- What's Up
- About This Programme
- How to write CV and Resume and Examples
Audio Visual Engineering
A mock test was written at the end of the third day of training 31 March 2010. There were 5 multiple Choice questions and the learners were given 7 minutes to complete the test. Each question had a mark value of 20 points and the pass was 60 points. Five points was deducted for not filling in all of the details at the top of the test paper.
Here are the results for test on the 31 March 2010:
Mpho Mokgatle Christine Hill Toni Jacobus Jodie Sher Abigail Dube Rachael Main Sonia Botha Tintswala Nkhwashu Jessica Campos Lebohang Maseko Sheldon Ncube Tsepiso Makhura Karabo Boya Karabo Ramathoka Sharon Motgatle Chloe Djuma Casey Main
All those marks that end with 5 are because you did not fill in the student name, date, and Time on the exam paper, so all those with a mark of 55 may consider this to be a pass mark.
Well Done to Mpho and Christine a really good effort Top of the class in this mock Exam.
As I market the papers I noted that a lot of you second guessed yourselves and as a result gave the wrong answer. I have found that in most cases the first answer that comes to mind in a multiple choice questioner is the correct answer.
Well done to all the candidates that have completed the course. Good luck on your finals, I know that you will all pass.
What is this programme all about?
The whole programme has been setup to offer the incumbents a life skill experience of what it would be like to apply for and successfully acquire a position, in a simulated real world environment. It is not to be construed as making life difficult for the learners, as all applicants will get a shot at the position applied for, with the final qualifying factor being the results of the written exam and practical test.
The course follows the principal of a corporate world induction course, as normally is the case, the end of the induction course is marked by a test to determine the degree of competency the incumbent has attained. In the real world those incumbents that do not make an acceptable competency level, will not be offered the position, so it is with this programme.
It concerns me that so many of our incumbents in this intake, still think that it is about DJ duties.
Please understand that the school is entrusting you with a wonderful facility and a great opportunity. Again I remind you that this is not about becoming a Disk Jockey it is about becoming an engineer, a custodian of the schools equipment, the resposibility for correct setup and use of the equipment, and it is a huge responsibility, one not to be taken lightly.
What is the Audio Visual Programme
Why the CV and Interview Process?
Is This Considered as Employment At The School?
What is the form of remuneration?
Is this not asking too much from the learners?
Q. Who Does IT Apply To?
A. The programme becomes available to all Grade 6 and 7 learners.
Q. Why the CV and Interview Process?
A. In life, rarely does one get a second chance at an opportunity. We have to be able to create the successful impression from the time of first contact, the positive momentum to carry us through to a successful conclusion of the challenge. First impressions are lasting impressions.
With this in mind, the point of departure would be the introduction, in this situation the submission of a CV with the view of obtaining an interview.
Through this action our learners, acquire the experience of creating and submitting the initial contact. It is viewed by a member of the school's Parent Body, who is tasked to evaluate each application and then conduct the interview.
As this is a learning process all CVs should be accepted and pushed forward to the interview stage, where critic can be offered by the interviewer on the submitted CV.
It is important that the entire CV evaluation, interview processes and the pruning of the team, be the responsibility of a member of the parent body, as the learner has the opportunity of proving themselves to unknown person without bias. This is essential in offering learners a completely new platform in which they can excel and prove that they are productive members of the school community.
The second reason for this is to expose the learners to a virtual job application, so that they may acquire the life skills and find confidence in future applications.
The third reason is to give the learner a sense of accomplishment, as they meet all the job requirements and get awarded the post, as either engineers or engineer assistants.
Q. Is This Considered as Employment At The School?
A. To all intents and purposes the answer is yes, but not really.
Having said that, it is accurate to say that it is a life skill learning programme, in which the learner gains the experience of being employed and remunerated for the service rendered to the school, as well as, acquiring the skills and knowledge to work with, and on, Audio Visual Equipment.
The programme aims to make the experience as true to life as possible, in which the engineers become managers, and the assistants are employed by the engineers. At the same time all the norms of a standard employment contract apply including performance reviews and disciplinary action.
The learner is contractually bound to the school, in the form of a mock employment contract that they sign upon appointment and acceptance thereof.
There is a simple condition of employment and responsibility mandate that the learners have to abide by and are measured against, but most importantly is to show them how to have fun in performing their tasks in a responsible manor.
Life is meant to be lived and enjoyed, not tolerated or endured.
