All people are different, but no one knows you better than yourself - a familiar saying? It takes on a completely literal meaning when it co...
Preparing a package of documents for an interview is the most common, but not the only case when you may be required to submit your CV. It is sometimes needed when entering the service, submitting papers for admission to study, applying for a foreign visa, and in general when an official and / or organization is interested in your life or a certain period of it.
An autobiography differs both from a resume and from a testimonial written by a surety - first of all, in the style of presenting information. The employer can easily obtain all the facts regarding your specific achievements and work success from your track record and / or other sources.
But only your biography, written by you with your own hand, can reflect life events in a personal interpretation, convey your attitude and view. And the psychological portrait of the applicant, as you know, is no less important than his professional qualifications.
What is an autobiography
An autobiography is a document containing detailed information about the applicant, personally stated by him in writing. In fact, this is the life story of any person, which he demonstrates in public. This is why autobiography is so often embellished to make the best possible impression.
On the one hand, this is a logical approach, because you are given a chance to show your best side, to demonstrate the most attractive sides of your character and worthy events in life. This is a kind of self-presentation, the purpose of which is to increase your own chances of getting a good job.
On the other hand, an autobiography is all an official paper, and it will be considered in this capacity. Therefore, the bias in the transmission of facts and / or their selective presentation can work against you. It follows that in an autobiography it is important to strike a reasonable balance between the best aspects and realism.
In a sense, an autobiography is the first acquaintance with you, and not only the likelihood of getting a position, but also the attitude of management and colleagues towards you in the future depends on the impression that you manage to make with its help. In this vein, an autobiography can be considered a kind of tool for creating the desired image.
An autobiography written competently, sensibly and with an understanding of these subtleties will become your ally and help you gain a positive reputation. But only if you can use it to emotionally win over the reader.
In other words, the task of an autobiography is to show you in the best possible light, as a person who can and should be entrusted with responsible tasks and who will become a valuable employee of the company. Achieving this goal is impossible without the correct approach, thought out from a psychological point of view. You have to convince the employer of your exclusivity and reliability in indirect formulations hidden behind the statement of objective facts.
The subtleties of writing an autobiography
An autobiography with a resume has in common not only the reason for its creation, but also the fact that both of these documents are not standardized, that is, they are not written according to a template. In fact, the template for an autobiography simply cannot exist, just as there are no identical destinies and a set of life events.
However, there is a certain minimum of information that each author of his own biography must provide:
name, patronymic, surname of the author;
his date of birth and / or age;
place of birth and place of residence;
received education, both basic and special, as well as advanced training;
labor activity, career growth, time and reasons for changing jobs;
marital status and brief information about the next of kin (spouse, parents);
hobbies, sports achievements, awards, etc.
It is important not only and not so much the presentation of this information, but its presentation in the right way. Please note that your biography will be read by people who are quite critical, and until now they practically know nothing about you.
So a high-quality autobiography will form the impression about you that you yourself want to make. However, this is not yet a reason to indulge in lengthy reasoning and use inappropriate speech style and verbal expressions.
The autobiographies of writers and cultural figures who have gone down in history are distinguished by the richness of the language and are full of expressive means in such a way that they themselves are literary works. After all, you must create an official document, and its style must be appropriate.
Artistic images, figurative meaning of words and colloquial vocabulary are not appropriate in an autobiography. But, at the same time, you have the opportunity to demonstrate your literacy, a high level of knowledge of the literary language and a wide vocabulary. And this is already a lot for drawing up a profitable psychological portrait in the eyes of the reader.
If you have already had to write a resume, and you are writing a biography for the first time, then do not forget that the chronology of the presentation of events in these documents is diametrically opposite.
The resume requires the reverse order, that is, first the latest and most current events, positions, achievements are indicated, and only after them are educational institutions and the first labor steps. Autobiography does not imply such an inversion and maintains a logical order of things: from birth to the present.
Autobiography rules
Like other official documents, an autobiography should be written on a vertically oriented sheet of A4 white paper. Try to fit all of the text on one page and be sure to include a photograph.
She, unlike a portrait in a personal file, resume and / or passport, can be a little less formal: a smile is allowed, casual clothes, in a word, you can choose a photo in which you like yourself.
You can write your CV in advance, print it out and attach it to a folder with other documents, but be prepared for the fact that during the interview you will be asked to write your CV by hand. Therefore, it is better to think over the content in advance so that later it can be easily reproduced in the presence of a human resources employee.
This is not to say that this requirement is ubiquitous, rather it depends on the position you are applying for and the type of organization. But in many enterprises it is due to the fact that not only the HR manager, but also a psychologist, a graphologist and a security officer will get acquainted with your biography. These people expect an autobiography of a worthy job seeker to look like this:
At the top in the middle of the line is the title of the document: Autobiography. After it, a full stop is not put, and the subsequent text begins with a new paragraph.
The autobiography is written in the first person, in the singular. It begins with the pronoun "I", after which a comma is placed and the author's surname, name and patronymic is called.
Immediately after the full name, the author's date and place of birth are indicated. It is advisable to briefly describe the occupation of the parents: in the family of employees / workers / military, etc.
This is followed by information about education, and in the order of its receipt, that is, starting with elementary school (preschool institutions can be omitted). The name of the educational institution, the year of admission, the year of graduation and the form of education, the assigned qualification are indicated. Similarly, higher education, courses and training are reported. The dates and topics of the seminars and courses passed are mandatory.
Work experience, if any, is stated starting from the very first place, also indicating the beginning and end, as well as the reasons for dismissal. This information is accompanied by a description of the scope of responsibilities, the number of subordinates, career growth. The total length of service is indicated.
It is obligatory, if available, to report on scientific works, publications, titles. Year of thesis defense and its topic.
This is followed by information about additional responsibilities, achievements. In particular, it is indicated that the applicant successfully fulfilled the duties of his manager while he was on vacation or on sick leave, and what results he achieved.
If, in addition to work, the applicant has a hobby, then he talks about them, and mainly about those that are somehow connected with the position he wants to take.
Laconic message about personal life: marital status, number of children, spouse's occupation.
Additionally, the years of change of residence, military service and other information that the author considers important may be indicated.
Each subject block of the autobiography begins with a red line.
After the last sentence, an indent is made downward and on the left is the date of writing the autobiography (the date and year are written in numbers, the month - in a word), and on the right is the personal signature of the author.
