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aaaagh... CVs...

25 posts & 16 voices | Started 2 years ago by hungry monkey | Latest reply from Teggs Horatio Stegosaur

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hungry monkey - Member

i'm just trying to get my CV up to date and in good order - i'm graduating in a few months and i figured i'd probably try and get a job at some point.

i realise that i've to adjust the CV for the job, but i've not applied for any yet.

i've got a general CV, which i think is pretty good for someone in my position (certainly better than a lot of my friends

i've got a really good internship in Tajikistan working for a development NGO (professional experience, not building a school).
i've some practical voluntary experience
i've been captain of uni cycling club, and also safety person - hold 1st aid etc, got sponsorship for the club, doubled size and future funding
i've been a member of my college council, and also worked on its environmental performance.
i've musical, language (inc self taught japanese), self taught bike skills/maintenance etc
interests in travel (interesting stuff, not SE Asia gap year stuff), different literature (travel, environmental, communism), sports (mtb, hockey, squash)

through examples i've shown i have; wide range of skills, ability to be self taught and motivated, interpersonal skills, able to teach others, able to organise, work at a high standard etc etc etc.

oh, and a good degree from a top university.

so how the hell do i get it down to 2 pages, with space for referees?

its size 10.5 font, currently times new roman

i know its difficult to say without seeing it, but what sort of thing should i cut out?

Posted 2 years ago #
steve-g - Member

I think Tesco usually take application forms rather than CVs.

Posted 2 years ago #
Chew - Member

Dont try and squeeze too much into it, as people wont read it all anyway.

Think Quality, not quantity. Also think of it as a sales document not a factual one, so what skills are you trying to sell that the employer wants to buy.

For 2 pages, 1/3 for contact details and qualifications, and for the rest brief examples of the responsibility and what you achieved in each.

so captain of uni cycle team. What were you responsible for and things you achieved eg.fundraising etc , and be specific £2k raised for event x

Dont warble on about travelling. Just breifly where you went (Asia), as its usully a good starting point and something that people are interested, as they have done it themselves, or wished they had.

Also probably stay away from mentioning communism, if you're appliying for jobs in multimational capalalist companies

Dont worry about references, just say available on request.

Posted 2 years ago #
awh - Member

Don't put on the references - just say available on request, that'll save a line or 2!
Bullet points for everything.
Try writing it out to however many pages it takes, then it'll be a lot quicker to edit it to match a specific job you're applying for. Have a look at the job spec and edit to match. Be really obvious, if the spec says influencing skills, have a heading saying influencing skills and list examples.

Posted 2 years ago #
Macavity - Member

The purpose of the CV is to get an interview so in theory one page is enough. In the big bad world you are only as good as your last job. An employer is interviewing for the best person for the job, if you can not sort out/ decide what you can do for them then do not expect them to.

Tom Jackson did some book Perfect CV.

Posted 2 years ago #
JEngledow - Member

Don't use times new roman - it's fugly!!

Make sure the layout looks good (well reasonable) and don't cram it in, if you want to save space cut out the waffle and keep the font readable (use 11 -12).

Also only worry about stuff that will / might benefit your potential employer, no one gives a sh1t about your hobbies and / or the fact you like kittens (unless its actually relevant to the role). When reading a CV all that matters is your ability to do the job.

**This is just my opinion, your entitled to disagree, but don't expect me to care!**

Posted 2 years ago #
hungry monkey - Member

thanks guys - steve-g, fortunately i'm past the whole tesco thing - if it got to that point i'd do more voluntary work instead.

cycling club wise i have it down as i was responsible for 2 sponsorship deals, doubling club size and doubling future funding for the club

may cut the travelling thing down a bit - was a brief line about each trip - self funded/orgnised solo hiking and cycle touring trips

hmm, mebbe i will re-word the communist stuff (although i may be applying to the odd NGO anyway...)

everything bulletted already

thanks for the pointer on the references, makes things a lot easier.

thanks

Posted 2 years ago #
GrahamS - Member

Been a while since I updated mine but a good plan is to to have:

- one CV with EVERYTHING on it. This never gets sent to anyone but is a good reference for bits to put into tailored CVs.

- one CV for agencies, which mentions all the industry keywords they are likely to search on.

- a tailored CV for any specific job application.

Second the comments about layout, Times Roman (yuk!) and trying to cram too much in.

Another good trick, particularly if you are sending to agencies, is to layout out your CV in such a way that if they just "Select All/Copy/Paste" into a text document then they still end up with a readable layout.

Posted 2 years ago #
hungry monkey - Member

what font would you suggest? tried ariel but it seemed to take up a fair bit more space.

a bit more tinkering has got me onto 2 pages, without referees...

Posted 2 years ago #
awh - Member

Some employers/agencies wont be using the latest version of Word, so send a Compatability Mode (Word 97-2003) document if you're using the current version. They wont have realised there's a plug-in that allows Word 97-2003 to read Word Office 2007 docs!

Posted 2 years ago #
hungry monkey - Member

thanks awh, will sort that...

Posted 2 years ago #
JEngledow - Member

hungry monkey - Member
what font would you suggest? tried ariel but it seemed to take up a fair bit more space

In my opinion it doesnt matter what font you use as long as its not Times New Roman, I'd use Arial, Calibri or Tahoma, but just pick one you find easy to read and stick with it for the whole doc and your cover letter.

Posted 2 years ago #
hels - Member

I am a member of the "1 page tops" brigade, and that especially applies to new grads. Have done a fair bit of recruiting over the years.