Q. What is the form of remuneration?
A. All participants are remunerated in the form of community service points in accordance with the amount of time on duty in any one event.
Q. Is this not asking too much from the learners?
A. Impossibility is the fruits of self impose limitation. It is fact, that when the envelope of capability gets pushed, then previously impossible goals become possible, and almost always a degree of success is achieved.
Non achievement is normally the result of desistance; the opposite of this, again, is a degree of success.
The programme is not looking for learners to setup the opening of the Beijing Olympics, or to run a multimillion dollar organisation, it is all about mentoring learners through the experience of presenting themselves in a positive light, what it would be like to go through a job interview, teach them how to measure their own progress and performance, that of others, then guide them through a process of performance appraisal for themselves and their subordinates.
As for the running of the equipment the programme gives them the knowledge and they acquire the experience, again under supervision.
The programme does not ask too much of the learners. In fact they seem to rise to the occasion and surprise us all, and shine like stars because they are.
Curriculum Vitae and Resume, Human Resources and employment Contract
- Human Resources
- CV vs Resume
- Contents of Covering Letter Cv and Resume
A general look at Employment Officers/ Managers/ Human Resource Personnel
A CV is normally received by a human resource person who has possibly 10 to 15 adverts running in newspapers for various positions.
If we had to take the population of South Africa being 40,000,000 and one quarter of a percent 0.0025 applied for any one position in a month, it would mean that 100,000 CV's would arrive at the officers desk in the course of the month.
This would translate to 4,546 documents in a day. out of these only 5 to 10 may find their way to the interview process. the other find their way to some forgotten file and maybe some small amount will find their way to a potential file.
I hope that this illustrates the pressure that people chosen to select the best of them all live with. They really do not have the time to look at reams of pages of what is considered waffle. They do not have the time to browse through a novel of your life's achievements.
A well laid out, clear, concise CV that illustrates your best fitting qualities, qualification, experience and objective for the position, will greatly increase your chance of having your document accepted for the interview process and not land up in file 13(the dustbin).
Do not expand, embellish, or exaggerate the truth or lie in any way, it is a sure way of loosing the opportunity and possibly get black listed. In some countries misrepresentation in this type of document is considered a criminal offence, and may result in criminal charges when found out.
Difference between CV and Resume
The words Curriculum Vitae are latin words meaning Course of Life. CV is the abbreviation of this.
Resume has two different pronunciations. The verb to resume is pronounced re-ZYOOM, and it means to start again after an interruption ("After finishing his military service, he resumed his previous studies.")
The noun resume is pronounced RE-zyoo-may or (in the original French résumé (re-zyoo-MAY) and there is an accent on the first and last "e".
In French and British English, this means a summary ("Can you give me a short resume of what happened?")
In the US, and now sometimes in other English-speaking countries too, it usually means a document describing your work and education history, which is sent to a prospective employer.
In UK English this document is usually called a curriculum vitae ("course of life" in Latin) or CV. Having a good resume or CV is usually considered one of the major keys to getting a good job.
The primary differences between a résumé and a curriculum vitae (CV) are the length, what is included and what each is used for.
A resume is a one or two page summary of your skills, experience and education. While a resume is brief and concise - no more than a page or two, a Curriculum Vitae is a longer (at least two page) and more detailed synopsis.
A Curriculum Vitae includes a summary of your educational and academic backgrounds as well as teaching and research experience, publications, presentations, awards, honors, affiliations and other details.
In Europe, the Middle East, Africa, or Asia, employers may expect to receive a curriculum vitae.
In the United States, a curriculum vitae is used primarily when applying for academic, education, scientific or research positions. It is also applicable when applying for fellowships or grants.
Contents of Coverint Letter Cv and Resume
- Covering Letter
- CV and Resume
Contents and example of a covering letter
Elements of a Successful Cover Letter
Final Tips on Writing Good Cover Letters
Introduction
Every day, executive recruiters and hiring managers need to sift through volumes of cover letters, CV's' and resumes just to find a handful of potential job candidates. Recruiters simply don't have the time to thoroughly read all of the resumes that arrive on their desk each day. That means if you've got only one chance to grab that recruiter's attention then you need to learn to be skilled at writing successful cover letters.
Successful Cover Letters
So what exactly is a successful cover letter and how do you go about writing one? Well a good cover letter is one that produces results - plain and simple. As we will demonstrate later on, your cover letter and your resume/CV should be working together to increase your chances of getting a job interview.
