Take Our CV Questionnaire

Your CV should act as a showcase of your abilities and give the prospective employer a good understanding of what you might add to the organisation and how you can help them.

So, what is your understanding of a great CV? Have you read enough of GreatCVs to gain sufficient knowledge to make your CV work to help you get the best job you can? Take our CV questionnaire to find your depth of knowledge.

1. How many pages should a CV cover?

a. As long as to takes; you need to tell them everything you’ve done.
b. Try and keep it to two pages.
c. About half a page; that’s all they’ll read.

2. Is it worth going into detail about every single job you’ve ever done?

a. Yes, after all this is a list of your work.
b. No, it’s only worth telling them about just the last job.
c. No, it’s only worth writing about recent jobs in detail; others in summary.

3. What does CV (curriculum vitae) mean?

a. Course of life.
b. Courses and education.
c. Careers and jobs.

4. What is the point of listing your interests?

a. To fill out your CV if you haven’t achieved much.
b. To show aspects of your personality outside of work.
c. To give you something to talk about at the interview.

5. Should you lie on your CV?

a. Yes, everyone else does it.
b. The odd small lie is fine if it gets you the job.
c. No, never.

6. Should you repeat important information on your CV?

a. A repetition of information in your achievements and in your career history is acceptable.
b. No, never.
c. Yes, people need to be told things three times before they sink in, so emphasise the best achievements.

7. Should you get CV proofread?

a. No point, as they won’t read it anyway.
b. It is best to get it proofread professionally if you can.
c. It is only worth getting friends or family to check it over.

8. Is it worth taking your CV along to interview?

a. Yes, several, and hand them over so they can hand round to all their colleagues.
b. No, you’ve sent them one, they should have it.
c. Yes, a couple of copies would be useful: one for you, and one for them – just in case.

9. Is there any point in listing every single qualification and course?

a. Yes, list every one; you’ve gone to the trouble of taking them and they should know about them.
b. No, only the most relevant or recent or best.
c. No. They only need to know about your work experience.

10. If you are looking for your very first job, is there any point in having a CV?

a. No, there’s no point in having a CV until you’ve already had one job.
b. Yes, list what your skills are, your education, your ambitions and your interests.
c. Yes, to tell them how much you need to earn.

Points are given like this:
1. a) 2 b) 3 c) 1
2. a) 2 b) 1 c) 3
3. a) 3 b) 1 c) 2
4. a) 1 b) 3 c) 2
5. a) 1 b) 2 c) 3
6. a) 3 b) 2 c) 1
7. a) 1 b) 3 c) 2
8. a) 2 b) 1 c) 3
9. a) 2 b) 3 c) 1
10. a) 1 b) 3 c) 2

Add up the scores from your answers.

How Did You Score?

25-30: You have a very good understanding of the CVs and their purpose. Just make sure you keep up with the latest techniques and keep your CV updated regularly.

18-24: You have some of the basic ideas about writing a CV, but need some fine tuning. Keep reading “GreatCVs” to improve your knowledge. Remember that making your best effort to write a great CV will give you the best chance to get the job you want.

17 or less: You need to work harder with your understanding of CVs. A CV is neither a tool to please yourself, nor a necessary evil to please potential employees. Start reading “GreatCVs” in depth to gain a better understanding.