CV updated but too much waffle, help!

Caporegime
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
32,618
Remove driving license/rail card, who cares!
Make telephones on 1 lines.



Remove GCSEs, also remove silcoates school. removed the work experience bototom of page 2, you already list in detail your work experience. To your personal statement you could add something like 4 years IT experience.

Your IT skills section may not be useful, e.g. using microsoft products hardly makes for an envious skillset and would be expected anyway.



So much of your text can be massively condensed by more careful wording, ordering of clauses, sentence structure. I don't have time to re-write everything but I expect you could half the number of words without removing any content.
E.g.
"Carried out independent reviews (acted as a reviewer), for designs"
vs
"Independently reviewed designs. "

Higher up you said you worked on bespoke software and then named it. Well if it is bespoke then no one will have heard about it or care what it was called!

"...using cable schematics produced in MS Visio"
Does it matter what software was used to make the schematics, I doubt it, just say you used cable schematics"




Just have a good long hard look at every word you used, see if all of it is needed, if it adds useful information that is relevant for you to get the job. See if you can restructure a sentence, changing the order of clauses to reduce words.

Don't be afraid to simply make a 2 or 3 column bullet point of skills/techniques/knowledge/experience for each job, just listing keywords that an employer is looking for. Complete English sentences are not always needed, especially if they have lots of filler and duplicates.
 
Soldato
Joined
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Location
Snorbans, UK
The "6 years" at school is actually 5 years. The academic year starts in one year, and finishes on the next - September to July (usually).

So it would be September 2001 to July 2007.
 
Soldato
OP
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West Yorkshire / Market Bosworth
Well noted dp, thanks and yes I know I have always had a habit of going to far with things like job descriptions. I need to completely summarize them in to 2-3 bullets lasting a couple sentances with appropriate keywords.

I've found driving license or shall we say driving licence :p , is always a good thing for CV as is the Network rail cert, as it is a PTS (Personal Track Safety course) you need that before doing pretty much any job where you might be going on site. So it is needed. :)
 
Soldato
Joined
7 Jan 2007
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10,608
Location
Sussex, UK
Have you suggested it to them? I do have an idea, I've been job seeking for several months and very recently secured employment. I have a recruitment agency phone me at least once a week (it actually worries me how some of them have got hold of my cv with my details and entire life on it :/) The first few I asked if there was any improvements I could make to my CV to increase my chances of successful employment, they give you a little insight into what employers are after.

I know first hand the job centre is rubbish but you should at least try it out and get as much info as possible. The key to employment, and indeed employability, is a proactive approach to your search.

Although I'm almost certain you've probably heard all of this and are doing so.

I'll stick your CV into my template that is tried and tested so you at least have something that looks nice to work from.

Why?????????

how can you be pro active?

just use active
 
Soldato
OP
Joined
17 Sep 2007
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11,095
Location
West Yorkshire / Market Bosworth
Some good ideas here, thanks all. Going spend a few hours this afternoon tidying it up and making it more presentable. I find it hard not to go into detail about the job descriptions though, need to try and keep it to a key word/bullet point which I can then expand on at interview stage. :)
 

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Soldato
Joined
24 Aug 2011
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6,162
Location
ABQ, NM
Why?????????

how can you be pro active?

just use active

Just use active? No I don't think so. That would be like me only using the word happy even though I might be elated.

You can be proactive or you can be reactive.

proactive [prəʊˈæktɪv]
adj
1. tending to initiate change rather than reacting to events

So for example, rather than being proactive and googling the word for yourself, you've been reactive in waiting until I did the work for you.
 

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Soldato
Joined
24 Aug 2011
Posts
6,162
Location
ABQ, NM
Had an email from my manager at Siemens asking if I would like to come back to work on another contract/slightly different but similar job to my previous work. Very happy. :)

Congrats. If I were you I would still be looking for a permanent role in your spare time. This contract business would make me a nervous wreck every time I neared the end of it.
 
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