Elements of a Successful Cover Letter
Unfortunately many job applicants spend a lot of time writing their resumes and literally slap together a cover letter. That's a big mistake. When writing a cover letter you need to carefully organize the information using the same care you did when you wrote your resume.
A successful cover letter also needs to follow a prescribed format or formula. The generally accepted formula for writing successful cover letters consists of four elements:
- Introductory Paragraph
- Objective Statement
- Achievements
- Closing Statement
Introductory Paragraphs
The introductory paragraph is the single most important part of your cover letter. It needs to be a fact-filled overview of your skills and achievements that later appear in your resume/CV. The following is an example of how to write an introductory paragraph.
Introductory Paragraph Example
I have successfully combined my (education) and applied skills in the areas of (direct sales, accounting, marketing, operations) to successfully (meet or exceed all balanced scorecard targets) and (generate new revenues in excess of R 5.0 million). I have been asked to take on increasingly more responsibility at Company 123.
Objective Statements
The second paragraph of your cover letter is going to do something that is really relatively simple, but often missed when writing a cover letter. You're going to tell the reader why you're sending them your resume/CV. The key element in this second paragraph is your objective statement.
The objective statement is summary of the job opportunities that you want to pursue with a particular company. The following example demonstrates this point.
Objective Statement Example
I am bringing to your attention my skills, accomplishments, and my talent (for obtaining superior results while under pressure) so that we can discuss my joining Company ABC as a (manager of your call centre) team.
Achievements
The next paragraph of your cover letter will contain an excerpt of your career achievements that are pulled directly from your resume/CV. By pulling vital information from your resume/CV you're going to save the reader time. If they are not interested in reading your resume after looking at the achievements appearing on your cover letter, then it's probably just not meant to be. The following example demonstrates how achievements should be written in a cover letter.
Achievements Example
Major achievements to date include:
- Founded a direct sales outsourcing firm following college graduation and grew revenue in ten years to R3,000,000.
- Significantly upgraded consumer opinion of Large Company through the launch of an integrated branding and advertising campaign. Large Company was subsequently ranked #1 in consumer satisfaction by several research companies.
- Developed new client acquisition strategies for an inside and outside sales team. Successfully trained workforce in new client acquisition program that resulted in an increase to the number of active clients increased by 35%.
Closing Statements
You're going to finish up your cover letter with a straightforward statement of your optimism - a closing statement. You're going to tell the reader that you're interested in discussing how you can add value to their company by becoming an employee. This last example demonstrates how to concisely write a closing statement.
Closing Statement Example
* I look forward to meeting with you to discuss how I can add value to your company's bottom-line results.
Final Tips on Writing Good Cover Letters
You've got a lot of ground to cover with this letter. Even if you have hundreds of reasons why you are the most qualified job candidate and have dozens of great examples, keep your cover letter to just one page. In fact, challenge yourself when writing your cover letter to keep it as short as possible.
One way to keep your cover letter short, is to keep on re-reading the document until you're satisfied that all of the unnecessary details have been purged from the cover letter. Once that's done, then you probably have the narrowed things down to the truly essential information
Finally, have fun and enjoy the experience - don't look at writing the cover letter as a necessary evil, but consider it an opportunity. After all, how often do we get a chance to tell someone how good we really are!
CV And Resume
Some professionals when applying for a job prepare a covering letter that will accompany a resume and then at the point of the interview they would bring in the Curriculum Vitae, to complete and strengthen their application.
The CV does not have to appear on the top of your sheet and you do not have to create a cover for your CV. It suffices to create a neat CV that should clearly recognised for what it is.
It is recommended that you should start with the CV and from this extract the information for you Resume and covering letter respectively.
It is important not to forget, that the resume contains the same information about yourself as the CV, but is shorter and normally does not have any supporting documents such as copies of certificates etc as attachments.
Contents
1. Personal details
2. Objective
3. Education
4. Professional experience
5. Computer skills
6. Language and Personal Communication Skills
7. Extracurricular activities
8. References
1. Personal details
The purpose of giving personal details is to make it as easy as possible for a company to contact you at the right place and the right time! Do not put a heading on this section. Example
Your Name
First name first and last name / surname last. do not capitalise all the letters only capitalise the first letter of every word.
Address
Give a permanent address such a home address but if you are applying for a position whilst a resident in a different temporary address such as a university campus then give that address and also include the date for your last day on campus.
