Resume and cover letter introduce the candidate to the recruiters in a short time with a brief overview.
1- Resume
Word of résumé comes from French language which means to sum up and used for job applications and presenting key facts in 1 or 2 pages.
Resume sections:
- Personal profile
- Name
- Date of birth
- Gender
- Marital status
- Children (not common)
- Nationality
- Religion (not common)
- Visa type or title like red white red, red white red plus or blue cards and so on (for foreigners)
- Passport no. (for foreigners)
- Insurance number (not common)
- Military service status (If you think it is necessary to mention it)
- Photo
- Contact information
- Educational background and training
- Primary school (Hauptschule)
- High school (Gymnasium)
- University
- Training courses
- Working experience
- In case that you have some gap in your working periods (non-working times), it's better to explain the reasons and your activities during that time.
- Skills
- Computer software
- Engineering software
- Other skills which can be suitable for the desired job.
- Language skills
- English level / certificate
- German level / certifiate
- Additonal sections:
- Activities
- Projects
- Activities related to your previous positions
- Memberships
- Engineering committees, NGO etc.
- Interests (Leisure)
- References
- Previous managers, known key persons and so on
Note: CV (Curriculum Vitae) is used for academic purposes and usually more details are mentioned in it.
2- Cover letter
Cover letter is a single page which you normally must send it to the recruiter along with the resume.
Cover letter structure:
- If you don't have the name or position of contact person, address your letter To Whom It May Concern.
- Introduce yourself briefly.
- Explain that what job and position you are looking for.
- Briefly describe your education and work experience and skills you have acquired up to now.
- Show how your skills and experience can match the job requirements.
- You can also ask for an interview (in person or via telephone or video call) at the end.
Notes:
- There are a lot of websites which will provide you an auto-generated resume and cover letter with filling the simple forms. Europass is a free website which you can try it to get an idea.
- Try to customize your resume and cover letter according to each specific job opportunity.
- Before writing the cover letter and modifying your resume, try to get enough information about the company and the desired job situation.
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