📄 Interactive Activity
Building Your Curriculum Vitae (CV)
Level: EPJA – High School (3rd & 4th Year) | Subject: English (ESL) | Estimated time: 2 hours
🎯 Learning Objectives
By the end of this activity, you will be able to:
- ✅ Identify the essential parts of a Curriculum Vitae.
- ✅ Write each section of a CV clearly and professionally.
- ✅ Use action verbs to describe skills and experiences.
- ✅ Self-assess your CV using a checklist.
- ✅ Prepare a CV ready to use for job or study applications.
📖 Part 1: What is a Curriculum Vitae?
📌 Definition: A Curriculum Vitae (CV) is a document that summarizes your personal, academic, and work background. It is your “business card” for future employers or educational institutions.
💡 Important: In Chile, a CV is essential to apply for jobs, scholarships, internships, and study programs. It is your first impression!
Essential Parts of a CV
| Section | What to include? | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Personal Information | Name, RUT (ID), date of birth, contact details | John Smith · 12.345.678-9 · john@email.com |
| Professional Objective | Summary of your goals and aspirations | Proactive student seeking experience in customer service. |
| Education | Studies completed (from high school) | High School – Liceo A-47 (2021-2024) |
| Work Experience | Previous jobs (paid or volunteer) | Sales Assistant – XYZ Supermarket (2022-2023) |
| Skills | Technical and personal competencies | Microsoft Office, teamwork, communication |
| References | People who can recommend you | Available upon request |
📚 Part 2: Key Vocabulary
Action Verbs for Your CV
Managed, Organized, Coordinated, Directed
Presented, Explained, Negotiated, Wrote
Designed, Created, Innovated, Developed
Evaluated, Researched, Analyzed, Diagnosed
Guided, Motivated, Trained, Supervised
Implemented, Performed, Executed, Produced
Soft Skills
Hard Skills (Technical)
📝 Part 3: CV Example
Ana María González
📞 +56 9 1234 5678 · ✉ ana.gonzalez@email.com
📍 Av. Los Pinos 123, Santiago
🎯 Professional Objective
High school student with customer service experience. Looking for my first work experience to apply my communication and teamwork skills.
📚 Education
GPA: 6.2
💼 Work Experience
• Assisted customers and restocked products.
• Maintained order and cleanliness in the aisle.
• Organized books and assisted library users.
🛠️ Skills
• Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
• English (basic reading and writing)
• Teamwork and communication
• Organization and responsibility
🌍 Languages
• Spanish – Native
• English – Basic
📋 References
Available upon request.
✏️ Part 4: Build Your CV
📌 Instructions: Complete the form below with your personal information. When you finish, click “Generate my CV” to see a preview.
📋 Personal Information
🎯 Professional Objective
📚 Education
💼 Work Experience
🛠️ Skills
📋 References
👁️ Part 5: Your CV Preview
📌 Instructions: Complete the form in Part 4 and click “Generate my CV”. Your CV will appear here.
✅ Part 6: CV Checklist
📌 Review your CV: Click each item to mark it as complete. Make sure your CV is ready before sending it.
- Personal information complete (name, RUT, phone, email)
- Clear and specific professional objective
- Education from high school onwards
- Work or volunteer experience (if applicable)
- Technical and soft skills listed
- Languages and level of proficiency
- References (or “available upon request”)
- Clean, organized format with no spelling errors
- Appropriate length (maximum 2 pages)
- Information is current and truthful
💡 Part 7: Tips for a Successful CV
🌟 Tip 1: Be specific
Instead of saying “I worked in customer service,” say “I assisted more than 50 customers daily in a retail store.”
🌟 Tip 2: Use action verbs
Use verbs like managed, organized, implemented, developed, designed, coordinated to describe your experiences.
🌟 Tip 3: Adapt your CV to the position
Research the company or position you are applying for and highlight relevant skills.
🌟 Tip 4: Check your spelling
A spelling mistake can make a bad impression. Ask someone to review your CV before sending it.
⚠️ Important! Never lie on your CV
Always be honest about your skills and experiences. If you don’t have work experience, highlight your skills, studies, and volunteer work.
🎓 Part 8: Self-Assessment
How prepared are you to create your CV?
| Skill | 👍 Yes, I have it | 🤔 Not really | 😕 I need help |
|---|---|---|---|
| I know the parts of a CV | |||
| I can describe my skills | |||
| I can write a professional objective | |||
| I can identify my relevant experiences | |||
| I can organize information clearly |
🔍 What to do next?
- If you checked “Yes, I have it” for all skills, congratulations! You can apply with confidence.
- If you checked “Not really” for any skill, review the examples and practice again.
- If you checked “I need help” for any skill, ask your teacher for guidance.
📝 Part 9: Final Writing Task
✏️ Your mission: Using the preview of your CV from Part 5, write a final version in a separate document (Word or Google Docs).
Instructions:
- Copy the information from your generated CV.
- Add professional formatting (fonts, sizes, spacing).
- Check your spelling using the checklist.
- Save your CV as a PDF.
- It’s ready to use for your applications!
📄 Interactive Activity – Building Your Curriculum Vitae
Designed for EPJA High School Students – 3rd & 4th Year · Subject: English (ESL)
© 2026 · All rights reserved
Click the button and choose “Save as PDF” in the print options.