Basic Structure for CVs

Clients may specify how they want CVs to be structured and may include a template or standard format in the bid specification. When they do, you have no choice but to follow their instructions if you want to keep your bid compliant. But in most instances the choice of structure will be left to you. The guiding principle is to set out as clearly as you can the information that the client will use to judge the competencies of the persons for whose time, energies and efforts they are being asked to pay money. Your task is to communicate this information efficiently and convincingly: the structure should make it easy for you to highlight the distinctive strengths of the individual and easy for the client to recognize them.

Figure 17.1 shows the first page of a CV structured along lines used by most international financing institutions for key staff named in proposals. It is applicable to all sectors of consultancy and professional services tendering - not just international development - and it can be adapted for use by anyone, whatever his or her field of activity. Among its advantages are the clarity of its style and a pattern of organization that assists the process of CV evaluation in competitive bids.

JOHN SMITH	CV no. 7
Proposed position in team:	Power Engineer
Nationality:	British
Fields of specialization:	Modelling and control of power plant; energy management systems; application of expert systems in power systems
Year of birth:	1966
Key qualifications
Over 10 years' experience in power plant modelling and performance optimization, particularly in relation to the improved control of generating plant, grid connections and transmission networks and the minimization of system operation and maintenance costs. Recent experience includes direction of the Northern Power Plant Modelling Research Programme (1999–2002); leadership of the Power Systems Operations Team, Eastern Power (1997–99); specialist input to teams undertaking EC-funded system optimization projects and whole plant modelling of thermal performance... Expert knowledge of energy management systems and the application of expert systems for fault analysis in transmission and bulk power systems and system restoration. Specialist adviser (1994–96) to the NESA Directorate on the formulation of a national strategy for long-term coordination in energy planning and development, to meet the policy objectives of the National Energy Efficiency Programme. Responsibility for guidance on the analysis of energy saving potential and energy efficiency policy elaboration. Systems experience of conventional thermal power plant, gas-fired generating plant, combined heat and power and energy-from-waste.
Education and professional status
BSc (Hons) Electrical Engineering, University of Leeds PhD in Electrical Engineering, Imperial College, London Chartered Engineer Member, Institution of Electrical Engineers Member, European Advisory Panel on Power System Measurement
Recent experience
1999–2002	Northern Power: Project Director, Power Plant Modelling Research Programme: Responsible for the technical direction and coordination of a series of research projects involving the detailed modelling of generators, turbines and boilers by computer simulation, laboratory models and tests on plant in power stations. The programme provided the basis for the investigation and experimental evaluation of advanced computer control systems, including multivariable adaptive and self-tuning controllers, with associated expert systems and parallel processing seeking to integrate plant control with power system control.
1997-99	Eastern Power: Principal Engineer, Power Systems Operations: Team Leader of unit responsible for the minimization of system operation costs through the use of computer-aided plant loading and load management and related security constraints. Key areas of responsibility included short-term load forecasting; economic loading and load management; emergency control of frequency...

Figure 17.1: First Page of a CV Showing Recommended Style

The structure has four main components:

• personal data;

• key qualifications;

• education and professional status;

• experience record.

Further optional components may be appropriate in certain contexts - for example:

• computer experience;

• language ability;

• publications.

This structure is recommended as a basic model: other categories of information can, of course, be added to serve requirements in specialized fields.

Where a CV is more than one page in length, devote the initial page to the first three of the main components - ie personal data, key qualifications, education and professional status. The aim is to give the client an immediate, at-a-glance outline of the person's background, one page that holds the client's attention and highlights the credentials that match the person to the work requirement.

Personal data

Include name, nationality, profession and field(s) of specialization. Other data that may be appropriate include year of birth, position in the firm and proposed position in a team.

Under this heading, clients may ask for details about the number of years the person has worked with the firm submitting or associating in the bid. They often give higher marks to people who are permanent staff members than to individuals brought in from outside on contract assignments. There are several reasons for this preference:

• Individuals who have maintained a place on the firm's payroll may seem to offer an assurance of quality.

• The management and coordination of their inputs may appear more secure.

• They may ensure a closer match to the client's competence requirements - a firm can be expected to be familiar with the temperament and aptitudes of staff members, and should know how well they would fit into a particular work environment.

• They may be better motivated than freelance staff and less inclined to set their own priorities in terms of working hours and commitment, as well as less likely to depart to other employment.

On the other hand, there are many firms that operate with only a small body of full-time personnel and rely on outside advisers to staff their projects. Some highly specialized areas of knowledge may be accessible only through experts working on their own account. One way of acknowledging these characteristics is to describe an external expert as having an 'established working relationship' with the firm, emphasizing the mechanisms you apply to secure team integration and the delivery of results on time. Never give the impression that someone who is a consultant to your firm is one of your employees - he or she may also be a consultant to a competitor; and do not use the term 'part-time' in describing a person's post or status.

It may be useful to provide data on marital status and the number and age of any children if the CV is being prepared for an assignment where the person would be resident overseas for longer than, say, six months, and likely to be accompanied by his or her family. Do not include information on health or interests, address and contact details or names of referees.

Key qualifications

This part of the CV gives a synopsis of the person's professional strengths. The term 'qualifications' is used here to denote the attributes that fit the individual for the proposed assignment - factors such as extent of experience; breadth of responsibilities; professional achievements; expertise in specialized fields; knowledge of a particular technology, country or environment; and, above all, the benefits that the person has helped clients achieve.

