Looking for a new job

aix0

aix0

aix0

Associate
Joined
16 Mar 2005
Posts
708
Location
Staffordshire
I've been looking for a new job over the past few weeks but I think my C.V is letting me down big time. I couldn't even begin to count the amount of jobs that i've applied for and heard nothing back.

I'm looking for some kind of I.T support / Tech role, it would be a 'big' help if a few peeps could take a look at it and give me some feedback / criticism. I don't really want to post it publicly though, but I can mail it, send a link or something.

It's a bit messy and my grammar isn't the best. Anyone that's good at this kind of thing and feeling generous? I'd be forever grateful! :)
 
From a employer prospective view: I suggest you improve on your education.

For example:

HNC/D then a degree.
 
Your main problem is that it's too wordy. Imagine you are a recruiter and you get sent 30 CV's, you want to look at the first page and immediately know about a person. There is a statistic something along the lines of people pay attention to 70% of the first page and 30% of the second.

I would put a technical skills section before all of your work experience, summarise your experience, qualifications etc. I also bought two "IT CV" books off Amazon, both very good and a worthwhile investment if it helps land you a job.

Lastly it also depends how you go about applying, you have to ring the recruiter an hour two after you sent it to "confirm" they received it, this then puts your CV in their mind when they think about filling the job.

Just my 2 cents...
 
As mentioned, its far too wordy. Make it fit into 2 pages at the most. Also bits like "spread over 6 sites throughout the country which are linked to head office (Stoke) via 2mb WAN connections." don't need to be in there. The potential employer really doesn't care what speed connection your previous job had. If you get to an interview, then you might have the opertunity to go into detail of your previous responsibilites etc, but for now you really want to keep to the man points. I'd also put the emplyment before the education section.
 
Comments appreciated!

I see what you mean about getting the technical info onto the first page; skills/employment before education, I never really thought about stuff like that. But I guess it's quite true, like first impressions and all that.

I thought about that WAN blurb before posting, it's just uneccassery filling really. I would have thought that my work experience and skills would have counted more so than my qualifications (or lack of) though.

I understand it being too wordy, probably trying to put too much down! I'll start on a second draft in the morning. I can't thank enough for the critique though, i'm trying to get it as spot on as possible. Thanks for spending the time / effort. Keep 'em coming...

:D
 
A CV needs to be "punchy" - to the point and attention grabbing. Like you say - first impressions.

Remember that at the application stage there are more rivals for the job than when you get further down the process, so it needs to make you stand out from the crowd. IMHO you could do with making the heading stand out more - put you name in bold, bigger font, centre it etc. Then put a separator line between your address/contact details and the bit decribing you. That then gives it the look of a top section that says "this is me, this is how you get hold of me" and a separate section that says "this is why you *want* to get hold of me."

Remember that the CV is only there to get you the interview - all the major details can be brought out then.

I'd also highlight the descrption of yourself at the top a bit more - with a heading maybe, like the education section etc. Although a separator line under your name/address like I suggested above might achieve that. That would bring out what you're saying about yourself to their attention a bit more.
Then put the employment bit so they can see how you apply your skills and demonstrate what you've said about yourself above as being true.

Also put in something about a "career aim" possibly? Not essential, but I know some people do. Shows you know what you want as well as your skills section showing you know how to get it. Shows ambition as well as motivation! People who set long term aims are well known to be more successful in a career than those that don't, so show them you know where you're going.....

Something I've always been told is never refer to yourself in the first person, taht is, never use "I" did this or "I" can do that. Instead of saying "I worked" just say "Worked....." etc. Other might disagree, but try it to see if it reads better for you.

Also - I'm sure you know this already - make sure you find out what they want from the ideal candidate and tailor the CV to suit. I personally keep a "main" CV and then ones customised for different jobs. Highlight the relevant skills etc etc...

Also don't lie or exaggerate (not that I'm saying you are!) Many big employers now have a term in the conditions of employment that say if they find out anything on your CV was not accurate you can be summarily dismissed. I know a guy at my work I was training up was fired after about eight weeks as something on his CV wasn't right. He was called into a meeting with the boss and HR at lunchtime and was escorted off the premises by security at about 3pm!!!
I heard of one guy (whether or not this is true I don't know) who was fired several years after joining when someone found out he'd lied on his CV.

Might be worth looking in some books as has been suggested. What's £15 or whatever if it gets you a job you're (I'm assuming) gonna enjoy more and get paid more for than your current one!

Pass it around as many family and friends as you can for their comments. The people that know you best can help you highlight personality traits and skills that you might not think are worth pointing out or have overlooked! Remember they'll want to help you get the job, not mess up.

Sorry if the above sound over critical, it's not meant to!

Good luck for it m8!
 
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I think you have already had some good feedback. I also think it's verbose, but your grammar isn't that bad - although there are a few problems. A quick scan revealed the following:

E.g., "My most notable achievement during this time would be the design, creating and implementation of a custom e-commerce application to plug-in to our already existing Oracle database."

My most notable achievement during this time was the creation and implementation of a custom e-commerce application that was designed to plug into a pre-existing Oracle database.

E.g., "After completing my college studies were completed I was promoted to Assistant Bar Manager where my duties increased to the management and ordering of stock and managing staffing rotas."

After completing my college studies I was promoted...., where my duties

My overall suggestion would be to bullet point pertinent points. This would allow you to keep some of the content while reducing the wordiness. E.g., for each job, briefly describe the role and briefly describe your key responsibilities.
 
Cheers guys, your comments and suggestions are really helping.

