History has shown time and time again that making assumptions about a person based on your first impression of them is wrong. After all, your first impression of anyone would be based on what they look like, and therefore cannot include aspects of their character and their views on life, important factors on the impression you make of a person. Contrary to that, your first CV is indeed a first impression that matters a lot, and crafting it is one of the most important things you will ever do.

CV derives from the Latin phrase Curriculum Vitae, which translates to “course of life”. Of course, whether it is a CV or a resume you are creating, it is highly unlikely that it will be able to tell the story of your entire life up to the point of the document’s creation. However, both our first CV, as well as any other CV we craft throughout our working life, can tell our life’s story in a manner that is both detailed enough to make prospective employers understand where we come from, as well as compact enough to not bore someone reading it.

A short yet detailed CV not only allows possible employers to understand what you can offer to them but showcases your ability to be punctual without “spending” too many words, which is an excellent hard skill

What’s special about our first CV is the fact that it will be the only one we will ever create without any job experience included in it. And with that in mind, it is important that the first CV of someone highlights both their hard skills and soft skills, as well as their education, achievements, interests, hobbies, and personality traits that make them a great candidate.

Format matters

As with your CV in general, the format and therefore the looks of the CV itself matters a lot to prospective employers. Selecting a good format for our first CV is of vital importance since it will allow the person(s) receiving it to understand our set of skills, education, and interests seamlessly.

As you might have noticed if you have already searched for CV formats or templates, there are many out there, each one created to serve a different purpose. CV formats can be narrowed down to two main categories:

• Chronological – Emphasizes the applicant’s job history
• Skills-based – Focuses on skills (hard and soft) and attributes

Most people will make their first CV at a point in their life when they will have no employment history to showcase. Therefore, we suggest that your first CV is based on the skills-based format, highlighting your developed skills and attributes that make you a great candidate for the job you are hoping to get.

If you have completed an internship -whether it is paid or unpaid- it is of vital importance that you mention it in your first CV. You may not consider it a “real job”, but it is, and showcases that you have experience in a professional environment

If it’s a document, it needs structure

The heading above is a writing law that has withstood the test of time through several different centuries, and will most likely keep withstanding changes in how we communicate information. A person’s first CV needs good structure not only to make a good first impression organizing-wise but to also set the foundations for all future CVs one will make.

There are several different sections a first CV may include, and the main ones are:

• Header
• Summary
• Skills
• Work experience (if any)
• Education
• Hobbies and interests
• References

Begin crafting your first CV by creating the headers for these sections, and giving them a heading format, to help yourself in creating a “tidy” first CV

Each of these sections contains important information about you, your skills, aspirations, and interests. Let’s take a look at each one separately.

Header

This section is the first one and should include the following personal information:

• Name
• A general location (i.e. Athens, Greece)
• Phone number
• Email address
• Personal website and LinkedIn profile

These are the important things a prospective employer should be aware of, and you should limit your first CV and any other CV you make to these. They ensure employers about your location and contact information.

Summary

This is where you get creative and can test your writing skills, as well as your self-reflection skills. Try to include a short message that describes your professional goals and what you can bring to a company. Your first CV and any other CV should include a short summary of 50 to 200 words.

Example: “Aspiring software developer looking for an opportunity to become a PHP expert in an up-and-rising, modern company. Excellent communication skills, passionate about learning new things on every chance”.

Skills

In this section, your first CV will truly start shining, and this is the part where you showcase all your skills, making sure anyone who reads your first CV understands what you are good at. Whether it is good computer hardware and software knowledge or great communication skills, include it in this section. Try to be short and dense by providing a bullet list with sub-bullets that “vouch” for the skills you are describing.

Example:

• Excellent communication skills
  • Actively sought the improvement of the school campus by organizing initiatives to improve the facilities
• Great computer knowledge
  • Can create PC rigs for any needs, and provide technical support for simple and complex issues

Also read: Improving Soft Skills: Optimize your workplace through yourself

Work experience

More often than not, a person’s first CV will not include any work experience. However, if you have completed an internship, make sure to include this section and describe it in detail. This will allow prospective employers to understand that you already have some experience in a professional environment, and that can often give you an advantage. Best done with bullets and sub-bullets.

Example:

• (company name), Unpaid Internship as a Junior PHP developer, 2010-2012
  • Delved deeper into the basics of PHP
  • Assisted seasoned PHP developers in daily tasks while learning
  • Created code in PHP for basic database management

Education

It is suggested that both your first CV and every other CV you ever craft includes your education achievements in reverse chronological order. The most recent educational event should be listed at the top, to be highlighted. Each entry should include the name of the school or college you attended, the period of time you attended it, and the grades or some kind of performance evaluation system.

Example:

• Udemy, PHP United Testing with PHP, 2010-2012
• Edinburgh College of Computer Science, 2006-2010, 8.7/10
• Bruntsfield High School, 2000-2006, 9.5/10

Hobbies and interests

During the 80s and 90s, hobbies and interests were optional when it came to your first CV or any CV for that matter. However, as the decades passed and companies started asking for a balanced combination of good hard skills with improved soft skills, the hobbies, and interests section of CVs became more and more “viral”. In this section of your first CV, you should mention anything that you enjoy doing in your free time, prioritizing hobbies and activities that might be related to the job position you are after.

Example: “I am a table games enthusiast, from Trivial Pursuit to Pictionary and Monopoly, and I enjoy traveling, meeting new people and cultures. I volunteer as a DJ for public benefit events”.

References

The References section is the part of every CV, whether it is your first CV or the tenth update of it, where others can get a podium to speak on your behalf. In this section, your first CV should include people who can vouch for your hard skills as well as for your soft skills. All your CVs should be crafted based on the job description of the job you are going after, and therefore, the References section should be tailored likewise. Prior to listing someone as a referee, make sure to contact them and get their approval.

Example:

• Referee’s name
• Their job title and company name
• Their phone number and/or email address
• Their relationship to you (e.g.: internship mentor, a family friend for 15 years, college professor)

You already have a guide

Every single person who goes after a job and starts creating their first CV or updating their existing one already has a path laid out in front of them regarding the content of their CV. That path is created by the job description of the job in question. Paying attention to what a company/prospective employer is asking for allows you to craft your first CV tailored around those needs. The language used in the job posting is a great indication of how to approach the pieces of text in your first CV such as the summary.

Rule Zero: Do not lie

We saved the… simple for last. Suffice to say, lying in your first CV or any other CV you will ever make is a practice that will lead to disappointing results, sooner rather than later. Applying for a job as someone who has little to no work experience requires an open mind willing to learn new things or even re-learn hard skills since what we learn in college quite often differs from what happens in practice. Being honest about how little you know and how much you want to learn is infinitely better than lying about possessing skills and/or experience that will make prospective employers put you in charge of tasks that you may have never heard of before.

Tags: Curriculum Vitae, CV, First CV, Job, Job Hunting