Resume

 

Your resume (also known as a curriculum vitae or CV) provides detailed information on your competencies: your specialist knowledge and social skills, experience and any interests of relevance for the vacancy. Your resume should be clearly structured and logical without any omissions or errors. It is your opportunity to give our recruiters an initial overview of your major milestones.

Your resume should preferably not be more than two pages - even if you have worked for some time and therefore have more information to include. You should only list the experience, internships and qualifications that are relevant and of interest for the specific vacancy. Do you have certificates or references that provide evidence of your knowledge and qualifications? Great! Then please send them as attachments to your application. If you apply for several different positions at Bayer, it makes sense to review your resume each time. Perhaps certain activities or internships that are not relevant for one position may be of interest for a different one.

Structured and complete

Often there are gaps in people's resumes. Perhaps you decided to change your occupation or took a career break to spend time abroad. Or maybe you were unemployed or ill. If such gaps last more than two months, it makes sense to mention them in your cover letter.

 

As well as making sure your resume is complete, you should make sure the structure and layout meet current standards. At Bayer in Germany, we prefer chronological resumes, starting with your present position, then working backwards through the various stages in your career and education. A photo is not mandatory. However, if you decide to include one, it should be a high-quality photo taken by a professional photographer.

Your internet profile

Recruiters often use professional networks such as Xing and LinkedIn to find out more about interesting candidates. You may include links to your online profiles, your own websites or specific internet activities in your resume, especially if they relate in some way to the vacancy for which you are applying. It is important for you to check your online profiles in social media, blogs, etc. from time to time. They should not contain contradictory information about you or important information that has been omitted from your resume. Ideally, all your online profiles should be uniform, up-to-date and linked to one another.

Checklist for resumes

DOs

  • Tabular resume, chronological structure starting with the most recent information and working backwards
  • Organize the content on two pages
  • Do not forget to include contact details
  • Structure in sections, e.g.
    - Training (university, other higher school education)
    - Practical experience (internships, student jobs) / career path
    - Other skills (e.g. languages, IT)
    - Foreign experience
    - Interests (e.g. voluntary work)
  • Use bullet points to highlight experience of relevance to the vacancy
  • No gaps (if necessary explain any gaps in your cover letter)
  • Scanned signature
 

DON'Ts

  • Unstructured, non-chronological
  • Too much detail for the vacancy, irrelevant details (3 or more pages)
  • Details of elementary school, parents, siblings and their professions
  • Old date and/or outdated information
  • Unrealistic presentation of your knowledge and qualifications
 

Up to you

  • Photo - if you include one, it should be a professional photo taken for this purpose
  • Marital status
  • Further information, e.g. online profiles, websites, blogs, work with professional groups/communities