How to build Europass CV- Must have contents in your CV (Sample included from Erasmus Mundus awardee)

What is Europass CV

This is the best-known CV format in Europe. All the European universities prefer Europass CV. Many students from all over the world apply to European universities and/or scholarships and one of the most common reasons for rejection is not providing a Europass CV. It is easy to use and familiar to employers and education institutions. Let's now move on to How to build Europass CV.

Pros of Europass CV

Well organised- The Europass CV format is very well organised. All the contents are placed where they need to be placed. Users do not need to navigate their contents, They just add all the details and the CV automatically puts everything according to its places.

It is free- Creating a Europass Cv is completely free and the website is very user-friendly. Right now, there are two templates available. Both of these are accepted in European organizations.

Common ground to compare- The CV format is quite simple, therefore it is easy for the evaluation committee to compare all the CVs together. All the kinds of stuff in the CV are placed accordingly, as a result, if reviewers need any specific information, they can directly look into that section.

Outside Europe- Since there is no other specific format for the other countries outside Europe, therefore, this CV format also can be used outside Europe.

Contents of a Europass CV

The Europass CV must have some basic content. The different sections are shown below, but according to the student's profile, they may add or remove some sections. It is to note that the below CV is directly taken from an Erasmus Mundus scholarship awardee. 

Your CV should not exceed two pages and should have the below basic contents

• Your name, birth date, email id, and phone number
• Your Educational qualifications from recent to old.
• Job experience from recent to old.
• Internships from recent to old.
• IELTS/TOEFL/Other test resuls.
• Thesis/Project
• Honors and awards
• Technical proficiencies- (Computer literacy, software)
• Co and Extra curricular activities.
• Hobbies (If applicable).

 You need to create your Europass CV online. Visit here for creating your CV.

How to build Europass CV

Login to your account- First you need to go to the above-mentioned website and register. For registration, you need to provide some basic information such as your name, university name, email id and phone number. After registration, you will get an email and you need to validate your account from email, then, you can log in.

Add your details- After you log in, this is the main part of creating your CV. You need to go to the editor section and put all the information or content you want to have in your CV. The basic information is your details, work experience, education, skills and extracurricular activities. However, to make your CV stand out you need to add additional sections on projects, Publication, Computer skills etc.

Select a template- There are two common templates available on the website. Choose the one you like. There are additional settings available there such as font size, colour, margin etc. 

Save and download - This is the last step. Before saving and downloading, you need to proofread your CV very carefully. Check for any grammar or spelling mistakes as these are serious issues. When you are confident about your CV save and download the PDF format. The benefit of saving is that later if you want you can modify it.

Before making your CV, check out the below video on how to browse the website and create the CV online. 

                     Source

Authors special tips on creating your CV

• Do not repeat anything
• I have seen many students or young professionals add some courses which they have taken during their honours or masters. Please, do not add those because during the application you will be adding your transcript, therefore the admission committee will already know what courses you have taken.
• Do not lie on your CV
• Rather than adding random stuff, just include experiences that are related to the post you are applying for. If you do not have relevant experiences, add whatever you have
• Do not forget to add voluntary work. In Europe, voluntary works have their own separate value
• Add transferrable skills. All the recruiters want to have someone from who they can also learn something such as leadership skills, communication skills, research skills etc.
• Do not forget to mention any awards or accomplishments you received. 
• Finally, try to put everything on two pages. However, in some cases three pages are acceptable but more than three pages are not allowed at all.