Writing a CV

[Frutos]

Matt, I'm happy to give the CV a basic once over if you like. I know I dont work in the field you're applying for but I've seen enough CVs to know good from bad.

Either PM me or even drop it in to me at work if you like.

 

[FalmerforAll!**]

Matt, I'm happy to give the CV a basic once over if you like. I know I dont work in the field you're applying for but I've seen enough CVs to know good from bad.

Either PM me or even drop it in to me at work if you like.

Cheers for that Steve, much appreciated! Will pop in and see you at some point this week !!

 

[Frutos]

Cheers for that Steve, much appreciated! Will pop in and see you at some point this week !!

No worries, I'm off on Friday but any time other than that will be good.

 

[DavidinSouthampton]

I have some experience in this area through involvement in unemployed groups and the like. has anybody mentioned that, if you don't grab the potential employer's interest in the first half page, you may not get much further. The idea of a three or four line HONEST personal statement which picks out what you see as your strong points- i.e. honest, hard-working, creative, reliable or whatever other positive words you can think of that describe you and what you can do honestly.

And secondly - and you have already sorted this out, I think, don't lie. You can leave things out, not mention things etc because it is your document, but don't create qualifications you haven't got, massage dates to hide gaps, say you went to Eton when you actually went to the Sid Vicious Comprehensive in Peckham.

 

[Noldi]

Details first name date of birth, marital status, kids etd, contact details.
After that a quick personal discription (team player, work on own initiative etc)
Career history recent first this is layed out - company name, job title and date started untill leaving date or present.
Give a quick rundown of what the job intailed and goals you have achived while at this company etc
Enter other previous employers and high light any that may have anything in common with the job you are applying for.

After all employment details give hobbys and clean uk driving licience etc

Keep it to 2 A4 pages and keep it interesting because you need them to read the whole thing and not think this guys a boring cock and chucking it in the bin half way through.

 

[Rich Suvner]

Junior Marketer eh,

I'd suggest in your personal statement and previous experience narrative you attempt to squeeze in any examples of:

-experience of promoting or selling a product or service
-experience/interest of the market this company operate in, which demonstrates insight or interest
-customer focus - quality of delivery
-how you've made any improvements to a customer's experience
-brand related work - anything that indicates you understand the value that organisation's associate with their brand and how this needs to be central to their operations / culture
-ability to get up to speed quickly / capacity for learning

 

[MJsGhost]

Start with your latest job and don't go into too much detail about what you did, just job title and very basic outline, they will ask about details in the interview

The CV is what will secure the interview - if it's too brief (and job title + very basic outline is too brief), you run the risk of not getting the interview in the first place, so IMHO, the above isn't the best advice.

My preference is for something along the following lines:

Name

Personal profile
Give a little 'colour' to your CV - a bit about your personality, a very brief overview of what you do/have done and also what your ambitions are for your next job. This will put what follows in the right context for the person reading your CV. If it's well written, it'll make a huge difference as yours will be one of many CVs in the pile and opinions are formed VERY quickly - probably within 5-10 seconds of starting to read it.

Current job (dates, company name, location, job title)
Start with a paragraph about your employer - size of company, sector etc and a brief overview of your role there (to set the scene / add context to the position.
Follow with some bullet points of specific responsibilities and achievements (the mix of formats will make your CV more readable)

Repeat with previous roles, getting more brief the further you go back (unless some of the earlier work is of particular relevance to the job you're applying for)

Education / qualifications
If these are of real importance to the role/company you're applying for/to, you may wish to list them above your work history. In most instances, I'd say have them listed below the work history. Generally speaking, the more work history you have, the less important your education is (though work-related certifications / courses may still be important)


(Technical) Skills
If they are important for the work you do (e.g. IT), have a list or table of the relevant applications / languages / methodologies etc that you know.

Interests / personal achievements
Don't go overboard and also make sure you can back them up - you may be asked for examples if you say something like 'avid film-goer', so it would look bad if you've not been to the cinema since ET!
If there's anything that may put people off, leave it off (what would you think if you saw "CPFC Season ticket holder" on someone's CV?!"
Charity work always goes down well, so make sure you mention it...

General points:
Don't crowd the CV - leave some white space, so the key bits of information you want to stand out will stand out.
Remember the person reading the CV won't know much/anything about the environment you work in - different organisations have slightly different duties for people with the same job titles, so make sure things are clear and not open to misinterpretation.
Spend a lot of time getting your CV right & don't shy away from tailoring it slightly for different applications (not bullsh|tting, just emphasise the most relevant areas for different roles)
Generally speaking, 3 pages is about right for a CV, but if it works on 2 pages then fine and you're better off having 4 well formatted pages than 3 that are cramped.
Go for classic, professional formatting - Arial, Times New Roman or Calibri fonts (or similar), use of bold, underlining etc rather than anything flashy (unless you're some in some sort of artsy creative industry where you need to show that off in your CV)

Remember that different people have different views on what makes a good CV, so you can't please 'em all.

 

[Rich Suvner]

And secondly - and you have already sorted this out, I think, don't lie. You can leave things out, not mention things etc because it is your document, but don't create qualifications you haven't got, massage dates to hide gaps, say you went to Eton when you actually went to the Sid Vicious Comprehensive in Peckham.

