It's not great. If you e-mail me at [email protected] I'll send you mine. I'm not saying it's the greatest C.V in the world but it's not bad.
Is my C.V really that bad?
- Thread starter mufc802
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Associate
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Times New Roman/Arial
11-13 (all about making it either 1 or 2 pages, not 1 and a little bit).
Full Justification with proper formatting for bullet points etc..
Thats my personal preference anyway. Stick to something normal, a whacky font/size will just put a potential employer off most likely.
11-13 (all about making it either 1 or 2 pages, not 1 and a little bit).
Full Justification with proper formatting for bullet points etc..
Thats my personal preference anyway. Stick to something normal, a whacky font/size will just put a potential employer off most likely.
I found whenever reading anything, if its in Times New Roman it is off-putting and I don't like reading it. Verdana or Calibri is much easier on the eye I find, it makes the whole text look smoother. Ariel is ok but a bit compact I think.
Size 11 MAX, 12 and 13 just look incredibly special.
Also Times New Roman looks horrible and plain, I'm using Cambria 10 at the moment and it looks great without being too small.
I would use a better template/layout.
Start with a personal profile at the top: what you're about (experiences), good qualities, and where you're heading. ****** sell yourself man!
I would have the headings in this order myself:
Profile
Experience (work)
Education
Skills
Interests
I wouldn't say being punctual is a skill (more a personal quality) nor: 'Worked well in a team of six getting the course prepared for the golfers and also getting on with my own assigned tasks throughout the day.' These are not skills. Being an effective teamworker is, or being able to work well on your own.
With your work experiences, perhaps add a mini-profile at the start of each one to introduce your roles and responsibilities, then perhaps include specifics and achievements in that role underneath.
Lastly, talk with some passion about your interests rather than just bullet point them
Agree with most of the above post, but most importantly your skills section needs to be condensed down with all the crap removed. Being on time and MS Office and OS skills stand out in your CV, something not good at all.
I would structure it with Education first as you are still in education with work experience after:
Profile
Education
Experience (work)
Skills - Relevant to job, training?
Interests
Give examples; 'Good teamplayer' means nothing. Write something fancy about improving team working practises, better comunication with others improving reliability of gold machines, etc etc.
Finally, keep the tense the same; 'Maintained driving area, located x,y,z' not 'maintain driving area and locating cables'.
A rough start for you, but I'm off to prep for my interview
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Well it wasn't really work experience since it was actual employment since I was paid.
Noticed the tense problem and sorted in my modified C.V.
Finally, in the profile bit do I need to mention what my future aim is such as going to university or will that put the employer off?
The structure of the C.V. is not done well, headings are fine, grammar needs to be checked.
A tip that I found for the headings to be seen clearer is -
To type in the heading and make it bold. ( Key skills )
After highlight the heading and select insert table.
Automatically you will have a small boarder around the heading.
I have used this on my own CV it looks much better than before.
A tip that I found for the headings to be seen clearer is -
To type in the heading and make it bold. ( Key skills )
After highlight the heading and select insert table.
Automatically you will have a small boarder around the heading.
I have used this on my own CV it looks much better than before.
I would make sure you tailor your CV to the job you apply for. B&Q don't value "built my own custom computer" as a skill, for instance. Your point about working well in a team of 6, however, is a great way to demonstrate a skill. Perhaps modify it a bit to take the gardening aspect out of the focus and zoom in on the teamwork bit. EG "I have worked well in a team of 6, where distributing tasks effectively was paramount to completing the daily workload of managing and grooming an entire golf course". This says that you are good at working with others and getting lots of work done as a team (something most businesses value), rather than saying you're good at gardening with mates. Take the experiences you've had, and translate them into skills that are relevant to the position you're applying for.
Actual employment is work experience. Your personal statement should be customised to appeal to the employer of the position you are applying for.
I am currently working on my CV as well, for immediate part time and another for graduate jobs, and this is the exact font I went with, I think it looks pretty good!
Backing up what others have said, make the headings stand out, and include information that will really make you independent of the other applicants. You cannot have a general CV, you do have to tailor your CV towards the job you are applying for, like others have said, if you are going for a part time retail job, say your experiene in retail, working with customers or shop floor, and money handling skills. If you are going for IT, note your key IT skills, if you are going for finance, not any maths or accounting skills you may have picked up etc.
