Critique my CV please

buckeejit · 26 Nov 2012 at 17:47

Ok, some of you may know that I've been out of work for 4 weeks and it's driving me nuts so I think I need to change my CV. It's not the strongest CV but hey. I didn't want to do a CV thread because there are always load however, I think I need a critique as employers/agencies are not getting back to me.

I've used this CV for around 9 years now.

Any help is greatly appreciated

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0ByboX_wszAnoZEc3TC1iVFB3bUk/edit

alexakasloth · 26 Nov 2012 at 18:27

The layout is good however it is quite long, you could put a separate section for key skills and competencies at the end of your employment history as there seems to be a lot of repetition. Also with the header they'll know it's a CV so that's not needed instead I would put the position you are after.

I would revise the objective/personal statement to add some brief examples to back up claims, every man and his dog will put that they are highly motivated workers etc, put in buzz words relevant so if the advert asks for somebody who has great attention to detail, excellent communication skills and who can multi task then show you can from your work doing XYZ. I found this article to particularly helpful: http://careers.guardian.co.uk/careers-blog/how-to-write-a-personal-statement-for-your-cv

Ahleckz · 26 Nov 2012 at 18:29

Get rid of the interests bit, an the objective is far too long. It also seems very wordy - Yea, there is HEAPS of repetition. No need, stick to the key things in each job and show how each job developed you rather than doing the same thing.

People get obsessed with CVs, but totally forget about their covering letter. That's where you sell yourself and it's very important.

Actually put references, rather than "available on request". Two will do.

Oh, and don't lie:
"Good spelling and proofreading skills" ... "Driving License".

County · 26 Nov 2012 at 19:42

Hi mate

Firstly, good luck with the job search.

I do not have a generic CV, I rather tailor my CV to each individual job that i go for. Read what skills each job is after etc and make sure that you have those on your CV.

Upload the CV to all the main job-sites and refresh every week (this brings it back to the top-of-the-pile). Meet agencies f-2-f and sell yourself. Treat the time off as "work" too, learn new skills, take courses etc

buckeejit · 26 Nov 2012 at 20:30

Ahleckz said:
Oh, and don't lie:
"Good spelling and proofreading skills" ... "Driving License".

Eh?

buckeejit · 26 Nov 2012 at 20:31

Thanks guys.

Ahleckz · 26 Nov 2012 at 20:43

buckeejit said:
Eh?

Licence is the noun, license is the verb. The DVLA have given you a license to drive, you can prove this because you have a driving licence.

buckeejit · 26 Nov 2012 at 22:01

Ahleckz said:
Licence is the noun, license is the verb. The DVLA have given you a license to drive, you can prove this because you have a driving licence.

Oh, thanks

lol.

Zenduri · 26 Nov 2012 at 22:16

i really wouldn't upload a CV with your name address phone email and DOB on for the general public to be honest. Delete your personal info then reapply the document... we can critique it without that info.

You've kinda given anyone enough info to steal you identity... just being cautious

HangTime · 26 Nov 2012 at 23:44

Some thoughts:

-You should be able to squeeze this onto two pages if you ditch the hobbies and references and delete some of the white space
-Insert a page break before Uniglobe so the heading goes on the next page
-No dates on your qualifications means it isn't easy to link to you study - I wouldn't know what "Joblink" means for example
-Not directly CV related but if I was interviewing you I was ask why having traditionally spent 2-3 years with the same company you have left 3 jobs since this April, so prepare an answer for this.
-I like the overall formatting
-Maybe revise the bullets against your latest position as you've got 10 of them listed that feel like they could easily be condensed into half a dozen. It doesn't really feel that punchy paraphrasing assorted office admin tasks.
-Previous job lists things like "Excellent customer service skills" and "Excellent Knowledge of Microsoft Office" which are then repeated in the skills and competencies section.
-If you claim to have good proofreading skills be VERY VERY careful about what you put on your CV as it is like waving a red flag to a bull where anal people are concerned. In the above quote you've put "Excellent Knowledge" (capital K) in one section and "Excellent knowledge" in the other which highlights a lack of attention to detail.

buckeejit · 27 Nov 2012 at 01:30

HybridX said:
i really wouldn't upload a CV with your name address phone email and DOB on for the general public to be honest. Delete your personal info then reapply the document... we can critique it without that info.

You've kinda given anyone enough info to steal you identity... just being cautious

It's not my real address.

D.P. · 27 Nov 2012 at 04:11

Make it 2 pages max, important stuff on page 1, most important on top half.
Furthermore, get your name and contact details as some kind of header for quick reference.

Don't need your nationality of DoB, in fact that see your CV thrown in the bin because employers aren't allowed to make decision based on age or nationality.

Try to condense your objective into a snappier 2 sentence brief summary.

Driving license only needed if your prospective job requires drivings.

Remove interests.

For the career summary, I would remove all the key skills and make a section on too of page 1 listing all your main skills and abilities that the job you are applying for are interested in. This means byr the time they have got half way down page 1 the reader has your details from the header, a nice personal summary, and your core skills. A that point the reader should know if they should keep reading, you have sold your skills.

Try to condense the career text to important experience, tasks, responsibilities, role, etc.

A CV should be personalized for each job you are applying for, adding and removing information that is most relevant, highlighting skills that the role requires.

buckeejit · 27 Nov 2012 at 17:08

Thanks so much everyone. I've revised my CV massively today and have come up with the below. I personally think it's better than my old CV.

Please give me some more critique if it's needed (which it will I'm sure)

I will tailor this to specific jobs.

Couldn't use GoogleDocs as the formatting was mixed up using both .docx and .doc so I've uploaded screenshots:

Kosmiche · 27 Nov 2012 at 17:19

dude the postcode.

buckeejit · 27 Nov 2012 at 17:22

Eames said:
dude the postcode.

It's not mine.

buckeejit · 27 Nov 2012 at 20:32

any tips on the new CV?

radderfire · 27 Nov 2012 at 20:45

I would keep a personal profile in.

The Career Summary section is very long. I would see if you could condense it somehow.

HangTime · 27 Nov 2012 at 20:48

I think it is better but one downside to the new formatting is a lot of wasted white space on the left underneath the headings. It looks like you've tried to compensate for this by setting narrow page margins (?) but I'd try to make the left hand column a bit narrower if you can (Career Summary could go over two lines as you've done with Education / Qualifications).

Formatting is a bit inconsistent i.e. you've put all the dates of employment in black except for one which is in red.

There are some anacroyms used (VMCO, ADM) which may be everyday language in the travel industry but mean nothing to me and likely nothing to some people reading your CV so you may want to fully qualify them.

For your schooling I don't know when you formally left but maybe consider putting June 2003 instead of May 2003 as this shrinks the gap before starting college (i.e. less risk of it appearing you were bumming around for four months!).

Overall I think it is a step in the right direction and you've done well to take the feedback on board

m3csl2004 · 27 Nov 2012 at 20:53

buckeejit said:
any tips on the new CV?

Full stops and commas should be stop on in any CV, let alone if you have stated you have excellent grammar! Some of the bullet points in your lists have them and some don't?

Unless it is the image compression, then you will have to forgive me.

Alex_6n2 · 27 Nov 2012 at 21:03

Don't bother with company addresses. Doesn't add anything useful

Every word on your CV should be of some use.

It's fine to just put the nearest Town/City. That is of course, if you were going to add the entire address in the first place