How to Write an English CV
Few days ago I was having cofffee with a friend, who helped me by sharing genuinely her talents and life stories. She just finished her PhD and is going to Germany for postDoc. I asked Franziska in advance if she could ask her questions, since Germany for me is already a faint image long gone. And I might not be able to answer all the questions related to Germany.
Franziska said yes, so I just took the liberty to introduce them by email.
During the coffee time, I mentioned that I’ve always wanted to go to United States, specifically, MIT, Boston.
She looked at me, said, “You know, what you just said, is like saying ‘Hey I want to go see big trees!’ “
“Because chances are, you are no worse, no better, than anyone. You just happened to have to deal with your life in your twenties and those in MIT they didn’t. “
“And a big tree absorbs loads of resources. They just happen to absorb the resources from society and others. That’s all.”
“It’s not about the time, duration, when you get to your destination, in your case, MIT. But about the inner mental state — — are you comfortable enough with yourself? Are you confident about handling issues? “
So it’s not about “Oh I have been here for two years”, because you have to repair your inner child and wounds and clear your mind. Maybe when you realize you have the strength to start again, that might happen very soon. And you always have that resistance and persistance, and your life experience is very unique. You just cannot be compared. I see that in you.
So I shared my recent life on learning programming languages, and enjoy the very interesing interactive environment with my classmates under the some how authoritative and condescending teaching styles. That I didn’t like. But I can do something about it.
I just thought, how cool would it be, if I can just share my experiences to the fellow classmates and tell them that, my English CV wasn’t built in one day, but many many years?
So I did. I wrote a guideline on how to write English CVs, and also shared my CV in 2021. Outdated, but just for a glance might help.
To be very honest, I felt nervous when sharing these documents — — how would the others see me? Would they take them?Would they feel I am showing off? Would they think this is unnecessary?
No, I don’t care. I would love to be that recent graduate who didn’t know where to start with my CV, and there’s an elder lady who happens to tell me how she does it. I’d love that.
