CV reviews, advice and direction

[Posty]

You probably shouldn't go if you don't even own a shirt and tie. Save yourself the effort.

If anyone wants any advice or is looking for a job in IT (UK Wide) feel free to drop me an email. Have lots of stuff at the moment, to give you an idea:

PHP Development in W. Yorks
C# Development in Bristol
Java - EVERYWHERE
IT and Telecoms Support - Pretty much everywhere at various levels, especially Exeter/Bristol
Technical Architecture (Java/Oracle) - Bristol
Project Management - South Wales
UX/Front End Designers - Bristol

And that's about 1/4 of my list and I'm 1 of 30 consultants in the office.

If you're looking for work I'm sure I can find you something

What level of experience education is required? What would you recommend someone with Economics degree who is learning java & python in his free time?

 

[danza]

I really like this layout. Did you borrow it from somewhere or is it your own work?


e : I don't think I can change the thread title, no. Think a mod needs to do it.

Thanks. It's my own layout in essence, but I did get some inspiration from other designs.

I really like that layout, makes most CV look positively "blocky" in comparison. Have you got a word-doc version?

I do have a .doc version of it, but it just shows my (at the time) terrible grasp of formatting using Word. It's just a couple of large text boxes with lines drawn in (one each page) with smaller text boxes for the headings. I just drag it all about when I make changes.

If you'd like it, I can send it to your trust addy?

 

[[FnG]magnolia]

You probably shouldn't go if you don't even own a shirt and tie. Save yourself the effort.

If anyone wants any advice or is looking for a job in IT (UK Wide) feel free to drop me an email. Have lots of stuff at the moment, to give you an idea:

PHP Development in W. Yorks
C# Development in Bristol
Java - EVERYWHERE
IT and Telecoms Support - Pretty much everywhere at various levels, especially Exeter/Bristol
Technical Architecture (Java/Oracle) - Bristol
Project Management - South Wales
UX/Front End Designers - Bristol

And that's about 1/4 of my list and I'm 1 of 30 consultants in the office.

If you're looking for work I'm sure I can find you something

Can you give us any advice and tips from 'the other side' as it were. My dealings with people like you have been universally terrible but you sound like a good sort. What makes a good candidate from an Agency's point of view? What can you share?

 

[Scythian]

You probably shouldn't go if you don't even own a shirt and tie. Save yourself the effort.

Is this true for 'smaller' jobs e.g. working at a local supermarket or halfords store?

I was always told it was essential to wear a suit regardless of the position I was applying for, but recently I was told by someone who used to work as a recruitment officer(?) that suits weren't always neccesary and for some jobs a simple shirt and tie with 'sensible' jeans would be enough.

 

[[FnG]magnolia]

Something wrong? Magnolia, you're sweating.

This is amazing and I apologise for somehow missing it before. I wasn't even going there but now you've posted that I'm going to pretend it was intentional

These forums.

 

[Skillmister]

Is this true for 'smaller' jobs e.g. working at a local supermarket or halfords store?

I was always told it was essential to wear a suit regardless of the position I was applying for, but recently I was told by someone who used to work as a recruitment officer(?) that suits weren't always neccesary and for some jobs a simple shirt and tie with 'sensible' jeans would be enough.

I wouldn't wear a suit to a supermarket interview. I've been to 4 asda interviews (i know right...) and only ever saw 2 people in suits out of 20+ candidates. Shirt and tie and black trousers. (inb4 you didn't get the job because no suit)

 

[The Halk]

Everybody forms a different first impression, however if someone wore a suit to a minimum wage job interview then I'd look at them in a positive light. At least they own one.

 

[Alex_6n2]

What level of experience education is required? What would you recommend someone with Economics degree who is learning java & python in his free time?

I would recommend that you start at the bottom like anyone else looking to get into development. You might have some luck with financial firms in London, most of our clients in that sector do their development with Java and Python

Can you give us any advice and tips from 'the other side' as it were. My dealings with people like you have been universally terrible but you sound like a good sort. What makes a good candidate from an Agency's point of view? What can you share?

Unfortunately there are quite a few agents who either don't care, or just aren't very good

My best advice would be to find the best agents and when you do, utilise those to their maximum potential. If you're open and honest with an agent throughout your job hunt it can be a really useful way of finding the right job.

