of a person’s qualifications. Meaning of resume, meaning of CV.

What is Resume

According to Bovee, Thill and Schatzman, “A resume is a structured, written summary of a person’s education, employment background and job qualifications.”

Murphy and Hildebrandt said, “Curriculum vitae are a document labeling one’s qualifications and career path.”

Locker defined, “A resume is a persuasive summary of one’s qualifications for employment.”

What is Resume
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So, a resume is brief description of one’s personal, educational and employment qualifications. The purpose of the resume is to get an interview, not to tell readers everything about you. In fact, it is a form of advertising. Now-a-days, it becomes almost traditional to send a resume with the job application letter.

The Contents of a Resume

The bio-data must be properly arranged under some heading or sub-headings. It includes information about a person in various areas. Usually the information is presented in a bio-data under the following heading-

  • Personal Information: This section includes complete name, address both temporary and permanent, phone number, date-of-birth, parent’s names, marital status, nationality, religion and cast in some cases etc.
  • Career Objectives: Clearly state your objective or future plan in your career. Tell what you are interested to do and what level of responsibility you want to hold. So, short term and long term target of your career must be mentioned here.
  • Educational Qualifications: A complete record of the academic qualifications should be given in this section. It includes the name of degrees obtained, the name of the institution attended, year of passing, board or university form where degree is obtained and the division or grade or class obtained etc.
  • Experience: This section includes the applicant’s previous experience relevant to the job applied for. Details to be included here are- the period of time or length of previous or current job the joining and the leveling dates, the name of the organization, position held and a brief description of the duties or nature of work or tasks done on the job.
  • Honors and Awards: Honors and awards are given for outstanding work. This section includes fellowships and scholarship or honorary scholarship, awards given by professional associations and civic groups.
  • Extra-Curricular Activities: The applicant’s extra-curricular activities like membership in various organizations, participation in different seminar and workshops, prizes won in cultural functions etc are to be mentioned here.
  • References: Names and addresses of the persons who known the applicant and can express a personal opinion about his abilities and qualities must be given in this section. It customary to give three references like a teacher, an employer and a friend of the family with high social or professional status. But if the number of referees is not dictated by the prospective employer, it is better to mention the names and addresses of at least two references. The name, title, complete address and telephone number of the referees must be given and it is preferable to indicate their social relationship to the applicant. The applicant should take permission from the referees to give their names or at least inform them immediately after, with details of the job applied for.
  • Signature of the Applicant: At the end of the resume, the applicant should put his signature and date with the left margin. Below the signature, there must be enough space for typing the full name of the applicant.

In concluding note, we can say that a resume must include everything relevant to the post or job applied for and must exclude irrelevant things. If the employer invites only resume, sometimes it is better to attach a recent photograph with it.

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