Advise on CV?

[Man of Tanith]

Morning/Evening All,
It has been a while since i wrote a C.V but i have been asked for one for a potential job
is there any kind soul on here that deals with C.V's on a regular basis?
i would really appreciate it if i could forward my CV (once i have written it) and maybe get some advise on what would make it stand out and scream pick me
thanks in advance
Sam

 

[spandit]

I'd learn to spell "advice" before submitting it!

I don't mind proof reading it for you but I'm no expert

 

[Man of Tanith]

thanks for that tip! can only blame night shift for poor spelling

 

[AndyJDickson]

Sam, I have been doing a lot of job hunting and have come up with a pretty good format for CVs. If you want to PM me your email I can send you a copy of my own (ill also look out the fact file that I got the layout from). It has been pretty successful and has been checked over by some pros. I'm not an expert and its not first class but it works well (got me some good interviews) Th best tips I can give you however are as follows:
- short a precise paragraphs,
- tailor your cv to the job - keep it releavent
- only work 5 years back at the most
- spelling is a paramount
- make sure you proof read it (get another to do it)

 

[Man of Tanith]

Andy thanks very much
slight problem if i only go back 5years it will only cover my current job if i go back further it will cover jobs at a more senior level(long story )
proof reading is always a good idea as my original post shows!

 

[AndyJDickson]

I was in that situation myself with my last job Sam. I got around it by leaving out the in-between irrelevant jobs and concentrating on the better suited roles. as long as you put a short explanation of the time in-between the employers are usually pretty aware of the financial climate atm.

 

[AndyJDickson]

I was in that situation myself with my last job Sam. I got around it by leaving out the in-between irrelevant jobs and concentrating on the better suited roles. as long as you put a short explanation of the time in-between the employers are usually pretty aware of the financial climate atm. I cant attach documents to the pm (might be my lack of comp knowledge)

Also its good to include a tailored cover letter with the CV (i can send you an example) which would allow you to go into more detail on your skills etc that would make you the right candidate for this position.

 

[Suffolksteve]

Hi Sam,

I work in recruitment and I would happily review your CV, suggest changes and do a proof read of it for you if you wish. I would point out I'm not the type you see on The Apprentice (cocky, loud and annoying) but I do see an awful lot of CVs and have given lots of advice regarding CV's, their layout and content in the past.

If you do want me to do this or want any info before you start pm me and I will send you my email address and we can take it from there.

Steve

 

[The Lord Poncho]

Depends what industry you are in, but i certainly wouldn't only go back 5 years in most situations. Depending on the stage of your life that you are at, qualifications like GCSEs and even A levels, part time weekend/holiday jobs start to become largely irrelevant. As is said above focus on the relevant elements of your career to date and training, avoid the temptation to bulk it out with lots of your extracurricular interests (unless there are clearly transferable skills involved)- a few lines are good to show that you aren't a completely dull individual though. Have a think about the other people that will be applying for the job, and what you can get into the CV which will stand you apart (in a good way though!).

If you are providing it in printed form, make sure it is on good quality thick paper, and although it can have a tiny bit of colour, don't go overboard. I'm sure there are gallons of pages on the web giving advice on this- possibly some conflicting! Good luck!

 

[santaman2000]

Be advised many employers today only read the ones which contained key words picked up by a computor based pre-screening. Key words or phrases relevant to the individual position (appropriate license, security clearance, CPR certified, Hazmat Endorsements, etc.)

 

[Lister]

A tip i was given when making my CV and owing to the fact that pretty much everyone wants CVs sent to them electronically now (so they can put them through a key word screener or the like), find a list of common keywords/buzzwords, look on the likes of monster.com to find them and whack them in somewhere in your CV and put them in WHITE text colour so they are hidden from view but are still picked up by word-finders.

An alternative to having them in white is to hide them behind a logo/image in your CV (I tend to add company logos to my CV, just to make it stand out), If you don't have images to hide the words behind, use a text box for top part of your CV and hide them behind it.

 

[Bushwhacker]

If you have Microsoft Word then there's a CV template wizard on there that will give you a layout that you can tweak to your requirements.

 

[Suffolksteve]

A tip i was given when making my CV and owing to the fact that pretty much everyone wants CVs sent to them electronically now (so they can put them through a key word screener or the like), find a list of common keywords/buzzwords, look on the likes of monster.com to find them and whack them in somewhere in your CV and put them in WHITE text colour so they are hidden from view but are still picked up by word-finders.

An alternative to having them in white is to hide them behind a logo/image in your CV (I tend to add company logos to my CV, just to make it stand out), If you don't have images to hide the words behind, use a text box for top part of your CV and hide them behind it.

This was very common but it is very easy to spot this, the better bet is to make sure you use key words and phrases as part of your CV anyway. Generally these should be specific skills as people who use keyword searches don't search for "communication skills" because everyone has these. They use keywords that tie in with the role, Java, Lean, Sigma etc.