All the stuff you have said is good, but keep that for examples at the interviews. What you need to be displaying here is your skill at getting the main points across efficiently, that you have an idea what is required in the business world (Japanese is good and relevant, 1st Aid Certificate ? I'd be passing that around the office for a laugh.

(all IMHO of course and feel free to disagree it's your life !)

Posted 2 years ago #
ourmaninthenorth - Member

Other than the NGO experience (assuming that's relevant to what you're applying for), have you actually got any work experience?

Posted 2 years ago #
pixelmix - Member

what font would you suggest? tried ariel but it seemed to take up a fair bit more space

Arial 10 looks fairly plain and professional, and is large enouh to be legible. I wouldn't lose too much sleep over font though.

Posted 2 years ago #
vinnyeh - Member

I am a member of the "1 page tops" brigade,

I was as well- always impressed with a cv that's short and snappy. However they're few and far between.
When the boot's on the other foot though, and you submit a one pager to an agency, I've found they generally start running scared prior ot submission to an employer, and ask for it to be fleshed out with the minutiae of roles, and to pepper it with keywords.

Posted 2 years ago #
thisisnotaspoon - Member

99% of what anyone does at uni is useless in the real world (this unfortunaltey inludes degrees as well).

Put just enough stuff in there to aleviate their suspision you went traveling in the 'stans and smoked a lot of dope reading the comunist manifesto whilst going on a "self discovery cycling tour of south east asia". Just like every other grad who buys a suit and gets a haircut the day after graduation.

Something like........

2004-2007
XXXXXXXXXX 6th form Collage
Studied......................
I also..................Class captain (or whatever)

2007-2010
XXXXXXXXXX Univerity studying..............
I attained a ...... pass/distinction/masters/degree (use the last one, sounds better than 3rd)

during the summer breaks at university I...............
(1 scentance tops for each one)

My first draft CV was about 4 pages and fiarly concise.
My final draft was 1 page (size 10, but big margins/headders/footers for subtitles/contact details etc).

When it comes to traveling everyone thinks they're somehow 'different'. In reality I barely know anyone who couldn't put some NGO work and backpacking on their CV. Your dad wouldnt put down his last holliday in France/Spain/Italy so why students feel the need to tell employers that they've been to thailand I've no idea.

Save the details for the interview.

Posted 2 years ago #
JEngledow - Member

Your dad wouldnt put down his last holiday in France/Spain/Italy so why students feel the need to tell employers that they've been to thailand I've no idea.

Posted 2 years ago #
lobby_dosser - Member

why not re-arrange your OP and structure it in a way that might interest a prospective employer such as practical/work experience, leadership and responsibility, your Japanese is definatley a USP for you.

Posted 2 years ago #
b r - Member

so how the hell do i get it down to 2 pages, with space for referees?

And try doing that when you've 27 years work experience...

A couple of days ago I was turned down at pre-interview for a senior IT managerial role by the agency. So I asked what was it I was missing. JAVA and IT Background, came back.

I actually started life as a Programmer 27 years ago, and spent about 7 years doing it. And for the last 5 years I managed (along with other teams and 50+ people) an ecommerce team that developed in JAVA.

So, yes while the word 'JAVA' was missing, along with probably 57+ other tech languages/terms/databases etc I've worked with - she hadn't actually read the 2nd page that listed my history pre 1995...

After answering her email, which it was actually nice to get - she's now interested.

Its a dilemma, have 2 pages and miss all the stuff - or have 10 pages that someone won't even bother reading - what to do?

Posted 2 years ago #
Macavity - Member

http://careersadvice.direct.gov.uk/helpwithyourcareer/writecv/graduate_cv_format.htm

"what font"
big employers put the CVs through a computer program to find the ones that have the right keywords, your CV is not going to be read by a human on first sift.

Posted 2 years ago #
thisisnotaspoon - Member

Its a dilemma, have 2 pages and miss all the stuff - or have 10 pages that someone won't even bother reading - what to do?

Phone them up and ask what they wanted first time round?
Best of luck BTW

Posted 2 years ago #
hungry monkey - Member

thanks everyone again!!

think i'll have a go at a 1 page too then.

the reason i had the travelling in is cos i thought it showed good organisation etc - the trips were self funded and organised (And NOT in S A asia!)
in order to pay for them i had applied, and got, a number of travel grants, in the face of competition. for eg i got £200 from my school - the next biggest was £50, all on the back of a good application and aims (i.e. not looking after orphans etc)

however, i may leave it out, and certainly would out of a 1 page one.

the stuff in tajikistan was gained again through stiff competition for places, and is a well recognised scheme.

work experience wise i have the internship, some voluntary experience with BTCV, and more basic jobs to pay for stuff - i recognise that the lack of WORK experience in the sector i'm looking at is a weakness.
thanks for the advice

Posted 2 years ago #
paulrockliffe - Member

Depends on the company a lot what the best approach is. I got a job with a small consultancy, sent them my CV and left in things about my hobbies etc. If they'd had a HR department and I'd been interviewed by people who were trained at interviewing I might have been grilled about things in my CV that were relevant to the job. As it was we just talked about mountain biking and running for half an hour, job done.

My point is, as well as putting all the relevant stuff in, give them something to talk about that they might find interesting too.

Posted 2 years ago #
Teggs Horatio Stegosaur - Member

If you can't get all on 2 pages try a narrow font.
Don't repeat detail (you may have a qualification noted within yor education section that you then repeat in the narravtive)
If possible, I would .pdf it rather than a .doc
Adapt your CV for chosen job, try to include key words. If the recruiter has 50 or more CV's to check they'll first scan thro looking for the key words.

Good luck

Posted 2 years ago #

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