CV Draft critique.

[Energize]

This is a rough draft of my first proper CV, critique is welcomed. Sorry for the bad format, should be a .doc file I know but I was in a rush to put it up.

Obviously needs some more elaboration on hobbies and how they relate to interacting with other people and physical fitness.

This CV isn't aimed at any job in particular, just a general CV, changes would have course be made if there was a specific job role I was applying for.

deleted

Decided not to include some grades, such as the D and E I got in German and R.E. respectively at GCSE, and the D I got in AS critical thinking.

 

[BDEE]

Honestly did not read it because of the awful layout.

If this CV came across my desk it would get filed under B without even looking.

 

[Aedus]

Looks a bit boring.

 

[the_r_sole]

get the times new roman out!

 

[scottomus0]

needs personal statement in there

 

[Collider]

It doesn't really get to the chase.

Consider changing it so you have a chronological CV with your recent experience first and your old educational history last.

Maybe look at the following headings and what you can put under each.

Personal details
#Profile
#Work experience
#Education
#Additional skills
#Hobbies and interests

Some good examples and guidance here though obviously quite academic.

http://www.careers.ox.ac.uk/the-application-process/cvs/

 

[Sin_Chase]

Where is the formatting? As someone who has done Comp Sci you should be hot on this kind of thing...

There is no distinction between key parts of the CV and even once identified it makes for difficult reading.

Get the layout sorted then work on order and what you want to apply emphasis to.

This is a personal thing, and I imagine opinion will vary wildly on this but Hobbies and Interests - Does your employer really care what they are? Probably not.

 

[Roalith]

What other people have said, place it in chronological order with most recent stuff first - both in your education and employmenty experience. Layout is obviously a personal thing, but it definitely needs a lot of work.

 

[Energize]

It doesn't really get to the chase.

Consider changing it so you have a chronological CV with your recent experience first and your old educational history last.

Maybe look at the following headings and what you can put under each.

Personal details
#Profile
#Work experience
#Education
#Additional skills
#Hobbies and interests

Some good examples and guidance here though obviously quite academic.

http://www.careers.ox.ac.uk/the-application-process/cvs/

Ok, doing that now.

Where is the formatting? As someone who has done Comp Sci you should be hot on this kind of thing...

There is no distinction between key parts of the CV and even once identified it makes for difficult reading.

Get the layout sorted then work on order and what you want to apply emphasis to.

This is a personal thing, and I imagine opinion will vary wildly on this but Hobbies and Interests - Does your employer really care what they are? Probably not.

Word processing is not really something that a comp sci degree touches on unfortunately.

As for hobbies and interests, if they demonstrate good social and team skills, determination and ultimately a high level of achievement then surely they are relevant to any job?

What have you done for the last year and a bit?

The last year has been spent developing my hobbies and interests while taking a much needed break from the every day grind of education, done some odd jobs in the meantime and some more significant work for a business as mentioned, but was not interested in getting a job straight out of uni. Over the past few months I've been at the stables almost every day I think!

 

[kirbz]

I almost feel a bit cheeky for posting an opinion on your CV when mine isn't fantastic but my opinion is below.

1. Have you just done this off the top of your head? what I mean is have you searched the internet for hints and tips on how to do a CV. It almost looks a bit rushed.

2. You say you will change it for specific jobs. How? What will you change? Imo it just looks like you have listed your qualifications and where you studied.

3. Format, I don't need to repeat what others have said here.

4. You look from your qualifications to be pretty bright (brighter than me) and you have studied and carried out some very interesting tasks but it doesn't show in this CV. You really need to sell yourself. I read on a site (can't remember which) to imagine you were watching yourself as demonstrated on your CV would you buy that product?

5. A CV really needs to stand out! It's what gives you the foot in the door which is the interview. you need to make employers think "ah this guys looks interesting, we'll give him a shot"

6. If you do get knocked back you should ask for feedback, why didn't I get picked? What could be improved? What was you looking for in a CV? At the end of the day you are looking for a job so getting feedback on the bad things is valuable. Most of the time I'm sure the employer will give you this information.

