Types of Curriculum Vitae: The 4 CV models (advantages and disadvantages)
There are different Curriculum Vitae types that they will serve us to demonstrate the strengths that we possess: our experience, our academic level, the languages we dominate, and so on. When we are looking for work, the CV is going to be our presentation letter , that is, our announcement so that the company in which we want to work is interested in our profile.
So, it is not a waste of time to focus our efforts on making the CV impeccable.
The different types of curriculums
In each of the types of curriculums, the same information it can be organized in very different ways . Depending on the structure we will give more importance to some aspects and not to others, and we will be able to benefit from the different types of curricula to show what interests us the most.
In our article "10 tips to improve your Curriculum Vitae" we already gave information on how to prepare a successful curriculum vitae. Below, we present the different types of curriculum that, depending on the way the information is organized, you can use when preparing your CV.
4 classes of CV how to know which one suits me?
Let's start with the first CV (and also the most commonly used one): the Chronological CV .
1. Chronological curriculum
This type of curriculum is the most traditional and used, since it highlights in an organized way the professional career. It is used to highlight that progress has been made in a given field and shows the order that has been followed throughout the professional and educational trajectory. Therefore, the information is organized based on the oldest achievements and reaching the most recent ones. Unlike the other types of resumes, highlights stability and the upward evolution of the career, and highlights the promotion, the increase of tasks or the increases in the professional scale.
Strengths of the chronological CV
The chronological curriculum It should be used in the following situations:
- If progress has been made in a labor field in a logical order and it seeks promotion or an improvement in working conditions.
- If you have had a stable professional career , without long stops that make the recruiter question the motivation for the position.
- If you have had few jobs, but one wide experience in that field.
- If you do not want to change the line of work.
- If you do not have more achievements than having worked in a prestigious company.
Disadvantages of the chronological CV
On the other hand, this curriculum also has its drawbacks:
- Highlight work changes as well as lack of promotions or changes of responsibility.
- Shows periods of inactivity.
- It can show the lack of recycling or the lack of formative update.
2. Functional (or thematic) curriculum
This type of curriculum Highlights skills , and it is useful if one has had different experiences in areas that show important competences. Therefore, unlike the chronological CV, it does not show the time of permanence in the company, but rather the variety of functions that have been performed .
In this class of CV, three to six functional areas are indicated in which it has been worked. For example, if a person opts for a receptionist position in a hotel, the different functional titles of their resume can be: tourist guide, customer service (having worked in a customer service office in a shopping center) and language teacher. This provides information to the recruiter that he can be a good candidate for the position: he speaks languages, has worked face to face with the public and has worked in the tourist environment.
Strengths of functional CV
The functional curriculum It should be used in the following situations:
- If you want to put emphasis on skills necessary to perform a specific job and there is no experience in that sector.
- If a person has been freelance and wants to go back to work for someone.
- If you want camouflage blank periods or inactivity.
- If you want to delete dates and show adaptability to jobs before stability.
- If you search the first job or if you have a short work experience.
- If one thinks that the age It can be a barrier.
Disadvantages of functional CV
The drawbacks of this curriculum format are:
- It's not the usual presentation format, so recruiters they can perceive that information is hiding.
- Does not give importance to the period of time that has been in each position or the name of the company.
3. Mixed (or combined) curriculum
The mixed curriculum or combined is a mix of the two previous types of curriculums . It usually starts with a functional description of the skills or abilities, followed by a chronological order of the individual's trajectory. Therefore, format combines the strengths of the two types of previous CVs.
Strengths of the mixed CV
The mixed curriculum should be used when desired highlight experience and skills presented by the candidate according to the position he chooses. In addition, this CV model is not perceived negatively by some recruiters, since it shows periods of inactivity.
Disadvantages of the mixed CV
Like the other types of CV, mixed CV also presents drawbacks:
- Needed a different curriculum for each position you choose .
- It is not suitable to present when they ask for standard forms.
- By adding the chronological order, the moments of inactivity will also be shown.
In addition to these types of curriculum based on the organization of information, the curriculum can be presented, for example, with an artistic touch (if applied for a work related to art) or more formal (if applied for a job in a office). At present, even the use of videocurriculum instead of the paper format.
4. The videocurriculum
The videocurriculum shows the candidate in a recording that it is not recommended that it be longer than one minute (It is not convenient to last more than two minutes). This format is ideal to show communicative skills or active personality and dynamic, and opens communication channels such as visual, which are not present in the written format. In addition, the videocurriculum can incorporate creative elements , such as projects, photographs, etc.
It also allows demonstrating professional skills, such as language proficiency or some talent, or good presence or image. The videocurriculum is an original way of presenting the application, although not all companies allow this format. Even so, it is widely accepted in the audiovisual world or marketing.