The thing I would advise most, is to remember that as an agent you usually have a lot of jobs on your desk and these change daily. So if you speak to someone and they don't have anything on their desk that's any good for you, but something could come up, keep in touch. Generally in my office we will make sure everyone gets a look at a good CV, as each agent always has different things.

Is this true for 'smaller' jobs e.g. working at a local supermarket or halfords store?

I was always told it was essential to wear a suit regardless of the position I was applying for, but recently I was told by someone who used to work as a recruitment officer(?) that suits weren't always neccesary and for some jobs a simple shirt and tie with 'sensible' jeans would be enough.

Well that depends on what kind of first impression you want to set. Personally my advice is ALWAYS to set the best first impression you can. It's better to be smart and not need to be, rather than scruffy and have it lose you the opportunity

Hope that helps

 

[ci_newman]

Thanks. It's my own layout in essence, but I did get some inspiration from other designs.



I do have a .doc version of it, but it just shows my (at the time) terrible grasp of formatting using Word. It's just a couple of large text boxes with lines drawn in (one each page) with smaller text boxes for the headings. I just drag it all about when I make changes.

If you'd like it, I can send it to your trust addy?

Yes please If nothing else, I could give it a tidy-up for a nice template to stick in the O/P

 

[InKursion]

To be honest most C.V.s sent digitally to an agency/temp firm/recruiter will be stored in some sort of plain format, so all of your fancy typography will go to waste. Also most employers just prefer no-frills Arial/TNR from what I can tell; they want something they can scan through and read easily, and you don't want to come across as contrived with some fancy serifed classical font.

And use your academic email address, or otherwise set up a special account that is just your first and last name. Teenage Internet handles in Gmail accounts or, cough cough, gaming forum usernames... will probably not go down well.

 

[alx]

I don't mean a ridiculous font, or something overly fancy, I just mean in terms of what's easiest to read/is nicest. Obviously everyone uses Arial/TNR, but I'm wondering if they're actually the best, when it comes to actually reading them. Presumably they are, and that's why they're ubiquitous... but you never know!

Yeah, I currently use my academic one... but, in a year's time, I won't have that. I have friends who use ridiculous teenage email addresses/things which sound like gaming usernames, and they just make me laugh... especially when I see them using them for law firm application forms, etc .

I use the font Verdana in my CV - it's slightly wider than Arial and so easier to read (came as a recommendation from a CV website).

 

['Harry]

Questions..

1. Bullet points or paragraphs to describe job/duties

2. Whats the best way of selling bad jobs? I worked for an agency for 3 years going from temp contract to temp contract. None of these jobs were skilled by any means, and didn't involve anything more then working on a production line.

3. Should I mention I turned down the chance to move to the US to work for a big manufacturing company? My working links adviser says no, and I'm unsure. At the time I was only in my early-ish 20s and relocating scared me. On hindsight I should have gone. I wouldn't be jobless and broke, plus I'd of had a career. The guys that fitted the machinery in my old job made $90 an hour + all expenses paid. I was dumb

They were going to train me to program and install these - http://www.provisur.com/formax-slicing/products/powermax4000

Cheers

 

[qqg3]

I don't mean a ridiculous font, or something overly fancy, I just mean in terms of what's easiest to read/is nicest. Obviously everyone uses Arial/TNR, but I'm wondering if they're actually the best, when it comes to actually reading them. Presumably they are, and that's why they're ubiquitous... but you never know!

I use Tahoma simply because I've always used Tahoma for pretty much anything and everything, find it easier to read for a sans serif font.

 

[[FnG]magnolia]

Helvetica.

Questions..

1. Bullet points or paragraphs to describe job/duties

Bullet points are much easier to skim read. Paragraphs show thought and structure. It's a hard one.

2. Whats the best way of selling bad jobs? I worked for an agency for 3 years going from temp contract to temp contract. None of these jobs were skilled by any means, and didn't involve anything more then working on a production line.

Keep it short, simple and move on as quickly as you can.