These are just a few things I thought of, I hope I haven't caused offence by what I have said, I am in the same situation with looking for a job and writing a CV etc... I hope the above helps.

 

[qqg3]

Some great advice above, quickest fix is to reverse the order, newest stuff first please.

 

[Energize]

No offence taken, all helpful comments.

Since someone seems to hate Times New Roman, what font would you suggest? Comic sans perhaps?

 

[Energize]

Uploaded as a pdf this time.

 

[manic111]

What jobs are you going for? No offence intended, but that personal statement doesn't really tell me much other than that you've had a bit of a hard time (sorry to hear that, btw!).

The personal statement, in my opinion, should show a) what you're looking for, and b) why you're most suited to that job. Obviously it can't be too long, and your covering letter should outline these pieces of info in much more detail, but a couple of strong sentences can make or break the CV. If you don't have any specific jobs in mind, it might even be that you want to write the personal statement separately for each different application.

One thing that a grad recruiter friend at a large company said to me, when she critiqued mine, was that she didn't know until halfway down it that I was a graduate. It sounds really obvious, but bung that right at the top. My first sentence is "A graduate with a 2.1 in Philosophy from the University of York, ...".

Something else that struck me about yours is that, even though you mention your hobbies, I still don't really feel like I know anything about you. Can you be more specific about anything? Do you race horses? Do dressage? Can you name any specific events you've been involved with? It sounds trivial, but to me the more specific you are, the more memorable you are. Flesh out the interests section into full sentences. Here's one of mine:

• Travel is important to me. As well as my secondment in India and my gap year in Central America, I spent three months at school in the USA.

Finally, I'd lay your work experience section out differently. It all kind of merges into one at the moment, and to be honest is a little tough to read. With the experiences you've got, it would probably be worth separating them, and doing a couple of bullets for each bit of work experience, maybe one on skills used and one on the nature of the job/project. Also, put dates in - you can easily lay out the work experience section in the same way as the education section, with the name of the company replacing the name of the school/uni.

e: Also, I'm not clear on whether the animal sanctuary is the same company as the company mentioned in the first para, for whom you designed a website? Or have you designed two websites? Is that all since graduating? If so, you can make the time since you graduated look much more impressive - you've effectively worked a job, developed your hobbies, and worked freelance as a web designer. For a new grad to have done that in a year sounds decent.

 

[Energize]

Thanks for the feedback. Perhaps the wording gives the impression my injuries from the crash were worse than they are, but it helps to stop employers thinking I've just been lazy.

The statement is just generic at the moment, I will tailor it to every job I apply for. I'm looking for almost anything at the moment barring care jobs or telephone sales. Almost any job in computing is ideal really though, with my interests heading towards web development and networking. NOT 1st line technical support.

Yes I will be adding more details on my hobbies, such as the fact that I compete at dressage (unfortunately postponed until I'm fully healed). Indeed the reason for listing those hobbies specifically were because they allow me to demonstrate high achievement and show dedication and talent which could be of interest to an employer, rather than putting hobbies of no significance down like "movies, video games, reading" et al.

e: Also, I'm not clear on whether the animal sanctuary is the same company as the company mentioned in the first para, for whom you designed a website? Or have you designed two websites? Is that all since graduating? If so, you can make the time since you graduated look much more impressive - you've effectively worked a job, developed your hobbies, and worked freelance as a web designer. For a new grad to have done that in a year sounds decent.

It is indeed a different company, both companies had horrendous websites so I was happy to improve them for my cv if nothing else, though I did get paid in kind from the business one.

 

[Energize]

Is that the car crash from a couple of weeks back? It seems disingenuous to describe your situation as you have, if that's the case.

I know but I don't feel guilty for it, because if I told employers part of the real reason for it, ie depression and anxiety, I would be unjustly penalised for it. Besides it's not actually too far from the truth, I had planned to take about a years break and this crash has set me back a couple of months at least on the job hunt.

