Long CVs

Edinho · 29 Jul 2007 at 16:26

One page is enough for any job. References, hobbies, school history should not be on a CV.

If they want references they will ask.

Moredhel · 29 Jul 2007 at 17:48

Erm, I hope I never have to read your boring CV then. As an employer reading through CVs I want to see at least some personalisation of a CV, how else do I decide between candidate A and candidate B if they have the same qualifications? And education history is important if it's a non IT job.

Then again, when I was last on an interview panel, all the cover letters got binned by HR without them being read, before they got to us for shortlisting.

Danger Phoenix · 29 Jul 2007 at 17:56

I can tell you now, that cover letters are rarely read, so do not put information in them that is not on your CV.

I have seen some good 6 - 7 page CVs so there is no strict rule that a CV must be a maximum of 1 - 2 pages. Although, as I mentioned in my earlier post, a summary of skills at the top is vital, because I want to know firstly if you have the skills for the job and then I will look at where you have applied them

clv101 · 29 Jul 2007 at 18:01

scorza said:
Yup, its 2 pages max for a CV, anything longer goes in the tl;dr bin. Thought everyone knew that?

That really isn't true. It entirely depends on the type of role.

manoz · 29 Jul 2007 at 18:07

2 pages isn't nearly enough if you're going into a design role

HangTime · 29 Jul 2007 at 21:36

Danger Phoenix said:
I can tell you now, that cover letters are rarely read, so do not put information in them that is not on your CV.

I have seen some good 6 - 7 page CVs so there is no strict rule that a CV must be a maximum of 1 - 2 pages. Although, as I mentioned in my earlier post, a summary of skills at the top is vital, because I want to know firstly if you have the skills for the job and then I will look at where you have applied them

What would you say is the best order to put stuff in a CV? ATM mine goes:
Personal details
Education
Professional qualifications
Work experience (employment history & key achievements/projects)
Specialist skills/experience
Personal skills
Interests

I'm not adverse to jigging it around a bit so from what you say it might be worthwhile. Historically I've tended to put qualifications at the start because they were my strong point.

Regarding the covering letter, in the past I've actually had an interviewer complimenting me on a well-written covering letter before, so I know some people do read them. What I try and do is illustrate that I have actually read the job spec and match up my skills and experience to it, rather than just a generic 'template' covering letter with the job title and company name changed

Then at the bottom in bold I have about 4 bullet points summarising what I think I bring to the job, to finish on a good note and also make it leap out the page at them (just in case they don't fancy reading it, too!).

malfunkshun · 29 Jul 2007 at 21:48

Danger Phoenix said:
I can tell you now, that cover letters are rarely read, so do not put information in them that is not on your CV.

I have seen some good 6 - 7 page CVs so there is no strict rule that a CV must be a maximum of 1 - 2 pages. Although, as I mentioned in my earlier post, a summary of skills at the top is vital, because I want to know firstly if you have the skills for the job and then I will look at where you have applied them

Interesting, we always read the cover letter first. It is asked for and is used. There is no strict rule, of course, but I can tell you now that more than 2 pages are not read. I guess you dont get many applicants where you are, I wouldnt want to read through three or four hundred 3 page CVs, much less that many 6 or 7 page ones.

clv101 · 29 Jul 2007 at 21:53

malfunkshun said:
I wouldnt want to read through three or four hundred 3 page CVs, much less that many 6 or 7 page ones.

Wooh, that's why it depends entirely on the job. Any job that is going to get hundreds of applicants shouldn't have long CVs. Many jobs only get half a dozen applicants if that - there long CVs are absolutely fine.

malfunkshun · 29 Jul 2007 at 21:54

half a dozen? Even the high end managerial positions get more than that.

clv101 · 29 Jul 2007 at 21:58

malfunkshun said:
half a dozen? Even the high end managerial positions get more than that.

I'm sure they do... plenty of jobs don't though when very specific skills are needed and the benefit package isn't that great.