THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE FOR YOUR CV

AND INSEAD EXECUTIVE MBA CV BOOK

GEMBA Middle East and GEMBA Europe 17

What is the INSEAD TIEMBA and EMBA e-Book?

The Executive MBA e-book is a book compiling the EMBA and TIEMBA CVs, showcasing the diversity of background, nationalities and functions of the INSEAD population. It is accessible to recruiters working with INSEAD, executive search firms and HR people. It helps raise the profiles of the EMBAs (GEMBA and TIEMBA) and gives visibility to this growing INSEAD community. It is published once a year (spring time), with GEMBAs and TIEMBAs in the same book. To view the latest EMBA CV book, copy and paste the link and use the password indicated below. https://apps.insead.edu/cvbooks-download/login.cfm?doc=EMBA/CVBook_GlobalExecutiveMBA16andTsinghua_INSEADEMBA17CVBook_final.pdf Login: insead / Password: inseadcvbooks You will find 2 additional documents at the end of the quick overview: a CV writing booklet and a list of verbs. You are now ready to go.

Who – can you take part and do you want to take part? Participants who are self-funded or participants sponsored by company below 50% Above 50%, you do not have access to this opportunity UNLESS you provide a signed company agreement allowing

you to have access to all the services provided by the Career Development Centre You do not have to take part in the process. You can create your CV and opt out of the book You can decide not to work on your CV at all

Note: There will not be another opportunity to join later in the year

How – small steps for great results Create your CV using the template provided, following the podcasts carefully Upload your CV in V Mock and amend it according to the feedback received Participate in a CV group review Your CV will be reviewed by an external Career Coach You will receive either a written review or will have a phone review (see below) You will amend your CV according to the feedback and will send your final version to WPcareer@insead.edu The team will do a final check

You will be able to opt for a written review or phone review (if you do not specify, it will automatically be a phone review) Phone review: you will spend 30 minutes on the phone with the reviewer giving you live comments. No written

comments will be provided, you will be solely responsible for taking notes during the phone review If you opt for a phone review, a team member will organise a time and date for the Skype call

Phone review is recommended both for native speakers and for those who do not have an excellent level of English Written review: you will receive written feedback on your CV

When? Don’t miss the boat!

You will kick start the process by watching the specially designed podcasts (note that those who do not watch will not be able to create a correct good first version). All the dates and DEADLINES are below (print them and stick them to your fridge, your car screen and/or your office wall) CVs submitted after the deadline will not be considered, make sure you stick to the deadlines

5 Mandatory Steps: When?

1. Watch the podcasts, Read guidelines and Download the CV Template

Now

2. Upload your CV in VMock and amend it to a reach 70 points score

3. When you reach 70 points, submit your CV to WPcareer@insead.edu and register for a CV Peer Group review (link to be announced)

4. Once you have taken part in a CV peer group review (or should you choose not to take part in this opportunity) you can register for a one to one Skype CV review. Sign-ups will be available from February, time slots will be announced on Careerglobe.

From 1 February 2017

4. Amend your CV following the feedback received and send your final document to WPcareer@insead.edu Before 24 March 2017

Highly recommended:

28 November - 9 December 2016 4 - 13 January 2017

Register for the CV peer group review * *these sessions are conducted via Skype/Webex and moderated by a staff member (4 participants /group; link to be announce) *you may register for a CV group review even if you have not yet reached 70 points in VMock

Tips: start as soon as you can, make sure you take time to familiarise yourself with the tool, nothing complicated but nothing worse than starting without having a quick look around first. Writing your CV will require an average of 10 hours from start to finish and get a good enough version (many will spend more time)

Additional information and resources – with a little help from your peers Easy process – a few tips for immediate success

Peer to peer review - from the start, ask your peers for feedback, work with a small group of people, compare, exchange, discuss, give and take feedback

Skype group CV review session: we will set up peer to peer sessions via Skype/Webex (dates will be confirmed in due time) These sessions will be facilitated by one of the team members and you will be able to exchange on each other CVs. Very effective!