So did you just have a gap year where you rode horses, took photos and did some 'traditional art'? Was that planned, or as a result of the job hunt not working out? Unless you achieved something of note within horse riding/art/etc, it just reads to me as though you spent a year applying for jobs/not knowing what you wanted to do and doing hobby stuff, rather than it being planned. I can be a massive cynic, though! Do you ride competitively, when you didn't before, or anything?

I haven't applied for any jobs up to now, ironically the day before the car crash I had actually signed up to the adult college job club for assistance in job searching and cv/cover letter writing.

The time off after uni was planned and I think really needed after my mental health problems, I haven't been actively searching for jobs until recently because I haven't been up to employment but I know that I want something in the computing industry, that was my plan from the start of uni and I'm quite versatile with respect to whether it's networking, programming, web dev etc.

I had just started horse riding in the months before finishing uni, where I was a complete beginner, in the time since leaving uni I have become quite involved in dressage and have been competing at the local level. Which is a huge level of improvement obviously, with self study and some adult art classes as the local college I also went from a 5 year old level of drawing to a level of skill I am quite proud of.

Edit :: I don't get how it was a break from routine, for you, either. I mean, the routine of the previous three years had been university... so working, even part time, and partaking in hobbies would have been different the routine you were used to.

Having to get up early every day with a set routine of classes, or work I mean, having targets and deadlines to meet on a weekly basis. I've been feeling so much better after having the time off to keep to my own prn schedule, yet ironically accomplishing so much more in my life.

 

[manic111]

I had six months or so after uni where I literally did nothing other than apply for jobs (left in 2008), and it's not hindered me. I'm of the opinion that you shouldn't put mitigating circumstances in unless you're specifically asked about it.

When you're asked about it, put a positive spin on it. Saying that you had a car crash, while a very valid reason for not finding a job, strikes me as quite negative and defensive. Say that you had a difficult time finding a job, which was compounded by your car crash, but you used your spare time well, improving your soft skills such as web dev dramatically, doing some freelance work, and having a chance to pursue your hobbies.

Ultimately, employers do know that the job market is really hard at the moment, and that a lot of grads won't have found work immediately. You're well placed to show that you have not just sat on your ass for a year, and that you have actually done something. Show them that.

As mentioned above, I found it tough getting a job after uni, and spent the time doing some freelance copywriting, learning some web development and networking skills, and doing a bit of travelling. You've done at least as much as me, if not more. Use it to your advantage

Also, if you're implying that the car crash was from further than a couple of weeks back, how will you reconcile that with doing dressage when you were supposedly injured? Never worth stretching the truth that far in an interview.

 

[McGray]

Put your best qualifications first so degree, then A levels....

 

[Energize]

Updated op.

 

[Energize]

I had six months or so after uni where I literally did nothing other than apply for jobs (left in 2008), and it's not hindered me. I'm of the opinion that you shouldn't put mitigating circumstances in unless you're specifically asked about it.

When you're asked about it, put a positive spin on it. Saying that you had a car crash, while a very valid reason for not finding a job, strikes me as quite negative and defensive. Say that you had a difficult time finding a job, which was compounded by your car crash, but you used your spare time well, improving your soft skills such as web dev dramatically, doing some freelance work, and having a chance to pursue your hobbies.

Ultimately, employers do know that the job market is really hard at the moment, and that a lot of grads won't have found work immediately. You're well placed to show that you have not just sat on your ass for a year, and that you have actually done something. Show them that.

As mentioned above, I found it tough getting a job after uni, and spent the time doing some freelance copywriting, learning some web development and networking skills, and doing a bit of travelling. You've done at least as much as me, if not more. Use it to your advantage

Also, if you're implying that the car crash was from further than a couple of weeks back, how will you reconcile that with doing dressage when you were supposedly injured? Never worth stretching the truth that far in an interview.

Thanks for the advice.

I have competed in the past before the crash and will not (hopefully) be competing again before the CV is sent out to any potential employer.

Though that may not be a while given that every job in computing around here is for a "highly experienced" ASP or PHP developer.