CV writing help

[edmurrgr]

Good afternoon org people. I need to produce a CV for a job that I’ve been hoping to apply for for ages, it’s about to come up and I want to be prepared and have a CV ready.
I’ve seen some very good advice and tips on here for all sorts of diverse subjects and I was hoping to tap into this for my CV!

So any tips or advice or even any examples would be massively appreciated!

[Luckypants]

What is the job? What industry is it in? CV's seem to fall into different types for different industries / job types. My CV has been reasonably successful for me in Technical computer roles, but would not be suitable as a format for 'non-technical' jobs.

[edmurrgr]

It’s for a position as an apprentice manager. The role would entail, coordinating the apprentices, assessing them, applying for funding etc. It would be within a technical engineering environment, covering mechanical, electrical, software engineering etc

[krhall]

Keep the cv concise (more than 3 or 4 pages is too much), make sure there are no gramatical or spelling mistakes (you'd be surprised how many I see where people just couldn't be bothered).

Start with most recent role and work backwards, highlighting bits of the role which are relevant for the new position.

Don't bother with hobbies, people don't read it really unlees it has something outlandish or particularly boring on it.

Don't say anything that you cannot substantiate or expand on should you be quizzed about it.

[wyrdness]

Keep the cv concise (more than 3 or 4 pages is too much), make sure there are no gramatical or spelling mistakes (you'd be surprised how many I see where people just couldn't be bothered).

Start with most recent role and work backwards, highlighting bits of the role which are relevant for the new position.

Don't bother with hobbies, people don't read it really unlees it has something outlandish or particularly boring on it.

Don't say anything that you cannot substantiate or expand on should you be quizzed about it.

I've been doing a lot of interviewing recently and have had to read through a lot of CVs. The above advice is all well worth heeding. With hobbies, only mention them if they're in some way relevant to the job. Don't mention skills that you know very little about. If you list too many skills on your CV it may make the interviewer suspicious and he might then start questioning you about a few of them. He'll know if you're giving him BS, so don't.

If you're applying directly for a role (rather than going though an agency), then tailor your CV to the particular role that you're applying for. That will definitely help to get you an interview. A short covering letter isn't a bad idea either, but only if you can use it to make points in your favour that you can't do on the CV.

If you have a degree and several years experience, then your grade B in GCSE woodwork is unlikely to be of interest, so leave it off. However, should you have 5 grade A's at A-level, then definitely mention that.

Don't make the mistake of making your CV too short either. Often the advice is to make them only 2 pages long, which may well not be sufficient if you have a lot of experience. Don't go to the other extreme though. I've seen some extremely long CVs of around 10 page, which is far too much for a prospective employer to want to wade though.

Hope this helps.

[krhall]

If you have a degree and several years experience, then your grade B in GCSE woodwork is unlikely to be of interest, so leave it off.


Same as that for jobs and experience, if it is not relevant don't mention it.

For example: I did an apprenticeship and several years as a bricklayer, however I now work in IT. Although it is relevant to me, the fact that I used to be a bricklayer is not relevant to any potential IT employer. So it doesn't appear on my CV.

Read your CV too before sending it, if it bores you it will bore the reader.

+1 for a covering letter or e-mail. This is infact the very most important part of the whole process, this preceeds the CV so if you get it wrong here it won't matter what the CV is like. Tailor the letter so it picks out the core skills which are most applicable to the new job. Also keep this on one page.

NEVER SLATE YOUR OLD FIRM!

[edmurrgr]

Thanks for that, some very good points! I plan to make a good start on it this eve so I will print off the posts and put them in with my other notes for then.
Cheers.

[Baph]

Can't really give much advice that hasn't been given.
Keep the cv concise (more than 3 or 4 pages is too much)

I tend to stick to the 2-page rule. This means that even only listing things I deem are extremely relevant for the position, I generally only manage 1-2 sentences at best for each job. Usually half of that is a list of seemingly random words/letters seperated by commas.

But then, I work in a rather technical area of IT and have done for years. If my employer doesn't know the terms I'm using, then chances are I've misread the job ad and I'm not interested. If they want me to expand on what I've got on the CV, that's easily done at interview.

So far, that approach hasn't let me down. :)

NEVER SLATE YOUR OLD FIRM!

