Let them know who you are when you're not at work
It’s very normal for people in Denmark to end their CV with a short paragraph about themselves. But it can be different elsewhere, so if you’re looking for a job abroad, research what’s normal there.
The paragraph acts as a way to help remember you – just like the photo. It consists of 3-5 lines about yourself. You could go into what interests you or how you spend your free time. You can give 2-3 examples – and don’t be afraid to use humor. You don’t have to skydive or do extreme sports to be remembered.
We all like stories, so you could try to form a memorable picture, for example:
"I like to go on walks / I spend a lot of my free time baking cakes" vs. "I like to go for walks on the beach where the air is fresh and the sky is high / I love to be in the kitchen with flour in my hair while carefully trying to get my cake decorations just perfect."
If you don’t think you do anything out of the ordinary, then write that and show you have humor and can laugh at yourself, e.g., “I run, but am not training for a marathon” or “I like to play games with my friends and I am a really sore loser.” Use this to try to get past the clichés.
See your references as like little Easter eggs
Do you have any references? How will you use them?
Consider carefully whether you want to put a reference on your CV. If you want to show you have references, you can write that they are available on request.
Why?
Then you can prepare your references:
- Tell them about the job/employer.
- Why do you think you’re a good match for the job.
- Anything else that would be a good idea to highlight.
There are a lot of bad examples of references who were called without being prepared – this is not to your advantage!
Bring two references to the job interview – you will seem well-prepared. You might want to state whether your references speak English, Danish or both.