BHAFC over the years has actually provided me with some great non-work experience, experiences
- letter writing campaigns
- public meeting organisation
- fanzine publication / writing
- political lobbying (ultimately that's what we did)

For a junior marketing role, there's also examples you could also use drawing on less obvious sources of 'experience' such as
- promoting/organising a music gig / club night / charity auction / reading club
- if you enjoy messing around with photography or computer-based design programmes, put this in your interests under creative

 

[Tricky Dicky]

Not for me, I've been doing contract IT work for high on a quarter of a century, need to impress a new potential employer at least once a year and would never dream of writing my CV any other way than in the third person. The recuitment agency wants the potential employer to think they are on the ball and are forwarding their analysis of a potential employee. They're bluffing. If you write it in the third-person, they will 99 times out of 100 forward your words unedited. Believe it.

I have read hundreds, if not thousands of CVs and never seen a single one written in the 3rd person, and would find it very odd, if I did I probably wouldn't look at it. But definitely keep it brief, employers won't read any more than 2 pages, probably not get past the first page unless they're already interested. Definitely don't lie.

 

[junior]

I have read hundreds, if not thousands of CVs and never seen a single one written in the 3rd person, and would find it very odd, if I did I probably wouldn't look at it. But definitely keep it brief, employers won't read any more than 2 pages, probably not get past the first page unless they're already interested. Definitely don't lie.

The flip side to this, I have just done a CV writing course through the military with one of the top agencies. They said (and everyone else i asked for advice) that it should ALWAYS be written in 3rd person format.

 

[Aadam]

How you structure the order of pages is pretty important. Need to have the big summary on page one and then make it easy on subsequent pages for the potential employer to drill down for more details.

I think I have the structure pretty spot on. I've shared this with many people who have all attained interviews as a result. My introduction/summary is on page one. I don't see where I've said it isn't. Plus, lets not forget a CV is only a foot in the door to an interview.

 

[Tricky Dicky]

The flip side to this, I have just done a CV writing course through the military with one of the top agencies. They said (and everyone else i asked for advice) that it should ALWAYS be written in 3rd person format.

I find that quite bizarre, you a telling people what you have done, not someone else, it's supposed to be personal. I'd throw it in the bin without looking at it.

 

[Aadam]

I find that quite bizarre, you a telling people what you have done, not someone else, it's supposed to be personal. I'd throw it in the bin without looking at it.

I agree. I'd feel like I was writing on Facebook in the old days talking in the third person. I've reach interview stage for every job I've applied for, and my CV is not in third person. Perhaps in some creative industries it is normal, but I've never heard of that in professional walks of life and never have I had a recruiter tell me otherwise.

 

[Biscuit]

It depends on the industry for which you are applying.

I'd say, always start with your name and your ambitions (make it relevant to the job you're applying for). Then list your most recent experience, followed by your relevant skills and finally your education information.

It doesn't need to be mammoth, but should already be of interest to your employer. As you've stated you have ambitions to work in a role similar to that for which you are applying and also that you also have the necessary skills and experience. As a rule of thumb I try and keep it all on two pages - maximum. Remember nobody will bother with anything too wordy, and your CV is to entice them to interview you - that's where the real selling starts.

Make sure you use a decent font and layout. I like 'Century Gothic' as it's clean and easy to read and Times New Roman or Arial are unlikely to standout.

 

[Noldi]

One point I will make is I got my CV and all my quaifications certificates plus a reference from my last employer etc and a cover sheet with my name and Currículum vítae binded together at Staples the office suppies place. Printed out on a quality paper weight. All the interviews I had remarked how professional it looked and I got the Job that was most attractive to me.

Edit corp_store_copy - Staples
See binding

 

[Shropshire Seagull]

The benefit of writing it in the 3rd person is that it comes across as someone ELSE writing about you. So when it says he did well this and was great at doing that it reads as someone giving you a recommendation. If you write; I'm good at this and brilliant at that - I'd bin THAT CV as either bullshit or someone having a too high opinion of themselves. 3rd person gives you more scope to sell yourself in a reserved manner = smart.

I don't buy this 2 pages max either. My approach is to put enough [as a summary] on the front page that the reader gets a good feel for what I have to offer - from that they will either want to keep reading [I'm a good match] or they will discard [unsuitable]. The key is to give them enough to be interested in reading on [like the first chapter in a book] - for some people [like me] who have worked for many blue-chip orgs on some quite high profile projects, I don't want to skimp on these. So these are down on page 3 and 4 - will only be read only if the interest is there.

 

[Badger]

I find that quite bizarre, you a telling people what you have done, not someone else, it's supposed to be personal. I'd throw it in the bin without looking at it.

From now on I'm going to write my CV using the royal we.

 

[Aadam]

The benefit of writing it in the 3rd person is that it comes across as someone ELSE writing about you. So when it says he did well this and was great at doing that it reads as someone giving you a recommendation. If you write; I'm good at this and brilliant at that - I'd bin THAT CV as either bullshit or someone having a too high opinion of themselves. 3rd person gives you more scope to sell yourself in a reserved manner = smart.

And if I was reading a CV in third-person I would bin that as thinking the person is trying to con me or convince me someone else wrote it. In my opinion, unless it is a recommendation or reference, keep to first person.