José Caetano Silva, Managing Partner responsible for Talent Search in Portugal and Spain is of the opinion that there is no clear recipe for writing a curriculum. “Although there are colleagues who give recipes for a short CV, I ask them: if an Executive Search consultant does not read a detailed CV, then who is this document for?” And then: “This should reflect the experience of candidate's professional life. I consider the CV. I consider the short CV to be quite poor, because this is a document that should clearly express the responsibilities assumed previously so that I can determine the complexity, the breadth, the intensity of the previous position. The duration of our employment and the results achieved should also be explicit, in a clear interpretation of our role in the scope of these results. All this can be contained on a single page”.

Careful presentation

Everybody agrees that a CV should be very well presented and without spelling mistakes. Those little tricks of omitting the date of birth when a person thinks he or she is too old or giving an impression of continuity in a career when this was not the case are not appreciated. No company wants a dishonest person working for it. José Caetano Silva stresses this point. “It does not look good to hide issues on a CV that will be raised in an interview. Don't imply continuity when there wasn't any: if you were not working for some months and do not make this obvious, what you are writing is a lie. All this should be obvious since it is not a reason not to be called for an interview.”

Education should be highlighted in a CV and should not be limited to an undergraduate or master's degree. “It is very important to describe all the education or training that one has had, particularly training on our own initiative or through the company where we worked and which enhances our career,” José Caetano Silva continues. If you are a supporter of continuing training, this should be made obvious. And if you still think that your course average does not count, think again: indisputably a good average shows capacity for work. Those who do not have a good average never make this obvious, showing that it does indeed play a role. Now that you have some more information on what your CV should be, you can start working.