Some CV advice for the kiddies

[Robby]

I've been reading CVs for job applicants recently, a hateful task. Seeing as half the threads in here are about applying for jobs (the other half split between Ben crying because he's a douche and his girlfriends keep getting bored and cheating on him, or Tug crying because he's a little emo bitch) I thought I'd provide some advice.

CVs get emailed to me from an agency, about 7 candidates for a job. I skim them, and if one catches my eye I give it a proper read. This is how recruitment works, I have a job to do and this is a very tiny part of it. The first couple of CVs get a better read, then I start getting bored.

So, tips:
1. The files are emailed as attachments, so get sorted into alphabetical order. If your firstname is near the end of the alphabet, and your surname is near the start, switch them round - I'll get to Apple, Roger before I get to Roger Apple.

2. You're probably overqualified for the job, seeing as you probably have a degree (I don't) and you're going to be working under me. Don't go on about academic qualifications too much, but do play on professional qualifications that are relative to the job. I don't care about your degree in history from Durham, I do care about any IT qualification if I'm employing you in a job anywhere near IT. If you have a certificate to do with MS Sharepoint and I'm looking for someone to do deskside support, the Sharepoint thing catches my eye. It means you have an interest in IT, and will be useful if I need a Sharepoint man at some point.

3. If you write that you're proficient with MS Office, I'm going to assume that you don't pick up MS programs intuitively like most people under 30. Everyone knows how to use office, if they have to mention it on a CV like its something special then I expect to have to train them to use the next edition of office.

4. Keep it short. I'll give the first page a fair read, the second page a quick skim. 3 pages is too long.

5. Don't give me more than half a page on career history.

6. Most CVs tell me that you're a team player, like a challenge, methodical, get along with people. This means nothing to me, they all say it. What I want is something different and more honest - you're happy to challenge senior management if you think they're wrong, you get the job done even if it means you might make some mistakes. Be realistic.

7. Experience is worth more than qualifications, but don't just list your duties. If you worked in an office as an admin assistant, I know what those duties are. What I want to see is the unusual stuff - you ran the work gym, looked after the office tea club, provided ad-hoc IT support for people that couldn't use a computer because you knew how, and could be patient while you taught them. The extra little thing, outside of your job, are what stand out. They don't need to be difficult for you or need a lot of work, they just show your personality a bit more.

8. Don't be scared of some negativity. If you left a job because you didn't like the people, couldn't hack the lifestyle, hated the commute, don't be scared to say so. Avoid saying hate though. I've left jobs for the same reasons, and I want to employ someone I can get along with.

Your CV got as far as me because someone else thought you had the experience and/or qualifications for the job. I'm going to interview 3 or 4 people that I think will be able to do the job well, probably do some other bits when the job changes, get along with me and the team, and stay working there for a while.

A few other little bits - I'll nearly always interview someone ex-forces, because soldiers get stuff done and don't get too worked up about what other people think of them. I won't interview someone with a lot of experience in a field I don't understand. If you've done a lot of legal work and are applying for a job in estates management, the estates people won't know or care about the legal training and terminology.

The acid test. Skim (not read) through your CV, and ask yourself, would I interview me? Or is my CV identical to most of the applicants for this job?

[MinhDinh]

I agree on the advice of, would you employ yourself? However I don't believe people should put too much stuff as 'I challenged the management' I have made mistakes etc... we all make mistakes, that's just as obvious as saying I was a receptionist, I can use MS Word.

I work with people who do this, and those types are damn annoying. They aren't willing to do things when things are bad, and often moan and just ruin a good atmosphere.

Sometimes having someone who is happy to work is what is needed too.
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[Noxious89123]

[Skudd]

When I used to do a lot of recruitment, I used to avoid the forces due to them being very institutionalised, having to have a lot spoon fed to them. Also a lot still harped on about the conflicts and still played action man in the TA. They always seemed to expect you to drop everything because it was for the Army/TA or what ever.

Not all were like that, but most were.
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[Frost]

I'd like to add something to this:
Do NOT start your CV with the letters 'CV' or the words 'Curriculum Vitae' written across the top of the page. Put your name on the top without your full title etc. Name the document to indicate it's a CV and it's yours.
Stick a date on it somewhere, an accurate one so the reader can see how up to date the info is.
Don't be afraid of space, you wouldn't read a website where all the info is crammed into a single block of text, so expect someone to give up on your CV if you do this.
Do put your address so they can get hold of you, don't put the addresses of your references, they'll contact you for them if they offer you the job.
Be certain to put a bit about yourself at the bottom, people want to work with people not robots. Even if you just put that you're into bikes, it probably would have been enough for Robby to be a lot more interested in you and give your CV a second more through read!