You will find a CV booklet at the end of this document – it will take no more than 5 minutes to read. It is a good start Format – nothing beats great content with a fabulous format

Each bullet point should start with a verb in the past tense What-How-Achievement in each bullet point Company name: in bold and capital letters Company description: in italic Job title: in bold Skills heading (if you include them): in italic Short, sharp style 1.5 to 2 pages long - no more, no less

The do’s and don’ts – key points to remember

To do

Watch the podcasts on “CV writing”. It is MANDATORY!

Start as soon as possible - you must create your CV using the INSEAD template and this can be a lengthy process

Peer to peer feedback – ask some of your peers to comment on your CV

Ask a native English speaker to review your CV

Each bullet point should start with a verb

Verbs should be in the past tense - even for your current position

Short, sharp style

Proofread, proofread, and proofread!

1.5 to 2 pages long - no more, no less

Look at the previous CV book, it will give you a good overview of what is expected Not to do:

No “I” and “my” in your CV

Do not use “responsible for” or “in charge of”

Spelling mistakes

Complicated style/sentences

Lengthyng bullet points (more than 3 lines)

Company/business jargon

Avoid “objective” or “summary”

Your check list – and you are ready to take off Before sending your CV for review, make sure you tick the boxes

All my bullet points start with a verb

All verbs are in the past tense

The bullet points are no longer than 3 lines

I do not use “I”, “my”, “our” in my CV

We can see the “what-how– achievements” in every bullet point

There are no full stops at the end of my bullet points

There are no typos in my CV

Format: company in upper case, description in italic, job title in bold

Additional document 1

Write your CV – CV booklet

Introduction

Job seekers often sit down to write their CV as if it were an autobiography of all the things they have done in the past. Yet, the

goal of your CV is to impress the employer enough to want to meet you. It is an effective marketing document that highlights

and emphasizes your applicable skills and, regardless of where you are at in your career, you should always have an up to

date CV at hand (this is also true for entrepreneurs!).

There are many books on writing a CV, and yet there are many bad CVs. A good CV has several key characteristics:

It highlights your major accomplishments and related experience that are relevant for the position/sector you are targeting with your CV. Always tailor your CV so that your target market will value it

A good CV is short – it does not go over two pages and should not take less than ¾ of a page (please note that the CV in the CV book should be 2 pages long). If you find it difficult to cut down your experience to fit 2 pages, you might be concentrating too much on accomplishments you feel should be included, without having looked for those of value to the recruiter. To fix this, ask someone who currently works in the industry/position you are targeting what they would look for in a CV

Effective CVs are visually attractive – they are easy to read and follow a clear format. We all know that time is scarce – and if your CV looks unattractive many employers will not spend time looking at it. So please don’t play around with different fonts, too much bold, italics, colours or even logos

Tell the reader not just what you did but how you did it and indicate the result whenever possible. Your CV is not

your job description and employers do not want to read about your duties – they want to read about your accomplishments and performance.

Before you start writing your CV, you need to take several steps – it will become much harder if you skip any of the pieces.

Start by analysing your competencies, values and interests. Break down your accomplishments and experiences into

identifiable skills. Once you have completed this step, think of yourself as a product that you are marketing to employers.

Companies do not launch a new product without conducting extensive market research - neither should you. Now you are

almost ready to start writing. To build an effective CV, we strongly recommend writing your bullet points using the STAR

modes (Situation/Task, Action, Result). Begin by making a list of your accomplishments on a blank piece of paper (don’t

worry about order or employer): using the fewest words possible, write down what the Situation/Task was, describe the Action

you took to complete the project/solve a problem, and quantify the Result. Of course you might not be able to use this format

for every bullet point, and sometimes quantifying results can be tricky.

Now you are ready to start writing – and rewriting… A good resume generally requires 10 hours of work (in some cases much

more than that) and several thorough reviews. In the following pages we will outline the CV book process and give you some

more practical tips.

CV Writing podcasts

These short podcasts will provide guidance on how to write and finalise your CV. You will receive CV writing tips following the

INSEAD CV format, covering summary/objective, professional experience, education, languages, other experience, personal

interest.

A MUST WATCH!

Skype Group CV reviews

Online meeting with 4 to 5 classmates and a team member to share feedbacks, information and advice on your CVs (45 minutes)

Links to register will be shared via Yammer. It will start in September (Your CV must be ready, INSEAD template + podcasts

watched compulsory), CVs to be sent in advance.