Unless you're in the same situation that I was during my last interview. One of the people interviewing me knew my previous employer directly, and wasn't afraid to slate them herself. That lead to questions of "Why did you bother starting work for them?" ... "What made you come to your senses?" etc etc. :)

[krhall]

Oh one more thing, make sure at least one of your references is from you current job, it looks very iffy if this is not the case.

As Baph says 2 pages really is the best, but as long as it is concise you will get away with more.

Nice clear font, something like tahoma/Verdana 10pt or Times New Roman 11pt , nothing flash.

If you want someone to cast an eye over it I am happy to if it helps, although I am not in the correct field, from a general perspective.

[Pedrosa]

Key aspects of any CV are among the following:

Embelishment of any previous positions,duties,skills performed and salary.

Inflation of qualifications.

Largely summarising yourself as the person you imagine they would want to interview rather than the person you actually are.

HTH.:smt045

[Baph]

Oh yea, another handy thing about limiting yourself to two pages... I print my CV back to back, so it's effectively only a single sheet of A4.

This gives the inteviewer less to carry, and relatively few people (that I've seen) manage to get away with a single sheet of A4 :)

[John 675]

i just staple it lol, you have PM EDmurrgr, hope it helps

[timwilky]

I always remember binning a CV as the guy was not technically competent. My boss picked it up again because the guy said he spoke fluent French. His interview was conducted entirely in French and he got the job.

2 months in the group finance director subsequently asked him about himself and he said his last job was to project manage an EPOS system for a department store. "So you know f*ck all about building power stations then". 8 years later he is still here, still knows **** about the client business. But what the heck he can talk to our French lords and masters.

Lesson there. Whilst the skill may be irrelevant (ie, French speaker) and not appear on a wish list. Somebody may just see it as the thing that sets you above the other candidates

[edmurrgr]

Yet more good stuff, thanks!
And a big thanks to lylej!

Timwilky, So you think slip in somewhere that I have a dog and a motorbike, people often like to talk about at least one or the other of them haha

[Ceri JC]

All good advice, particularly wyrdness'. I use Baph's format (one double sided bit of A4). I'd also add, put the skills/experience in order of from most relevant for the position you're applying for, through to least. It's surprising how many people put them in order of how good they are at them, or which they do most of in their current job. I was advised by a chap who knows his stuff to even leave off my a-level results as I had 2 relevant degrees by that stage. Once you've been working for a few years, the educational side of things has a bit less relevance. Even so, a lot of people never get out of the "fresh out of school" style of putting that as the main emphasis of their CV. HTH and good luck with the job.

[Flamin_Squirrel]

Lesson there. Whilst the skill may be irrelevant (ie, French speaker) and not appear on a wish list. Somebody may just see it as the thing that sets you above the other candidates

Totally agree, not the first story like this I've heard.

Never underestimate the affect of being able to connect with your interviewer - if that happens to be through a shared common interest then take advantage. If you don't list your interests, that's less likely to happen.

[fizzwheel]

Dont break the two page rule as said above, to much information and it'll get lost.

Dont tell porky pies and tailor your skill set to be relevant to the job.

As for formating, use one font, keep it clear and conscise, use bullet points where necessary.

I hate long winded over complicated, fancy flash CV's they are a real pain especially if you have alot to go through. The only bits I tend to read when screening candidates for job applications, were

Their Name
Where they last worked and what they did, I might have a browse through the last couple of jobs they've done as well, especially if they have had a lot of jobs in the last couple of years.
What their skill sets were

The hobbies and interests bit I never bothered with, also I didnt pay a huge amount of interest in what qualifications they had either.

What they were like as people comes across much better in an interview situation, you cant tell about peoples character from a CV.

[Baph]

Never underestimate the affect of being able to connect with your interviewer - if that happens to be through a shared common interest then take advantage. If you don't list your interests, that's less likely to happen.

As a side note to the above, this is bundled with research. Whenever possible, I've always done as much research about the company (and the person interviewing me) as practically possible.

Even if this means a cheeky chat with the receptionist a couple of days before the interview(I don't give any real details about myself - just in case it's viewed in a negative way).

Research what the company does (outside of the role you're applying for) - it always shows that you're keen. Research the person doing the interview as much as possible so that you can tweak your interview technique for their individual personality.