luke
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| posted on 13/1/13 at 09:45 PM |
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CV writing
Hi all,
Having graduated from uni last year i feel its time i reviewed my CV. I was very lucky to walk straight into a job based on my CV i had during uni,
hence why i havent done it yet. Obviously there are alot of templates, advice, blogs on the net to read but i felt where best to ask than here,
especially as im sure some of you are or have been employers.
When i was in uni, i took a workshop on CV writing and i picked up a couple of handy points; make it reflect your personality and sound like you, keep
it under two pages long and grab the readers attention in the first half a page, otherwise they wont read the rest. I used these succesfully with my
previous CV, but now feel it doesnt quite reflect me anymore and needs some changes.
So currently i am roughing out my main points and ordering them into importance. And i have a few questions that i would like peoples opinion on.
1. What do you think is important to go into that first half a page, to grab the attention?
2. Do you think hobbies/ interests should be more prominant or equal to work skills and training? I was told by my current boss that i was employed
because of my work i do in scouting. This was only a couple of sentances in my CV but was a big topic throughout my interview and the reason i got the
job.
3. Obviously your name goes at the top of the first page, but do you think it is right to put your titles (i.e degrees, memberships of professional
bodies etc. ) after your name to give a quick "snapshot" of your skill level, or should they be left in the main body under education?
Sorry for the essay of a post, but those are my thoughts for now but i bet the discussion will create more questions.
Thanks everyone,
Luke
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tegwin
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| posted on 13/1/13 at 10:24 PM |
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Surely it depends to whom you are applying.
Big companies may expect one type of CV (read by HR rather than people that know the job) whereas small companies the boss might read the Cvs and as
he knows the job inside out might have a different take on it...
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Would the last person who leaves the country please switch off the lights and close the door!
www.verticalhorizonsmedia.tv
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chillis
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| posted on 13/1/13 at 10:38 PM |
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Getting the help of a professional CV writer proved to be worth every Penny for me. Went from no responses before to phone ringing off the hook after.
Never under estimate the ingenuity of an idiot!
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morcus
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| posted on 13/1/13 at 11:38 PM |
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I'm confused, are you looking for another job?
As said who your writing for is very important, but if it's just for you as a just incase, all thats really important is that it has points
about everything you'd want on a CV to send out so that when the time comes you can quickly use that infomation to write a fresh one in the
format required for the specific use.
Out side intrests and achievements are always usefull for securing interviews, I've helped sort applications before and for the most part we
filled the interview slots with the people who had the most intresting things there as we'd have something to talk about in the interview, or in
a few cases were just curious about. I will add that in this case the Job didn't need qualifications and the best staff usually didn't
have any.
Something I will say, and you might have been taught this before but it's useful to know, Arial is apparantly easier to read than Times New
Roman and is thus the best font to write a CV in.
In a White Room, With Black Curtains, By the Station.
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Slimy38
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| posted on 14/1/13 at 09:35 AM |
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Just a few points that I tend to use;
1. First half of the first page is what I do now, so the most up to date experience. Next half is previous roles, then continue on to the second page
for a bit. Then the second half of the second page is qualifications and interests.
2. Despite me being in IT, I always add the fact that I did a City and Guilds in welding. As Morcus says, it gives something that 'sticks
out' and something to talk about. Every interview I've been on talks about that at least once and it always lightens up the interview.
It's only a brief one liner and doesn't take much room on the CV.
3. Write the CV 'almost' from fresh for each job. Unless you're going for the exact same job every time, it pays to
'tune' your CV for each job. Obviously start with a baseline, but perhaps emphasise the areas that are particularly relevant to the new
role. Obviously you can't do this with agents as they just send out the same CV to everyone.
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iank
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| posted on 14/1/13 at 11:07 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Slimy38
Just a few points that I tend to use;
3. Write the CV 'almost' from fresh for each job. Unless you're going for the exact same job every time, it pays to
'tune' your CV for each job. Obviously start with a baseline, but perhaps emphasise the areas that are particularly relevant to the new
role. Obviously you can't do this with agents as they just send out the same CV to everyone.
Absolutely for any of the jobs I look at I have to do this.
The CV is only really needed to get your bum on an interview chair, and frame some questions for the interview - think of it as a marketing document
for you so it must mention and prioritise everything in the "must be able to" skills in the advert if you want an interview.
--
Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level, then beat you with experience.
Anonymous
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