Key qualifications are best set out as a series of bullet points: five or six should be adequate for most individuals, but no one should be given less than three key qualifications. If you cannot marshal at least three useful things to say about a person, think again about putting him or her in the bid! The points need to be oriented to match each contract, communicating strengths assertively without making exaggerated claims. Remember that these key qualifications have to be substantiated in the body of the CV

The way the key qualifications are phrased can help to ensure that the individual's experience is seen to best advantage. For instance, if a large part of his or her career has been characterized by short-term assignments and rapid moves from one field of activity to another, this can be presented as a valuable credential by pointing out the diversity of experience gained and the hands-on familiarity with a broad range of work environments and management functions. The person may in the past have been employed by a similar organization or even by the same client: if so, bring this point out strongly to indicate that he or she knows how the client likes to operate and understands the client's side of the working relationship. Through attention to detail, each point in the key qualifications can build up a winning margin over the competition.

Education and professional status

List here professional affiliations, diplomas, degrees, scholarships, awards and distinctions, vocational certificates, specialized courses and training. Some clients require the names of colleges, dates attended and graduation years.

If the person does not have a professional affiliation or technical qualification, it is better to omit this section and allow his or her experience to speak for itself than to insert school attainments, which are more appropriate to job applications. Not having a 'professional status' does not necessarily mean that a person cannot contribute effectively to the work or fulfil a demanding assignment: if the individual's practical experience is strong and relevant and is set out clearly, the client will recognize his or her suitability.

Experience record

This is the meat of the CV. In developing this material, there are important guidelines to follow:

• Focus on recent, relevant experience - during, say, the last three or four years and in fields that have a direct bearing on the work of the contract. Clients want to know what people are achieving here and now, and they need to see evidence not just that they are up to speed with ideas and developments, but that they offer a stronger and more resourceful blend of competencies than any competitors. This is critical in sectors where techniques and applications are moving ahead fast.

• Set out experience in reverse chronological order. If the record for a particular year appears thin, it is worth prodding the person's memory for more information: short assignments are easily forgotten.

• Detail the activities undertaken by the individual rather than describing the assignment, project or organization.

• Specify the actual responsibilities that the person fulfilled, including (if appropriate) the numbers of staff under his or her charge or supervision, the values of contracts for which the person was responsible and the turnover of any businesses managed.

• Pay particular attention to comparable assignments and work for similar clients. Look carefully through previous experience for signs of comparability. We sometimes categorize our experience narrowly and fail to appreciate that work we are accustomed to see in one light may equally well and truthfully be viewed from a different angle that brings out its relevance to the bid.

• For many individuals a single listing of experience will work perfectly well. For others, it may be more effective to structure the presentation into types of work, areas of experience or sectors of expertise, reflecting the focus of the contract.

• Write in the third person and in note form, not continuous prose. Do not use the person's name in the body of the CV: ie phrases like 'Mr Johnson managed a specialized archive of books and periodicals' should be avoided. Steer clear of an informal, chatty style: 'Bill was responsible for all plant examination procedures' - after all, the person is being put forward as a professional adviser, not a personal friend.

Computer experience

Include - to a level of detail appropriate to the contract - information on knowledge of operating systems, applications, databases, programming, software development and experience of a support environment.

Language ability

Where this information is relevant, it should normally be stated in terms of grades of proficiency in speaking, reading and writing - ie 'excellent' or 'fluent', 'good' and 'fair'. If knowledge of a language is only poor, it should not be listed.

The language of the project location takes precedence in the listing. The language of the person's nationality should be indicated as 'mother tongue'.

Publications

There are sectors of consultancy and professional services procurement in which particular weight is attached to publications: research and education are obvious examples. In certain overseas markets, the strength of a person's expertise may be measured by the quantity of his or her publications: if necessary, check this point as part of your research for the bid. The listing of publications should follow the standard style for bibliographical entries and may include unpublished theses, research documents and conference papers.

Using an experience matrix

A matrix on the lines of Figure 17.2, setting out fields of expertise, activities, responsibilities, project locations and so forth, can be an effective means of highlighting the relevant features of an individual's experience. Bid evaluators find this form of presentation helpful, since it allows them to assess experience directly against the competencies required for a particular function. If an individual is known to the client from previous successful work, bring this point out in the matrix.

Figure 17.2: Example of an Experience Matrix

Deciding the length of a CV

Clients may set a maximum length for a CV, commonly two or four pages. Material beyond this limit is likely to be ignored. Where these constraints apply, it is vital that every phrase pulls its weight, which reinforces the need for detailed, bid-specific editing.

If no limit is set, you should still aim for brevity and conciseness while doing justice to the individual's experience. As a general rule, try not to let any CV exceed four pages: this length should normally be sufficient for a senior professional with about 20 years' career experience.

If you are bidding with local associates for an overseas contract, they can advise on the length and level of detail appropriate in the context. Staff in local firms may also hold teaching posts and have advisory roles in government departments as well as other professional functions, so that their CVs can easily run to 10 or more pages. You will need to agree a compromise target length with your associates and may have to expand the content of your CVs to achieve consistency.

CV presentation

Subject to whatever requirements the client may have indicated, you may choose to locate CVs in the part of the bid that deals with staffing and resources, in a separate section or in an appendix. The number of CVs that need to be included should be one of the factors governing this decision: if there are a large number, it is best to place them where they will not disrupt the flow of the text. It is helpful also to give each one a serial number and to include an index at the start of the CVs. The order in which they appear may reflect the team structure, the array of disciplines required for the contract or considerations of professional seniority. The important point is to reinforce an image of the bid as an integrated effort.

A CV will have a stronger impact and its content will be more readily absorbed if it is laid out as a two (or two-by-two) page spread, starting on a left-hand not a right-hand page. Each page should be numbered and carry the name of the individual in either a header or a footer.