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Choosing the right format for your CV

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IELTS General Test – Passage 09: Choosing the right format for your CV reading with answers explanation, location and pdf. This reading paragraph has been taken from our huge collection of Academic & General Training (GT) Reading practice test PDFs.

Choosing the right format for your CV

A good CV should be clear, simple and easy to understand. Here are four of the most popular CV formats and advice on when to use them:

Chronological

This is the traditional CV format and is extremely popular because it allows employers to see all the posts you have held in order. It provides flexibility because it works in almost all circumstances, the exception being if you have blocks of unemployment that are difficult to account for. This type of format is particularly useful when you have a solid and complete working history spanning five years or more.

Functional

The functional CV is designed to describe your key skills rather than the jobs you have done. The functional CV format is typically used by people who have extensive gaps in their employment history, or have often changed jobs. It also suits those who want to go in a different direction work-wise and change industry. You might choose it if you want to highlight skills learned early in your career, points that might get missed if a chronological format is used. It is also appropriate if you have done little or no actual work, for example, if you are one of the current years graduates.

Because this format is often used to cover a patchy employment history, some interviewers may view such CVs with suspicion, so be very careful should you choose it.

Achievement

An alternative to the functional CV is to use an achievement-based resume highlighting key achievements in place of skills. This can help show your suitability for a role if you lack direct experience of it.

Non-traditional

With the explosion of digital and creative industries over recent years, CV formats have become more and more imaginative. You can present information through graphics, which can be more visually engaging and turn out to be an unusual but winning option. This will definitely make you stand out from the crowd. It also demonstrates design skills and creativity in a way that a potential employer can see and feel. However, a highly creative CV format is only really appropriate for creative and artistic sectors, such as those involving promoting products, though it would also work for the media too.

Questions 21-27

Complete the notes below.

Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the text for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 21-27 on your answer sheet.

CV formats

There are several different formats including:

Chronological

– very common

– gives 21……………………. in most cases

– perhaps inappropriate if there are periods where 22……………………. is not easy to explain

Functional

– appropriate for people who intend to follow a new 23……………………. in their career

– suits recent graduates

– can create 24……………………. in recruiters, so is best used with caution

Achievement

– focuses mainly on what the person has achieved

– may be advisable if the person has no 25……………………. in the area

Non-traditional

– enables use of attractive 26……………………. to present data

– suits applications for jobs in marketing or 27…………………….

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Choosing the right format for your CV Answers

Check out Choosing the right format for your CV reading answers below with explanations and locations given in the text.

21   flexibility

22   unemployment

23   direction

24   suspicion

25   experience

26   graphics

27   media

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