How is that possible when you have no previous experience in retail? I've never worked for a shop before, however I am hoping to do some volunteering work soon maybe that could help.
Use common sense. Consider the skills that are important in retail and shift the focus of how you describe all content to cater for that.
Well that was an example. If you have no prior retail experience, then to try add something that you can add to a retail specific CV, such as any experience with customers, money handling, stocking ...
In your case, working on the golf course, did you deal with customers at all? If yes say so. Working with 6 others shows you have good teamwork abilities etc.
If you have joined any clubs this can be good, especially if you helped out in running it, shows good organisation skills, but be sure to mention it specifically, like 'ran such and such club, organising events and being responsible for such and such'.
Just try and make your skills specific to the job you are trying to apply for.
In your case, working on the golf course, did you deal with customers at all? If yes say so. Working with 6 others shows you have good teamwork abilities etc.
If you have joined any clubs this can be good, especially if you helped out in running it, shows good organisation skills, but be sure to mention it specifically, like 'ran such and such club, organising events and being responsible for such and such'.
Just try and make your skills specific to the job you are trying to apply for.
I don't think this matters. I just finished filling out a graduate CV/Application form for a company and they use Work Experience.
From your CV I understand the most important thing about you is you know Windows XP, since this is listed fist.
You should list the important important qualities first, namely your highest level of education and/or most relevant employment history.
You should only list skills that are relevant to the job you are apply, e.g. if you are going to work the Tills at Tescos then they don't care that you can use Windows XP, and it certainly isn't the first thing they want to know about you!.
This is important where graduates may not have had full time employment, but m have internships and experience in companies, even if unpaid.
dont places like B&Q only accept 'proper' app forms ? a lot of places only accept web form ones too
a CV is usually an instant rejection at places like that
with B&Q you do an online form and personality test IIRC
maybe they just hate engineering students because i had mega problems getting a part time job during uni too.
a CV is usually an instant rejection at places like that
with B&Q you do an online form and personality test IIRC
maybe they just hate engineering students because i had mega problems getting a part time job during uni too.
I applied at B&Q through their online application form including questions about my ability to deal with customers, they also required an uploaded C.V.
I will try going into places like this instead of applying online and asking the manager directly which VinceB1 suggested. Hopefully I get further doing that.
You should see the one my friend just asked me to submit to my company. It read well, usual big yourself up rubbish that plagues many CVs. Unfortunately, because of this, he failed to notice that it showed he'd effectively had a different job every year for the past 8 years.
This didn't go down well. There are some companies out there that still rate commitment very highly it seems!
I haven't told him yet though.
This didn't go down well. There are some companies out there that still rate commitment very highly it seems!
I haven't told him yet though.
Good news! I have been offered an interview at B&Q for temporary work doing replenishment over the phone. Since all my E-Mail responses said I was unsuccessful I am pleasantly surprised to receive the call.
Now I'm offered an interview on Friday, I've never had a real interview before so what can I expect? Any tips?
Now I'm offered an interview on Friday, I've never had a real interview before so what can I expect? Any tips?
Good stuff, congrats... as with any interview you will get the normal questions, why do you want to work here? What do you know about us? So some considered thought to these questions as well as a little research is always handy.
Large retailers generally have a relatively high staff turnover so they may ask you about your plans to go to uni in 6 months. Consider what you say here very carefully as it may affect your chances if they are looking for something more permanent.
Other than that you are set. All you have to do now is turn up on time in your trousers, shirt and tie. Be yourself and try not to get nervous, remember the interviewer is only a person as well so show them that you have at least half a brain and are not a total liability and your in.
Large retailers generally have a relatively high staff turnover so they may ask you about your plans to go to uni in 6 months. Consider what you say here very carefully as it may affect your chances if they are looking for something more permanent.
Other than that you are set. All you have to do now is turn up on time in your trousers, shirt and tie. Be yourself and try not to get nervous, remember the interviewer is only a person as well so show them that you have at least half a brain and are not a total liability and your in.