CV for starters

Frankly, I would hate to dedicate a whole blogpost to the CV. Much has been said about it and the internet hosts an endless number of websites with tips on how to make the best of your Curriculum Vitae. Yet, the hundreds available templates say little about young graduates whose CVs contain not more than a BA or MA. How do you fill in the blanks? Education and diplomas are one thing, work experience - totally different. And still it is possible to construct your CV in a way that even with little pre-professional experience, it is attractive enough for potential employers.

So how do you do that? Here are my little tips.

• Describe your studies. It may seem obvious to you what your discipline entails, but don't forget that people with different background and knowledge will screen your CV. Names of disciplines could be very misleading, especially for people coming from a different country. Chances are that in Brussels your CV will be reviewed by a person of who-knows-what nationality. E.g. a diploma in communications in Bulgaria means you are an engineer. In Belgium (depending on University) it could mean PR, advertising, journalism, marketing and so on. So don't take it for granted that people would understand what your BA or MA means.
• List your majors. List your majors or the subjects that you have enjoyed the most. A nice trick is to change them according to the opening you're applying for. If you are applying for an organisation that deals with copyrights and you've studied Media (or copyright) law... then you should not hesitate to list it.
• Don't forget your thesis. Most graduates tend to forget that they've spent months working on their final thesis. This counts. Add a brief description, the name of your supervisor and (if impressive) the final points. 
• Papers, workshops, projects.  Have you been involved in different projects or researches, have you written a brilliant paper? Don't forget to mention it. 
• All experience counts. To most people experience = professional experience. Luckily, that's completely not true. Summer jobs, internships, volunteer work, 1, 2, 3-day trainings, etc. all count as long as they are relevant to the positions.  
• Seminars, conferences, etc. If you are currently in Brussels then you should definitely take the opportunity to attend the various seminars and conferences organised in the EU capital. These things add a nice touch to your CV, show your engagement & willingness to learn... (I know how it sounds but that's reality) 
• List your (internship) assignments. Describing your day-to-day tasks or projects that you've worked on during previous internship is essential. I could imagine that this will take a page or two so be  selective. Choose the most important (/regular) ones. Nevertheless, keep in mind the requirements of the job your applying for. 
• EU template. Unless you're applying for an institution that specifically asks for the standard EU CV template, don't use it. It's horrible, it's ugly, it's boring. And most likely there will be 50 other people that have already used it.
• Picture? This is a tough one. We could argue about it forever and still reach no conclusion whether you should put a picture on your CV or not. My feeling tells me that if you're applying for an NGO in Brussels, you should better avoid putting your smiley face on a CV. If the company (organisation) specifically asks for it, than it is out of the question that you should put your picture. However, my personal experience is that various organisations tend to brand themselves as an "equal opportunity" employer and therefore see CV pictures as an obstacle for this. Tip: if you see on the bottom of the page that "We are an equal opportunity employer and encourage..." than definitely forget about the picture. Friends say that French and Belgian companies prefer pictures... So my advice: think twice before hitting the "send" button. 
• Typos, misspellings, switched lines, missing words... Annoying, I know. But it really gets your CV down-rated when people see these "little" things. I wouldn't give the advice to let s.o. else read it (cause I know that people will ignore it, just as I did). My advice: when you finally have a version of your CV with little or no mistakes, try not to mess it up. Be careful when adding/ removing things... Double, triple check everything....
• Layout, people! Even if you keep the layout of your documents basic, it's still better than having several different fonts or interlines in a single document. If you're filling in a template provided by the organisation, please, please, please don't mess it's layout. Take the time to fill it in, or ask a friend to help you (if you don't manage). I don't know about zodiacal signs but the layout of your documents definitely tell a lot about yourself! At least to me. Poor layout means that you're probably not really good with computers or MS Word (a must for every soon-to-be Eurocrat). It could also mean that you have superficial interest in this job or that you're simply sloppy. Either way, it doesn't really add value to your application. And guys, learn how to check boxes in MS Word :)