Make It. International CV.

One never knows when the chance to live and work in another country might present itself. But one can be prepared for such an opportunity, and having something like an international CV (curriculum vitae) is a handy tool to have at the ready. It's also a fancy alternative to the run-of-the-mill resume. Would you like to see my resume or my international curriculum vitae?

I say this, because it's best to start such a feat early. In the US we're always told to just have one page of information -- "no one looks past the first page". But CVs often run 5-pages in length without breaking a sweat.

In an international CV they want to know everything. Everything. The "profile" portion reads a lot like the "Interests" portion of a Facebook profile, where applicants are asked to just write a brief paragraph about themselves. There's also a part for primary education, and because it's international, things that wouldn't fly in the U.S. are totally kosher. Age, marital status, and number of kids should be on a CV, too.

There are several examples online for creating your CV. About.com has a particularly helpful example.

-- Lauren Williams