1 – 2 – 1 CV review

Following the podcasts, you will write your CV and will have the opportunity to have a personalised review.

CV reviews will be done in writing or on the phone

Upload your INSEAD CV in CareerGlobe

In order to be included in the CV book and CV online search, you need to upload your INSEAD CV in CareerGlobe. You might

also choose not to be featured in the CV book and only create your CV (your CV will not be viewable by recruiters).

CV Guidelines for the INSEAD CV Book

The following CV Guidelines will assist you in developing your CV for the INSEAD CV Book. As the maximum length of the CV in

the INSEAD CV book is two pages it is essential that you write in a clear, concise style.

Contact Details Mention your INSEAD email address and add 1 personal email address. In case your email

address is similar to drunkinParis@hotmail.fr or foxylady@gmail.com we strongly recommend you

to open a new email account using your first name and last name.

Objective or

Summary

Optional (and

not

recommended)

Objective is linked to career aspirations whereas Summary is a synopsis of your work experience

(one or two lines maximum)

Consider this section if you are focused on a particular industry, functional area or changing

careers. If you choose either of these sections, be specific, highlight your skills and expertise

Tip: Write either of these sections after you have written your CV – it will be much easier to

summarise

Professional

Experience

This is where you have the main opportunity to distinguish yourself.

Use bullet point format for each experience – begin with an action verb o e.g. analysed, managed, conducted etc

Avoid acronyms and abbreviations, unless you explain them

Use “country only” to indicate location – don’t put a country if you only spent 3 weeks there (you can include that in your bullets)

Avoid gaps in your work history

If an employer is not well known or you are changing careers and want to show relevant work contexts (e.g. large or small organisations), briefly describe that particular employer and add the number of employees, turnover and industry (2 lines maximum)

Describe what you’ve done in terms of accomplishments – i.e. the outcome or impact of the work you did. This is the “how…and so what” part that recruiters notice.

Tip: ask yourself: “What difference did I make?”

Wherever possible, quantify accomplishments or achievements in terms of numbers, process or people improvements o e.g. Led cross-functional team of 8 to develop and implement employee recognition

programme that resulted in increased performance and 15% retention in first year o When reporting financial outcomes, use standard currency abbreviations (e.g. GBP or £,

EUR or €, USD or $ and k (thousand), M (million) or bn (billion) and be consistent throughout CV

Note: avoid overstating accomplishments – especially concerning group versus individual

contributions

Rule of thumb: 3-5 bullets (max) that are 2-3 lines (max) for each work role or experience. Put,

what you consider to be, the most important bullets first to attract the recruiter’s eye

Education Use well known abbreviations, such as Dipl, BSc, BA, MA and list your major or concentration and

when in doubt, spell it out

o e.g. BA Economics OR Engineering Physics o for GEMBA: INSEAD Global Executive MBA France/Singapore/Abu Dhabi o for TIEMBA: Tsinghua-INSEAD Executive MBA China/Singapore/France/Abu Dhabi

Languages Use the INSEAD format: (Fluent/Native/Basic)

Other

Experience

Other paid work, internships, as well as relevant volunteer and community work, that would

otherwise go in Personal Interests, go in this section

o Use the Professional Experience format (bullets and action verbs) and show short term positions on the same line

o eg. 2008 ABC Company (Internship – 3 months) o eg. 2007 Habitat for Humanity (Volunteer Team Lead – 5 months)

Optional

e.g. Publications and Conferences, or Professional Associations

Consider creating special sections to include all directly relevant experience, achievements and

transferable skills for your target job – keep it brief

Special Sections Another opportunity where you can distinguish yourself and indicate a well-rounded background,

such as, individual and team activities, volunteerism and community service.

This section can also highlight who you are, your interests, skills and competencies that you’ve

developed in a setting other than work

o Begin with an active verb and show description of depth of involvement rather than a list of activities – 2 lines maximum

Note: Travelling is what 99.9% of INSEAD MBAs have done and like to do. You want to stand out

here. This is your opportunity to make people understand what your passions are and who you are

as a person.

Last Word Check spelling, using the spell-check function in Word, then check it again. Check format and

proofread content to ensure consistency.

