Viewing 21 posts - 1 through 21 (of 21 total)
  • cv advice
  • mrmo
    Free Member

    It looks like i will loose my job end of this year, so thought i might as well get everything in place asap. It is a long time since i seriously had to do job hunting.

    So what sort of things should i be putting on a CV, what do people look for? I have only worked for one company, a few roles though. Is it skills or responsibilities that matter. Is a certain format preferred? i see some examples with personal statements others without.

    jedi
    Full Member

    i can email mine to ya for layout tips?

    mboy
    Free Member

    Just re-doing mine again right now.

    Consensus is keep it short (2 pages max), simple, uncluttered, bullet points are good etc.

    Write everything down, then go through it with a fine toothed comb and delete anything not really worthwhile of being in there.

    Format wise, just keep it simple again. Don’t bother with anything too fancy. Uncluttered and easy to read is the preference. People don’t want to sift through something that’s meant to look nice in order to find the info, the info they want should be the obvious bit though.

    Skills and responsibilities just as important as roles and experience IMO. Get it all on there, but don’t blabber, bullet points again.

    Personal statement wise, don’t include it on the CV. Some companies want them, others not. Do one, keep it seperate, that way you can include it or not include it based upon what the company wants really.

    And make sure there’s no typo’s and spelling mistakes. Got to be the quickest route to a CV ending up in the bin IMO.

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    djglover
    Free Member

    my advice would be ask someone that changes job a lot, like a contractor. I borrowed my mates layout, and got quite a few interviews. Didn’t need to leave my current job though but it was encouraging to see that I was still marketable.

    As above, keep it really simple, overlook GSCEs/ O levels in favour of work experience and I’d say do the personal statement anyway and put it at the top, just don’t make yourself sound like too much of a cock, but I suppose this depends on secotor / trade / profession..

    WorldClassAccident
    Free Member

    Does depend on you industry but something simple like below. Repeat emploer or Role as many times as neessary. Keep it to 1 page or 2 at the most. Make the actions, results and reasons relevent to the job you are applying for. Show what results you achieved rather than just listing duties.

    Your Name
    Current Employer
    Role Title
    Your Action, The Result, The reason this was good
    Role Title
    Your Action, The Result, The reason this was good
    Role Title
    Your Action, The Result, The reason this was good
    Previous Employer
    Role Title
    Your Action, The Result, The reason this was good
    Role Title
    Your Action, The Result, The reason this was good

    WorldClassAccident
    Free Member

    There should be more than one action, result and reason per Role Title. more detail on more recent roles. Proof read twice and then get a friend to do the same. have proivable examples as well as anacdotal examples

    sometimerider
    Free Member

    At the end of this year?

    You’re seriously trying to prepare a CV ELEVEN months in advance?

    mboy
    Free Member

    As above, keep it really simple, overlook GSCEs/ O levels in favour of work experience and I’d say do the personal statement anyway and put it at the top, just don’t make yourself sound like too much of a cock, but I suppose this depends on secotor / trade / profession..

    In my experience, ALWAYS include GCSE/O Level grades too. Regardless of how irrelevant you may think they are now, employers don’t in general! Well, if you’re required to be numerate and literate in a job at least. I got turned down for a job because I couldn’t find my Maths and English GCSE certificates (this company wanted proof!!!) to show them I had got the grades I said. I tried to argue that having a degree in Engineering that had required me to do A Level maths kind of made this whole excercise redundant, but still they were totally steadfast on this!

    Would’ve been a crap job anyway in hindsight.

    mrmo
    Free Member

    All we have been told is sometime between now and the end of the year? so it might be 11 months, it might not. The question is whether i look now and jump, or wait till the end and get pushed.

    Seems to me having a job makes more sense than being on the dole queue.

    mboy
    Free Member

    The question is whether i look now and jump, or wait till the end and get pushed.

    How long you been there? If you’re in for a decent redundancy package, then might be worth sticking around. If not, well get looking as you may be in for a pay rise if you get another job now anyway, you never know!

    jedi
    Full Member

    at the bottom of the page is an advert for free cv templates

    WorldClassAccident
    Free Member

    Jedi – I think that says something about the topics that have been posted here recently

    mrmo
    Free Member

    the redundancy package would be worth waiting for, haven’t been told whether i have to wait or if they will pay if i leave early. Really i am testing the water now, i might find a job worth jumping for, then again i don’t have to go yet so i can afford to be choosey.

    The other option is I might be able to stay but i would have to relocate to Shotton, the exact details of the relocation package haven’t been announced i guess it will be the same time as they announce details of the way they intend the redundancy to work, I can think of worse places to go than Shotton, Sunny Scunny for one!