I've been editing for about an hour and half now, editing the wording (changing the 1st person view/layoyt/first page etc). 'Tis hard work!

CF93, you're a bit of a pro at this, mate. Appreciate you taking the time to write all that. Took the bullet point suggestion on board too, makes it much easier to read an looks a lot cleaner.

I've uploaded another version if anyone wants to check it out, it's not finished yet though. Link.

Thanks again! :)
 
After the contact details, I'd probably dive straight into "Education and Qualifications", and cut out anything that resembles a paragraph. You can relate the suitablitity of the award to the job you applied for in your cover letter.

E.g. (my CV says)
1999-2003 Dundalk Institute of Technology
Obtained a 2.1 Degree (B.A. in Accounting and Finance)
Subjects studied include Financial Services, I.T. and Marketing.


Next, employment history:
Keep the list to bullet-points. Paragraphs are too long. Merge your Achievements into the employment history, or include them in your cover letter if they are relevant to the job you are applying for.

Next, personal skills:
Turn these into bullet-points also.

Finally Technical skills:
Add the unix and Linux operatign systems as a bullet-point and don't bother mentioning you're not very good at them.
The paragraph is much too long and once again I'd recommend makign it into bullet-points.

Basically, get over your fear of bullet-points! The recruiter is scanning your CV for certain buzzwords and the easier you make it for them to find them, the better your chances at getting the job.
 
hmm. going by everything you've said.. i would so far agree. BUT my cv is/was pathetic and i had no problems getting interviews when i was looking for a job. In my experience, no matter how good your cv is it won't get you a job, it may just help though.. but I wouldn't rely on it

call potential employers and sell yourself direct






excuse the spelling etc. ive been in the pub
 
Use bullets a lot. Like you already have with your skills section.

Put your education and training to the top with full address of the school/college's you attended.

Try shortening or even removing some of the wordy bits but maybe add an "objective/aim" section. Here you can write about your ambitions in lilfe or ultimate goals.

I like the idea of a photo as mentioned too, it makes your CV stand out above others :)
 
Dont add a photo. Its not a requirement and uses up valuble space. It also gives a potential employer the (probably unlikely, but still) opportunity to judge you unnecessarily.

I recommend that you use more bullet points, shorten the paragraphs so that they contain only essential info and highlight keywords. e.g

• Assisted in the design and installation of a Windows Active Directory infrastructure. This also involved rolling out PCs to over 250 desktops as the company previously functioned using WYSE Terminals.

• Designed and implemented a custom e-commerce application to plug into a pre-existing Oracle database. This was a PHP development and involved the use of SQL queries, inserts and updates. This was to completely automate the process of ordering, stock adjustment, customer detail amendments and customer discount and contract pricing calculations.

• Implemented (do not use the same keyword twice, possibly change it to something like Applied and Executed a custom Intranet, an ASP driven site. This provides dynamic departmental related information that is easily accessible and updatable by select users throughout the business.

In those bullet points you have used the word "this" too often in the same syntax. Possible changes could look like so:

• Applied and Executed an ASP driven, customised intranet site providing easily accessible and updatable dynamic departmental data throughout a business (change business to something more descriptive, such as SME).

These are my recommendations, others may disagree, but using these tips on my CV helped me out a lot in finding a job and fitting all the relevant info onto my CV.
 
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panthro said:
Dont add a photo. Its not a requirement and uses up valuble space. It also gives a potential employer the (probably unlikely, but still) opportunity to judge you unnecessarily.
Click to expand...

Agreed unless you are so normal looking there is nothing they could judge you on unnecessarily :p

I would never include my photo as I look soo dodgy :) but I have got all but one of the jobs I've ever gone for, the one I didn't get was gutting as the comapany phoned me just days before I was supposed to start and withdrew the position
 
aix0 said:
CF93, you're a bit of a pro at this, mate.
Click to expand...

I wish I was! But thanks!

I'll have a look at the updated one later but I'm at work just now.

It can take a long time and a lot of effort to get the "perfect" CV, but it is definitely worth doing. Personally I would allow myself time spread over several evenings - what looks/sounds good one day might not the next etc - until I felt I had got it perfectly right for the job (keeping a few partly customised templates to work from helps cut the time down though.)

One thing to remember when applying as well is that you should send off your application within the first week of the job being advertised, but not immediately on the same day. Shows you're keen but not desparate.
 
Well, i've tried to take most comments and suggestions on board. I think i've overcome my fear of bullet points too, maybe too much though?

I've been trying to use different 'power verbs', well spotted that, panthro. I know there's been some suggestions towards layouts and which parts to come first etc. but I think it's best as I try and get my skills on the first page as my qualifications are somewhat lacking.

Cheers for all the effort and input, it's been a real help. :)

Here's the new soopa doopa draft. Link.
 
Hi mate.

Have to say if I was the employer, I think version 2 looks much better and if it was a choice between 2 potential employees where each had used one of the styles, I'd employ the guy that used version 2. Much easier to read and find the info I would want to know in a hurry.

I was a bit dubious about the idea of bullet pointing everything, but I actually think it works well on your CV.

The only thing I would maybe think about now is putting you references contacts on instead of saying "available on request." I know most companies don't ask the referees until you get past the interview stage, but where I work just now asks for them as soon as you're asked for an interview, just to speed the whole thing up. It's down to you though really, as all they'd do is ask you for them when they invite you for the interview.

Now if I were you I'd keep that as the master template and customise for each job application (like I said before, highlight certain skills and achievements over others depending on what the job requires.)



Good effort, and good luck :D
 
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