Telephone Numbers
It is a good idea to put in the country code - South Africa 27 - area code and then the number with the first three numbers then separated by a space then the las digits of the number.
Other Contact Details
E-mail private address is always a good idea if you have one, as well cell phone number.
Date Updated
this is an option that would illustrate to the reader of when you updated your CV/Resume
2. Objective
The purpose of an objective statement is to tell the reader what you are trying to achieve - your personal or professional objectives. The statement is a concisely written statement that answers the question - Why are you sending me a resume?
In a resume/CV, that is presented through your covering letter then this statement becomes superfluous, as the covering letter does this for your application, but if you like to include one then below is a couple of examples:
Example 1 -Financial Resume/CV Objective Statement
To obtain a position in your Financial Planning group that utilizes the achievements, skills, strategic thinking and leadership abilities that enable me to consistently exceed earnings goals under less than ideal economic conditions.
Example 2 - Fairways Audio Visual Engineer
To obtain a position as a member of your Audio Visual Team utilising my skills, interest in this field, and willingness to be of service to the school with my good work ethic, and positive, responsible attitude.
3. Education
The purpose of this section is to show your background and skills. Other possible headings for education are: educational background, educational achievements, educational history. (Example)
You decide what you want to include; you do not have to include all your educational experience. You do want to include those that support your job objective. It is not misrepresentation but not mentioning inapplicable skills, qualifications and skills. Don't try to impress by offering too much, The idea is to make yourself the best candidate in the briefest way.
A resume/CV should contain the dates which you attended the school. You may simply write 2002-2005 which makes it perfectly clear that you graduated in 2005.
4. Professional experience
The purpose of this section is to highlight your skills that are most immediately required by the position you are applying for. Other terms you may use for the heading of this section: employment, employment history, work experience, work record, business experience, job history, career summary.
You should include the dates you worked, the name of the company and at least the city where it is located, the company's activity in parentheses if it is not clear from its name, and your duties.
Don't forget to relate your experiences on your job objective or 2nd paragraph of your covering letter
5. Computer skills
Titles you may use for this section: computer skills; computer literacy. (NB. The subject you study is usually referred to as Computer Science.)
Under computer skills you may also want to make a further distinction between operating systems, software, languages and networks. It is also a good idea to describe what exactly you have done with them rather than simply name the software. To obtain an internship general computer skills may be extremely useful whereas employment may depend on a particular skill. Adjust your CV accordingly. (Example)
6. Language and Personal Communication Skills
The purpose of this section is to draw attention to foreign languages you know. Keep in mind that employers are interested in how 'operational' you are in a language. Listening, writing and conversational skills should be clearly stated. Also note your external exam preparation or results and the date when you are planning to take it or when you took it. (Example)
7. Extracurricular activities
Other headings you may use : outside activities, personal interests, additional information, social skills. The purpose of this section is to allow you, once again, to show your skills such as teamwork, (ability to work with others and to lead others), time management, (studying and regular sports activities), competitive spirit, (success in terms of prizes or awards won). It complements your professional experience or replaces it if you have little or no paid work experience. Under this heading you may also demonstrate your well-roundedness, i.e. besides your technical knowledge and skills you have other interests and an open mind.
Under this heading you should include: sports, volunteer or community work, school government (US) or membership of associations, Experience of different cultures, travel and stays abroad, as well as any artistic competence should be indicated. You may show any transferable skill. You not only give the name of the particular activity but also try to describe it concisely and clearly give the impression of having gained a skill from it.
For example, at school you participate in activity X for Y number of hours per week. This shows that you are able to manage your time. Sports show you are competitive and certain sports involve teamwork. (Be careful if you want to show team spirit; do not give individual sports!) Volunteer work can show motivation and a caring personality. Being treasurer of an association suggests trustworthiness, being president leadership qualities. (Example)
8. References
Finally it is customary to write at the bottom of the page: References: Available on request. The purpose of this section is to show the employer that there are people - that know you well, professors or employers - who can support the information you give about yourself by sending a letter of recommendation. The prospective employer will probably not want to contact any of your references, especially for an internship application, but it would be wise for you to have prepared before hand by asking the person you had in mind if he or she would give a reference if needed. If an employer asks you for a reference, first ask the person you had in mind for a reference if he/she agree to write a letter of reference for you and then give the name and address of that person to the employer.