    Anyway got a few ideas to be going on with.

    WorldClassAccident
    Free Member

    Go for a few interviews now to get used to them. It is a lot easier when you have a job to go back to. You can explain your position towards the end of the interview and they may keep your details for later or offer you something great then

    Flaperon
    Full Member

    Preparing my CV now, have been advised by a number of people that all GCSE grades should be included.

    Philby
    Full Member

    Highlight your achievements in each role and use “achievement” words and where possible quantify e.g. successfully implemented new business process which led to a sales increase of 30%, increased productivity by 10%, reduced costs of production by 5%, organised a multi-function team, led a project which improved sales to.

    Lots of people seem to describe their current and past jobs in great detail but in a functioal way which is really difficult for an interviewer to understand i.e. they seem to just copy their current job description. As stated above be brief and demonstrate what you have achieved. Also highlight staff managed and budget responsibility.

    Re: GCSE’s etc. – if you are a recent graduate include them, if not just state the number. You may still have to prove you have that many though!

    surfer
    Free Member

    Philby has hit the nail on the head.
    Identify areas where you have added value. Avoid simply saying you were great or did a great job. Try to give quantifiable examples, increased turnover, reduced complexity, saved £x over 2 years etc.

    Many interviews will expect you to give examples of how you have dealt with certain aspects of your role, how you have managed in complex situations, how you have made decision, dealt with difficult team members etc. I found it useful to structure my CV in a way that provided opportunities to give examples.

    Another tip would be to mention outside interests. I work in IT and am quite sporty (as most of us on here) I always like to think of people as multi dimensionable. When people have interests outside work it often says a lot about them and it can make the difference between an interview or not.
    One of my previous bosses said he was intrigued about my running at the time although he wasnt a runner himself. I still had to jump through hoops for the job but it sparked interest.

    Books in this area can be quite generic however “great answers to tough interview questions” is superb. I think it was one of the best £10 (?) I ever spent.

    Good luck

    CaptainFlashheart
    Free Member

    And make sure there’s no typo’s and spelling mistakes.

    Oh, the irony!

    mrmichaelwright
    Free Member

    my wife teaches HR and used to show students how to do CVs. here’s mine

    it’s designed to get me freelance work but was pretty much the same when i was looking for full time jobs.

    [EDIT]contact details removed which has messed up the formatting a bit

    tinker-belle
    Free Member

    A lot of great advice on here, but would suggest that when you write out the full version, you keep it and then strip out what is not important for each individual application you do.

    Basic format

    Who you are (Name, NI Number, Address, Tel, Smoker/Non Smoker)

    Skill Set – some people (especially IT, prefer you to rate your abilities in each area)

    Most recent job (date to – from)
    Brief outline of role and responsibilities
    Any added value, benefits, budget saved, delivered early

    Next job…

    Etc…

    Have a completely separate covering letter, again write out everything you can think you would possibly want to say, and then tidy it up for each application you do, removing anything that is unnecessary for that specific application.

    A few tips….
    Don’t put a photo on your CV unless it’s requested
    Don’t try and be humorous
    Consider carefully what outside interests you list on you CV – mtb’ing can be considered a dangerous sport (time off for injuries etc)
    Double check and if possible get someone to proof read your CV, spelling mistakes are just all too common, and if you want to stand out as being better than the rest you have to make the effort.

    joemarshall
    Free Member


    Who you are (Name, NI Number, Address, Tel, Smoker/Non Smoker)

    Skill Set – some people (especially IT, prefer you to rate your abilities in each area)

    Most recent job (date to – from)
    Brief outline of role and responsibilities
    Any added value, benefits, budget saved, delivered early

    I’d not put on ni number (why do they need to know?), and why do they want to know if I smoke?

    At the top, be really clear about your skills. Bullet points, that make it obvious – for example don’t say ‘good leadership skills’, put ‘x years team management’.

    On the rest – I always try and think of one thing per job that sounds impressive – for example one of my development jobs I say something along the lines of ‘specified and developed a major feature of their flagship product blah’. If you managed people in any of your jobs, make sure you’re clear about that.

    I always have a small bit about personal stuff that lists various exercise things including mountain unicycling. Putting something odd on there gets me remembered by them, and guarantees an easy to answer question in the interview (I don’t think I’ve ever not been asked about that). I’ve never had any problems about it being dangerous.

    I don’t list GCSEs since I got A-Levels / university degree / some experience. To be honest I can’t remember if I even listed A-levels last time. Although you do see CVs where they listed their Grade 2 piano exam etc. so obviously everyone has a different approach to this.

    Joe

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