[Wafer_Thin_Ham]

You mean you don't print them all off, and bin a random half so you're only hiring people that are lucky?
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[-LG-]

Thanks! Very helpful, I've been trying to sort my CV out, but not done once since I left school in 2006!

[colin1]

Robby's career tips may be great if you are applying for a job with Robby, but some of those tips wouldnt go down well with other people. My boss in particular, although whether you would want to work for my boss, is another matter, having said that, I don't know what it would be like working for Robby.

My boss agrees on the little certificates for various little things though. A woman joined us and he loved that she had them, as she was the kind of person to go for them. She wasnt so keen on him in the end.
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[Phoenix]

[TUG]

[Frost]

[Wilson12345]

[Frost]

Why put your name at the top? Cause they might have 500 CV's and if they can't find yours when they're looking for it you're not getting the job!
Why name the file Joe_bloggs_cv.pdf? See above for reasons. Oh yes and submit the CV in PDF if you email it, it look consistent in whatever you open it with etc. submitting it in office 2011 format is no good if they're running an older version of office and can't bloody open it!

As for sticking CV at the top in massive writing, it's telling them nothing they don't already know. Space and time are important considerations when they're scanning through a CV and wasting 1/8th of the page telling them what they already know isn't telling them anything about you. It's also patronising and suggests they need 'Mug' written on their coffee mug, 'DESK' on their desk etc. What other document titled 'Joe Bloggs' containing a list of your professional and academic achievements might they have that would get confused with a CV?

Putting just your name rather than your full title is common sense as i know plenty of people with more letters after their name than in their actual name. Academic achievements are described anyway so why repeat yourself? 2 Pages isn't much space!

[LoSt]

[stinkwheel]

I've seen a lot of ex-military people fall apart in their civvy job because they have no clearly defined chain of command.

I think it's best not to employ ex forces people in the same trade they were doing in the military. They tend to carry on doing things the same way as the army does it and find it hard to accept that the army way is not the only correct way.

If they've been in a trade for a long time (so in the army for a full term of service untl they retire), they will also skive off lots. By the time you've been in the army that long, you tend to have established yourself your own little empire where you can kick-back and let everyone else get on with the actual work. You ned to get them doing something different that they can apply the problem solving skills that army has taught them but not the skiving and pontificating skills it has also taught them.

On the CV front. We've just been interviewing and people have spent a huge amount of their CV listing their qualifications in exact detail. I really don't need to know. We have vets applying for jobs. All I need to know is that they have an appropriate veterinary degree and where it's from. If they've done any additional relevant courses recently, bung that in too. I certainly couldn't give a damn about their highers/A-levels (although the school you went to can sometimes be interesting).
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[bazza]

[LoSt]

That makes sense stinkwheel you are right, most people that have served the better part of thier 22 year service have usually attained the rank that allows them leniancy with their job. however not all ex armed forces types have served their full term infact i would bet a small percentage have, i would say from what i have witnessed a lot of people leave in the 3-12 year bracket, where you are very much still in the thick of it.

I myself have done 6 years and am planning to leave in the next 12 months or so, and being placed in a largely office based job at the moment i know that me and a few others would welcome a change from the army system which tends to overcomplicated and massive in terms of papertrail as EVERYTHING has to be documented, and i mean everything down to the smallest menial things, it gets tiresome.

Best add now, solid info Robby, will building my CV soon so i need all the help i can get
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[The Artist]

People being advised on how to write a decent CV is like dyslexics getting extra time in an exam.

It makes no sense. The ultimate point of a CV is to determine who is better suited for a job, not who can write the best CV and seem the best.

If people cannot work out how to adjust their CV for a particular job without using the phrases like "team player," then they don't deserve the job.

[Clanger]

[dogbot]

Recruitment agents might largely be fuckwits, but in IT, they get the job done. There are actually some good ones out there, from both the employer and employee pov.

Saves having to weed out the useless CVs yourself, too.

[Barry_M2]

[bazza]

[chrisw]

[colin1]

[The Disapproving Brit]

Also, put your name/contact details at the top right corner of the CV.

Why?

Grab a load of papers in a stack. Flip through them with your thumb as if looking for one to catch your eye. What part of the page is your eye drawn to? In a stack of center/left aligned CV's, the one that's right-aligned will jump out when you're scanning through them.
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