Take A Time To Write Targeted Resume (CV) For Norwegian Job Market

by Dejan Mladenovic | Last Updated: April 30, 2021

Your Resume or CV (Curriculum vitae) is your professional experience and education background biography. Together with your Cover Letter is one of the key documents to be invited for a job interview.

If one has a EURES Resume template (Europass) one can use it for writing a Resume (CV) but in the Norwegian Job market the template is a little bit different as we have explained in this article.

Resume(CV) Preparation Steps

We want to have a targeted Resume and not just a Resume. Even before thinking of writing a targeted Resume, we should follow these steps as preparation:

• Do the Job Vacancy Analysis
• Map your Competenecies Cornerstones
• Write an Elevator Pitch
• Pitch it in the phone call to the contact person – make the first impression
  • make smart questions in the phone call
• All the previous steps help you to gather the data that will tell what the right candidate needs to possess.
• Based on all gathered and analyzed data, write your targeted Cover Letter.
• Hand in hand with writing a Cover Letter, write your targeted Resume (CV)

What Are Key Elements Of A Resume (CV)

Resume (CV) structure can contain the following key elements:

Resume (CV) Key Elements

• Personal Data
• Key Qualifications
• Professional Experience
• Education
• Courses
• Certificates of Achievements
• Software Skills
• Memberships
• Language skills
• Hobbies/Interests
• Reference List

1. Personal Data

Personal Data element consists of the following data:

• Name
• Address
• Phone Number
• Email address
• Date of birth
• Marital status
• Photo

2. Key Qualifications

In the Key Qualification element, you want to summarize your education, working experience, and personality that makes you the right candidate for that exact position.

This is one of the key areas where you will customize your Resume to make it targeted.

If you are switching to another career here is the right place to explain your motivation for doing that.

3. Professional Experience

You should list your professional experience in chronological order and it should include the following data:

• Employer
• Position Title
• Working Place
• Period
• Duties and Responsibilities

Make sure to list duties and responsibilities that match position requirements from the Job Vacancy to make your Resume targeted.

4. Education

Here you will list your education only at the highest level. Sometimes can be relevant to list the major subjects and results.

• Level
• Major
• Education institution
• Period

Be prepared to put the education section in front of the professional experience section if it is more relevant for the position, again to make your resume targeted.

5. Course

Courses and education that don’t give you student points.

6. Certificates And Achievements

List the certificates that you possess such as driving license, forklift, welding, IT certificates, etc.

If you have won medals in some competitions or have significant results in sports, science awards, etc. You can list them here as well.

All the certificates relevant to the position should be mentioned in the key elements section. As result, they are immediately visible and grab the attention of resume readers. Again, this makes your resume targeted.

7. Software Skills

Which software you are mastering regarding, office suite, accounting, photo, video editing, programming languages, etc.

8. Memberships

Volunteer and paid memberships. Membership to different organizations, trainer of the local club, your child class parents representative, trade union membership, etc

9. Language skills

Differentiate writing and speaking language skills.

Use the Europass self-assessment language skills standard to label your language skills (A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2).

If you have passed the Norwegian language test (Norsk prøve) you can write that here.

In some cases, language is an important requirement for the position so make sure it is mentioned in the key elements section as well.

10. Hobbies/Interests

Here you will write about the things you like to do out of the job.

11. Reference List

Usually, you will write due to private reasons.

References Available Upon Request

or in Norwegian

Oppgis på forespørsel

Resume Writing Tips

Here are the most important tips to take into consideration when writing your resume:

• You Resume (CV) is short, concise, informative, and clean.
• The Resume should be two pages
  • If you have lots of experience write a summary
• Write professional experience in chronological order.
  • Your current position is at the top
• Avoid writing and grammar mistakes
  • Give someone you trust to read your resume and make corrections to be on the safe side
• Give your Resume to someone and get feedback about the impression
  • Does it look like a template Resume
• Do you have “holes” in your Resume
  • explain what did you do and learn during that period
• Avoid abbreviations and slang in writing
  • Write in the way that the reader can understand you
• Make a default Resume with all you got.
  • Pick up the essential data from default while writing targeted Resume
• Save and send your resume as a PDF file since this format will be the same regardless of the PC, OS, or software.
  • Avoid sending Word document since this can be changed by the reader’s software

Targeted Resume Writing Tips

Pick up essential data from your default Resume and customize it targeting the exact position you are applying for.

• Point out your key qualifications
  • Emphasize your characteristics, professional experience, and competencies that are the most relevant for the position
• Emphasize the most relevant duties and responsibilities from your previous positions that are important for the position
• Evaluate changing the order of Resume elements.
  • Is it your education or professional experience more important for the position?
• Do you possess course, language skills, or certificates that are important for the position?
  • Point them out in the Key Qualification element of your Resume.

Resume Checklist

When you read your Resume you want to get some conclusions. The same thing applies when you give someone to read your Resume and you expect feedback.

• Read or scan Resume for a couple of minutes
• Move the Resume on the side and answer the following questions:
  • What is your first impression of the Resume?
  • Describe the candidate with 4-5 keywords.
  • What type of positions does the candidate fit in? and Why?
  • What would you ask this person in a job interview?
  • What can you do differently?

RESUME (CV) TEMPLATE

We have created both English and Norwegian Resume (CV) Template Word document that you can download and use. Just write your own data and you are good to go.

Get our FREE Resume (CV) Word Templates (Norwegian & English)

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Useful Vocabulary

Here are some useful words in Norwegian used in this text.

Good To Know

If you write your Resume to be targeted you will avoid the situation to have a resume that looks like a copied template. You should make an impression that your resume is towards Job Vacancy, position, and describe you as exact candidate for the job.

Next Step

Now is the time to gather all our documents and apply for the position but do not forget to follow up on your application and that is exactly our next step.

Good Luck with your Job Search!

Find Job In Norway By Following These Easy 19 Steps

Don’t forget that this article is part of a text serious about finding a job in Norway. Depending on the phase you are in at the moment maybe you can find some articles useful for yourself. So please check them out.

Below you can see the infographic with an overview of all the texts in the series. If you click on the link above you will be sent to the page where all these steps are listed.

Author: Dejan Mladenovic

I moved my family of 3 to Norway in 2008 and created this website so that I can share what I’ve learned with anyone that’s thinking of moving or traveling to Norway. It’s such an awesome place, and I want you to get the most out of it!