Hi and welcome to this week’s ‘Question of the week’! In this week’s entry, the word “succinct” will be covered in the following question:
Should your Curriculum Vitae (CV) be succinct?
The term succinct stands for something that is brief, to the point, concise, and precise. Examples include a succinct speech, succinct letter, succinct description, succinct example, all of which mean that what is communicated is short but to the point. Whilst writing in a succinct style allows for a quick understanding, it comes at an expense of less attention to detail. As a CV is the first type of information an employer obtains about you, should your CV then be succinct?
When looking at the purpose of a CV, it is meant to give a brief background of a person that is relevant to the job. For instance, it is beneficial to show some experience in dealing with companies for a consultancy job, or competence in math for an engineering job. However, it is impossible to put a person’s life experience on paper, and there are many skills and qualities that do not end up in a CV yet contribute to the job position. This is why a person should write a succinct CV, as only the most important background details is enough for an employer to spark an interest. It should also be seen that a CV is only meant to filter people based on personal backgrounds, which is only done to cope with the number of people that apply for a job. Thus, a CV of 10 pages will not help at all despite giving a more detailed image of a person’s background.
In short: Succinct stands for something that is brief, to the point, concise, and precise. When looking at a CV, there are a lot of experiences, skills, and qualities that a person can put on. However, considering the volume of CVs an employer receives plus the need to spark interest with just a couple of relevant background points, it is important to write it succinctly.
If you have any doubts or differing opinions about what was said, then please don’t hesitate to leave a comment!
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