Resumes

R sum s

Instead of requiring a full CV for each person named in the bid, clients may ask just for r sum s summarizing the person's professional experience and career achievements. A r sum should normally be no longer than about 150 words. It can be prepared from the material used to develop the full CV: if the 'key qualifications' capture the person's competencies adequately, they will supply the necessary basis. The text of a r sum needs to be edited and maintained in the same way as the full CV

R sum s should not appear alongside full CVs. It is better to locate them in a different part of the bid - for example, in the section that introduces the team and its responsibilities (Figure 13.4). The aim is to offer a concise statement of the professional resources that can be applied to the work.

As noted in discussing Figure 12.4, it can be useful to attach r sum s when you are responding to an informal approach from an existing client, even though there may be no explicit requirement to outline your experience or that of your team. Your ideas for the work may have to be reviewed and endorsed by managers who are unfamiliar with your professional strengths, and the appropriate information about your experience can help to disarm any suggestion that work is being put your way because of personal contacts rather than capability and experience. All that is needed is a paragraph or two summarizing your background and underlining the expertise that equips you to perform the work.