Need advice on CV

[chocolatecake]

I have done cleaning and baby sitting jobs during my study time here in Finland. And it is now time for me to look up for internship / work placement in Finance. I know cleaning and babysitting have nothing to do with finance but it is better to write down something to prove I survive to find (improper) jobs or totally shut up about that?

I personally prefer to write them down in my CV but give it a twist and make something good out of it. But I still don't know how to do it yet. I hope to get some advice from you all.

[rider1000]

You were a "Personal Assistant"...

but I can't tell you whether or not that would be helpful on a CV in Finland.

[rinso]

but give it a twist and make something good out of it

Make things look better in your CV than they really are, isn't appreciated here in Finland. People tend not to brag about themselves.
You can mention "part time jobs to finance your study". It shows a positive attitude without the negative effect of bragging.

[AldenG]

but give it a twist and make something good out of it

You can mention "part time jobs to finance your study". It shows a positive attitude without the negative effect of bragging.

[chocolatecake]

but give it a twist and make something good out of it

You can mention "part time jobs to finance your study". It shows a positive attitude without the negative effect of bragging.

Actually what I meant was like what you said. Not like bragging but showing I learnt or got something from it such as a positive attitude Thank you

[AldenG]

Actually what I meant was like what you said. Not like bragging but showing I learnt or got something from it such as a positive attitude Thank you

I think there is a strong risk of coming across juvenile by highlighting Universal World Peace attributes like positive attitude. It emphasizes that you really don't have anything else to highlight.

It would be better if there were aspects of your studies in which you had special interests or insights or objectively excelled, and even better if a rec from one of your instructors could back that up. You want, if possible, to show that the things in your head are already similar to the things in practicing professionals' heads, that mentally you have advanced past the student age and are already mentally "in the game." While nobody values a colleague with negative attitude, they're just not spending their days thinking about who has positive attitude. It comes across as not very relevant. Plus of course all the CVs with no experience are playing up their PMA. By being the most ordinary thing you could possibly say about yourself, it plants you firmly in the mass of undistinguished nonentities IMO.

If there is a particular issue emerging in European finance today, you could have a heading for special interests and insert a sentence or two, no more (and no other special interests), about how you have followed and studied this particular issue. Or if there is a regional issue somewhere, not necessarily emerging but still a distinct issue, that could work the same way. In fact, regional and specific could work better than an issue everyone is talking about. (Of course by the time you get an interview, you need to be ready to make an impression by talking intelligently and in depth on that issue.) THAT might stand out a bit. If nothing else it plants a seedlet of curiosity about what insights this young whippersnapper could possibly have on such an issue. Something like that would potentially have far more effect than anything you could possibly say about lessons from the professionally unrelated part-time work you used to finance your studies.

Let them ask in person if they really must know what kinds of part time work. The word babysitting is NOT your friend in this context.

And remember, the job of your CV and cover letter is not to provide all the answers -- it is to plant some questions they will have to contact you to get answered.

[Rick1]

I feel that having babysitting experience could be quite helpfull in work here in Finland, omg if it is not already difficult sometimes..........

[Pursuivant]

Student Catch-22
- to get a job you need work experience
- how the hell are you supposed to get work experience, if nobody gives you a job

[chocolatecake]

Actually what I meant was like what you said. Not like bragging but showing I learnt or got something from it such as a positive attitude Thank you

I think there is a strong risk of coming across juvenile by highlighting Universal World Peace attributes like positive attitude. It emphasizes that you really don't have anything else to highlight.

It would be better if there were aspects of your studies in which you had special interests or insights or objectively excelled, and even better if a rec from one of your instructors could back that up. You want, if possible, to show that the things in your head are already similar to the things in practicing professionals' heads, that mentally you have advanced past the student age and are already mentally "in the game." While nobody values a colleague with negative attitude, they're just not spending their days thinking about who has positive attitude. It comes across as not very relevant. Plus of course all the CVs with no experience are playing up their PMA. By being the most ordinary thing you could possibly say about yourself, it plants you firmly in the mass of undistinguished nonentities IMO.

If there is a particular issue emerging in European finance today, you could have a heading for special interests and insert a sentence or two, no more (and no other special interests), about how you have followed and studied this particular issue. Or if there is a regional issue somewhere, not necessarily emerging but still a distinct issue, that could work the same way. In fact, regional and specific could work better than an issue everyone is talking about. (Of course by the time you get an interview, you need to be ready to make an impression by talking intelligently and in depth on that issue.) THAT might stand out a bit. If nothing else it plants a seedlet of curiosity about what insights this young whippersnapper could possibly have on such an issue. Something like that would potentially have far more effect than anything you could possibly say about lessons from the professionally unrelated part-time work you used to finance your studies.

Let them ask in person if they really must know what kinds of part time work. The word babysitting is NOT your friend in this context.

And remember, the job of your CV and cover letter is not to provide all the answers -- it is to plant some questions they will have to contact you to get answered.

I was thinking a lot of two following options: (1) generally put "basic student jobs" and specify other academic work experiences which I had in my home country or (2) list all cleaning/babysitting job I did in Finland along with other experiences. I brought the CV with the first option to ask for my teacher's opinion and she said straight to me "They don't care what you did in Vietnam" (I'm from Vietnam). I was shocked but well, that's fair enough. Since then I was thinking of the second options... but still I feel uncertain. Concerning the cover letter, I make it really customized and focus on what I can do and provide myself as an asset to them with all my abilities. Been trying to hard but there still require luck.

You right that CV and cover letter are not to provide all the answers. There are more likely to provoke their interests towards the candidate. But a "heave-looking" CV, of course, gets more attention than non-experience CV.

[chocolatecake]

Student Catch-22
- to get a job you need work experience
- how the hell are you supposed to get work experience, if nobody gives you a job

basic