Make sure to tick the box if you want your CV to be included in the CV book, or untick if you do not wish to be included

Useful documents

Publications (available from INSEAD libraries)

High-Level Resumes, Marchall A Brown & Annabelle Reitman, ZA 15.B76 2005 (pg 118)

Resumes That Work, Loretta D.Foxman, ZA 15.F69 1993 (pg 14)

The Complete Idiot's Guide to The Perfect Resume, ZA 15.174 2003 (pg 97)

Online Resources:

Career Management and Job Hunting – interactive website: www.porot.com/

Additional document 2

MY FAVORITE VERBS

389 Verbs for Writing Resumes, Cover Letters & Other Career Communications

Wendy S. Enelow, CCM, MRW, JCTC, CPRW

www.ResumeWritingAcademy.com / www.WendyEnelow.com

June 2009

Accelerate Accentuate Accomplish Accommodate Achieve Acquire Adapt Address Adjudicate Advance Advise Advocate Align Alter Analyze Anchor Apply Appoint Appreciate Arbitrate Architect Arrange Articulate Ascertain Assemble Assess Assist Augment Authenticate Author Authorize Balance Believe Bestow Brainstorm Brief Budget Build Calculate Capitalize Capture Catalog Catapult Centralize Champion

Change Chart Clarify Classify Close Coach Collaborate Collect Command Commercialize Commoditize Communicate Compare Compel Compile Complete Compute Conceive Conceptualize Conclude Conduct Conserve Consolidate Construct Consult Continue Contract Control Convert Convey Coordinate Correct Corroborate Counsel Craft Create Critique Crystallize Curtail Cut Decipher Decrease Define Delegate Deliver

Demonstrate Deploy Derive Design Detail Detect Determine Develop Devise Differentiate Direct Discern Discover Dispense Display Distinguish Distribute Diversify Divert Document Dominate Double Draft Drive Earn Edit Educate Effect Effectuate Elect Elevate Eliminate Emphasize Empower Enact Encourage Endeavor Endorse Endure Energize Enforce Engineer Enhance Enlist Enliven

Ensure Entrench Equalize Establish Estimate Evaluate Examine Exceed Execute Exhibit Exhort Expand Expedite Experiment Explode Explore Export Extricate Facilitate Finalize Finance Forge Form Formalize Formulate Foster Found Gain Generate Govern Graduate Guide Halt Handle Head Hire Honor Hypothesize Identify Illustrate Imagine Implement Import Improve Improvise Increase Influence Inform Initiate Innovate Inspect Inspire Install Institute Instruct Integrate Intensify

Interpret Interview Introduce Invent Inventory Investigate Judge Justify Launch Lead Lecture Leverage License Listen Locate Lower Maintain Manage Manipulate Manufacture Map Market Master Mastermind Maximize Measure Mediate Mentor Merge Minimize Model Moderate Modify Monetize Monitor Motivate Navigate Negotiate Network Nominate Normalize Obfuscate Observe Obtain Offer Officiate Operate Optimize Orchestrate Organize Orient Originate Outsource Overcome Overhaul Oversee Participate

Partner Perceive Perfect Perform Persuade Pilot Pinpoint Pioneer Plan Position Predict Prepare Prescribe Present Preside Process Procure Produce Program Progress Project Project manage Proliferate Promote Propel Propose Prospect Prove Provide Publicize Purchase Purify Qualify Quantify Query Question Raise Rate Ratify Realign Rebuild Recapture Receive Recognize Recommend Reconcile Record Recruit Recycle Redesign Reduce Reengineer Regain Regulate Rehabilitate Reinforce Rejuvenate

Remedy Render Renegotiate Renew Renovate Reorganize Report Reposition Represent Research Resolve Respond Restore Restructure Retain Retrieve Reuse Review Revise Revitalize Sanctify Satisfy Schedule Secure Select Separate Serve Service Shepherd Simplify Slash Sold Solidify Solve Spark Speak Spearhead Specify Standardize Steer Stimulate Strategize Streamline Strengthen Structure Study Substantiate Succeed Suggest Summarize Supervise

Supplement

Supply Support Surpass Synergize Synthesize

Systematize Tabulate Target Teach Terminate Test Thwart Train Transcribe Transfer Transform Transition Translate Trim Troubleshoot Unify Unite Update Upgrade Use Utilize Verbalize Verify Win Work Write