[Closed] Anyone got advice for a CV?

On word 2010 try 'new' and there's loads under 'resume and cv'

speaking as someone who often sees them, copying the standard designs isn't the best idea, though taking the good ideas and developing those is.

more important is that content is king, and has to be clear, unambiguous and straightforward. Group things sensibly, ensure all the relevant info is in the c.v., and (almost always) it is improved if tailored for each role you apply for - but the key tailoring is in the cover letter.....

Xcentric has typed my post for me.

advice is don't waste time on stuff that you will have to put on an application form unless it's vital to your job market. Focus on the key transferable skills. Keep it truthful.
keep it to one page if you can.
break it up with key skills and if you have academic qualifications only focus on the highest and those that got you to that point.

good layouts and advice here:

[url= http://www.dayjob.com/content/cv-layout-212.htm ]http://www.dayjob.com/content/cv-layout-212.htm[/url]

What's your profession? there are several styles depending on the role your aiming at. If your a wheel builder then your CV will allways be the same but if your a engineer there are many different roles, things to engineer, industries so you should get used to re-editing (and not over writting) your CV each time you hand it out. Also, make sure that you read the job description and tailor the CV to suit, not lying but there's lots you have dont but not thought about that are actually staring you in the face. Also, Agencies arent the brightest at understanding experience so spelling it out that you can do the job you want will help them submit to the company.

If you have considered everything that you have done that would make you good competition for the role put it up front under their nose so its the first thing the reader sees. no harm with having a personal statement that says why your suitable for the job. If they have to dig for information they may have little time and will therefore dump the CV.

Always avoid talking about yourself in first person. Try to say "experience working towards strict deadlines" instead of "i am experienced worki......".

Following Collinstiffee's comment. Dont aim for one page, if you need two pages thats more than fine. One page is either being too vague or your making it look like youve crammed everything onto one page, therefore, its an effort to read.

Looks like some good advice there.

[i]What's your profession?[/i]

I wish I knew danjthomas, I wish I knew.
I'm a prison officer but feel I'm getting too old to be dodging low flying tv's & rolling around on the floor with angry 23 yr olds. (although due to excellent communication skills, this doesn't happen that often)
Need a change but also need a CV to stand a (cat in hells) chance. 😕

If going onto two pages is double sided or individual sheets preferable?

Dont bother with double sides, its a "saving trees" thing only. Single pages are the norm and will have more stamp in a pile of others.

Im sure there is a lot of responsibly as a prison officer, lots of rules, thinking on your feet etc... One thing i find helps is to take a pad of paper and write down as much as you can related to everything you do in the job or jobs. From there, look at each point youve written down and see if you can expand it further. There is tonnes youve dont just its difficult to remember them as youve not needed to until now.

Before you know it your CV will start taking shape. It can take a few weeks to get there.

Why not swap place with the inmates!!

Never, ever say you' work well on your own, and as part of a team'.
Or any other cliche's.
Try to keep to one page, and try to let some personality through.
A hand written cover letter will make you stand out, and, again show you are a real person, not another cut n paste job.

I have 10 years in the recruitment industry, currently work as a recruitment manager for a big bank. Good advice above, also -

Some tips:

2-3 pages is fine, but remember if you've been in the same job for 10 years then don't take up half a page with what you did in a previous role 15 years ago, doubt anyone cares
- Summary at the top, then bullets - make the format as clear as possible. If the format is not easy to read then it'll go in the bin if the hiring manager has spent the last 2 hrs ploughing through applications. Clear and concise is the key
- And finally, and I reckon the most important point. Differentiate yourself. Your CV shouldn't just be your job description. It should highlight what you've done well within your job, value you've added, costs you've saved etc etc....think what makes you better than the guy sitting opposite you whos role is exactly the same as yours (on paper)...

anyhow, goodluck...I usually charge a fortune for such pearls of wisdom, so if someone can kindly answer my 15mm-QR conversion query I'll consider us even 😉

Bloody hell, sounds more like an english lesson or summink! I think I'm 'screwed'. 🙄

Trouble with my job is that so much crap happens every day It's difficult to nail down one particular success, even though you probably save the government a fortune by convincing a prisoner not to smash up, amongst other things! I shouldv'e kept a diary.

Any jobs going for a graduate in business studies & economics tpbiker? Not me, stepson.

More impartial tips - from both sides of the fence (inc input my missus):

Dont make your cv the same as everyone elses (No templates)!

Missus likes and I fell for 100% of the following: (but this totally depends on your industry and skills etc etc):

1: an "executive summary" : [I am] (if from you) [Johnny] (if from agency) is a 1st class graduate in / Learnt the hard way to X ...... learnt his people skills in Y ..... moved on / up to .... wants to do / learn ........ His strengths are.....(this is a big section btw!).

2: If the summary gets the interest the rest is flexible. Tailor number 1 to the job. List jobs in order of dates - be very clear about date gaps. We're just looking for gaps / something to trip you up / differntiate you.

3: References. No "please contact before".... Just names, positions and numbers. By all mean add as suffix - "please contact before an offer" - but never as a prefix.

4: Aim for 3 pages MAX - but really an interview all comes down to the first paragraph (that engages enough to get them to skim the rest).

Lastly - no bull about leaving your current job or any other stuff - that's for the interview.

Na..its about being able to sell yourself on paper, remember your CV is basically an advert for you..

you've got to think more about your transferable skills, you've already talked about the communication skills, think what else makes you succeed in your job then think what other roles (you'd want to do)require similar attributes.

Job market is pretty shitty right now for anyone. As for your stepson, if I was him and I wanted to get into a large company then I'd consider doing pretty much anything to get a foot in the door, ie temping. Get foot in door, work your ass off and as a bright guy he should stand out. New legislation will mean hes also then got access to internal job vacancies. Won't happen overnight like in that michael j fox movie, but its a route in. Not much else on the go for grads at the mo i'm afaid 🙁

If hes interested in that route (ie temping) then get him to PM me his CV, and I'll see what I can do.

sorry...wasn't disagreeing with couldashoulda btw...just he posted whilst I was responding!

tpbiker - pistols at dawn - that's the only answer! 😉

Cheers tp, I'll pass that on to him.

If you go for the hand written cover letter I'm guessing some nice plain writing paper rather than lined A4 ripped out of a refill pad?

What Xcentric said.

Plus, do not, under any circumstances, add summary/mission statement/third party hideousness at the top. Guaranteed way to be one of the first in the bin for most jobs.

I think the mods should maybe remove the blatant advert from sanath123, unless he can answer the 15mm>QR coversion question 🙂

Good advice here.

I suggest you get the content down and if you're not great with Word get someone to hep you with a bit of simple formatting, doesn't have to be lavish but the right formatting will make it a noteworthy document