3. Should I mention I turned down the chance to move to the US to work for a big manufacturing company? My working links adviser says no, and I'm unsure. At the time I was only in my early-ish 20s and relocating scared me. On hindsight I should have gone. I wouldn't be jobless and broke, plus I'd of had a career. The guys that fitted the machinery in my old job made $90 an hour + all expenses paid. I was dumb

You could bring this up in an interview if pushed but I wouldn't put it in a CV. In discussion you have a chance to show a positive which you only now realise for what it was; on paper, you sound like that guy who is basically saying, "I done goofed."

 

[NotAGolf]

It's not a CV question as such, but the two go hand in hand... covering letters.

Does anyone have an opinion on these from an HR/recruitment perspective? Is much time spent reading them, or are they simply used as a pointer to the attached CV?

I always use a covering letter where possible, but I don't go into much detail. I'll give a brief summary of my key qualities (maybe pick the top 2 or 3 points in my CV), say what job I'm applying for and where I saw it. But that's about it. I don't like to ramble. If I knew the company I was applying for (so not through an agency) I'd do some research and maybe drop in a quote mentioning the company and I'm interested in the XYZ projects they do and want to be a part of it for reason X.

However I've seen some covering letters that are essentially an extension of the CV with more lists of key skills and experiences.

My thought process is If I had to read through 100's of CV's a day, I wouldn't to read page long covering letters to go with it.

Anyone have a view on this? Maybe I'm completely wrong and recruiters may even prefer to read the covering letters than the CV's themselves??!

 

[toshj]

It's not a CV question as such, but the two go hand in hand... covering letters.

Does anyone have an opinion on these from an HR/recruitment perspective? Is much time spent reading them, or are they simply used as a pointer to the attached CV?

I always use a covering letter where possible, but I don't go into much detail. I'll give a brief summary of my key qualities (maybe pick the top 2 or 3 points in my CV), say what job I'm applying for and where I saw it. But that's about it. I don't like to ramble. If I knew the company I was applying for (so not through an agency) I'd do some research and maybe drop in a quote mentioning the company and I'm interested in the XYZ projects they do and want to be a part of it for reason X.

However I've seen some covering letters that are essentially an extension of the CV with more lists of key skills and experiences.

My thought process is If I had to read through 100's of CV's a day, I wouldn't to read page long covering letters to go with it.

Anyone have a view on this? Maybe I'm completely wrong and recruiters may even prefer to read the covering letters than the CV's themselves??!

Yes, but it depends on who you send the CV to and how relevant you are to the position advertised.

I must admit that I rarely read cover letters (and I review upwards off 100 CVs a day), and instead jump to the CV to decide on whether or not the candidate is relevant to the position. I'm a recruiter/headhunter though, so my job is to find the ideal candidate on paper (i.e. CV) and not one who might like to do the job but who doesn't have the necessary experience required for the position.

An HR manager or hiring manager would likely be more interested in the cover letter, but again that would depend on how well you matched up to the position, company, industry, etc.

If you're "almost there" with the job spec, and feel you're an OK candidate but not the perfect candidate, a good cover letter could certainly increase your chances of getting an interview. If your CV matches the position applied for, then a cover letter is far less important.

If you're not matched to the position whatsoever and it's a long shot, spending hours and hours putting together specific cover letters will likely see your time wasted, as it could be better spent apply for more relevant positions, or networking in a specific industry you'd like to move into. If you'd like to move from A industry to B industry but don't have the relevant experience on your CV, networking is the way to do it. Not cover letters.

 

[Judgeneo]

Heres my CV for those who are interested, got me on a grad scheme starting in September

http://i800.photobucket.com/albums/yy285/Judgeneo/cv.png

 

[toshj]

Heres my CV for those who are interested, got me on a grad scheme starting in September

http://i800.photobucket.com/albums/yy285/Judgeneo/cv.png

where you off to/what you going to be doing?

 

[Judgeneo]

where you off to/what you going to be doing?

IT in an Investment bank. Hence the CVs focus on technology

 

[toshj]

IT in an Investment bank. Hence the CVs focus on technology

Excellent! Good route to take. Also, going down that route but assuming some investment/trading experience would do wonders for your CV if you ever look to move into systematic/quantitative trading at any point in the future!