[R99]

Hi all,

Random post I guess, but there seems to be a fair bit of knowledge on here....

I have been with my current employer since 2003 and whilst I don't dislike the job, cuts and changes are driving many experienced colleagues away. Pay and benefits are also no longer even remotely competitive.

I've been thinking about a change for a while but as I have been here for 15 years I have never felt the need to keep a CV to hand and neither have I had interview experience over this time frame too!

Any tips for CV writing - I'm fine with the personal statement and describing my current role etc. However I'd like to try and make it stand out.

[F30Andy]

I don't know how other people do it, but when I'm reading people's CV's with a view to potentially employing them, the only part I read is their experience.

If they have the experience I am looking for they are getting called in for an interview. I might read the rest of it, but usually CV's carry very little weight with me and it's more a case of if you have the experience I'll talk to you and decide once I have met you in person.

9 out of 10 CV's that end up in my hands end up in the bin.

Why?

Because experience has taught me that in most cases, 90% of what is on a CV is bullshit.

[teaston]

Employment is for mugs, go self employed!

[....,,,,..,,..]

You really need to capture the readers attention in the first few lines.

The first bit should be why you are just so good and what you are good at.

You are selling yourself in 4 - 6 lines.

If I am reading through 20 CV's, it is very easy to drop someone due to having to find out what the fuck they are offering.

I don't give a shit if someone plays Sport or likes Mongolia cooking etc.

I want to know why I should spend and hour talking to you across a desk.

If you can't interest me in those first few lines of the cv, poke off.

Also I don't give a toss about school exams, cycling proficiency awards.

What makes you Effective and Efficient and what crap jobs can you do for me.

Cover letters are sometimes very useful as well, you can match these to job requirements.

Have a number of CV's that cover various skill sets.

I assume you do have more than one thing you ARE good at?

[R99]

Originally Posted by Brigand

I assume you do have more than one thing your good at?

I'd like to think so!

[Zopperman]

What industry?

[R99]

Originally Posted by Zopperman

What industry?

Currently a retail manager, but perhaps looking for a change if the right job comes up.

I'm just wanting to put the wheels in motion so I have a CV ready to go if I see something of interest!

[Skwirrel]

The above is good advice but also make sure you get the basics right. You'd be surprised how many people cock it up with crazy fonts, random layouts, spelling mistakes and 5 pages of drivel.

A CV is a taster of how good you are are why they should employ you. Don't try and cram too much in for the sake of it and make sure it is clear and easy to read in a max 2 sides of A4. How it is laid out and general attention to detail says a lot about the person applying for a job.

The worst I have seen is a CV with template guidelines still showing that said..."don't forget to get someone to check your finished CV". You can guess where that one went.

[4WDriver]

Different formats for different professions. Find out what is "in" for what you are applying for. For my job it's one side of A4. Any more and it's placed in the round file. For my Mrs it's a page for every last thing; 1 personal; 2 experience; 3 qualifications etc.

But equally important is crekt speling, grammer & Punktuation. It's such an easy self selection to the bin if there's a lot of CVs on the desk.
Know your Your/You're. Brigand Your Their/There/They're. It doesn't matter what you are applying for, it's who reads the CV.

[DexGC]

If someone has been at the same company for a long time I look for the cv to show how they've progressed within the organisation. If it looks like someone has sat in exactly the same role for years and years that puts me off.

[Watsey]

The first half page is key : summary; core competencies; also convey your interpersonal style.

There's no fixed limit to the length of a CV, within reason - if it's interesting and relevant, people will read. Mine tends to be 4-5 pages because condensing 30 years of progression and results into 2 sides doesn't do my background and experience justice. Recruiters and agents do not have a problem with this, and in the world of Interim Management it's the depth and breadth of experience that people are buying.

Results are more important than responsibilities. What did YOU achieve that improved the company's performance, profitability, productivity, shareholder returns, etc ?

Recruitment can be largely about candidate deselection, so don't state your age or DOB (too young/old), your address (too far away), or anything negative about na previous role (I got fired). It's impersonal, but family life is irrelevant (of course she's lovely but the fact that Fifi was recently awarded her level 5 ballet isn't relevant).

Do include something that tells the reader what motivates you, i.e. what are your progression goals ?

Avoid, like the plague, all the CV bullshit : I'm a motivated and proactive self-starter happy to use my own intuition as well as being part of a high-performing team. Bin !!

No fancy fonts; no complicated templates; minimal use of embedded tables; don't password protect or convert to pdf - recruiters like to work with simple and unrestricted documents (they may want to embed your text in their company format when representing you to a client).

Consider using an infographic, rather than a CV, but only if you can do it very well.

Oh and litter the document with results, results, results. No-one in the private sector is going to pay you for looking busy, they want you to help improve performance.

Brevity and professional vocab are very important. Review it, re-review it, get friends and professional contacts to critically review it. Check your formatting/alignment, and spell check, spell check, spell check.

[Jeff123]

Originally Posted by Watsey

The first half page is key : summary; core competencies; also convey your interpersonal style.

There's no fixed limit to the length of a CV, within reason - if it's interesting and relevant, people will read. Mine tends to be 4-5 pages because condensing 30 years of progression and results into 2 sides doesn't do my background and experience justice. Recruiters and agents do not have a problem with this, and in the world of Interim Management it's the depth and breadth of experience that people are buying.

Results are more important than responsibilities. What did YOU achieve that improved the company's performance, profitability, productivity, shareholder returns, etc ?

Recruitment can be largely about candidate deselection, so don't state your age or DOB (too young/old), your address (too far away), or anything negative about na previous role (I got fired). It's impersonal, but family life is irrelevant (of course she's lovely but the fact that Fifi was recently awarded her level 5 ballet isn't relevant).

Do include something that tells the reader what motivates you, i.e. what are your progression goals ?

Avoid, like the plague, all the CV bullshit : I'm a motivated and proactive self-starter happy to use my own intuition as well as being part of a high-performing team. Bin !!

No fancy fonts; no complicated templates; minimal use of embedded tables; don't password protect or convert to pdf - recruiters like to work with simple and unrestricted documents (they may want to embed your text in their company format when representing you to a client).

Consider using an infographic, rather than a CV, but only if you can do it very well.

Oh and litter the document with results, results, results. No-one in the private sector is going to pay you for looking busy, they want you to help improve performance.

Brevity and professional vocab are very important. Review it, re-review it, get friends and professional contacts to critically review it. Check your formatting/alignment, and spell check, spell check, spell check.

That’s top advice, spot on.

[dobbo99]

Watsey and Brigand pretty much cover everything.
I probably look at 50 CVs a day, and the simple things do stand out if miss them off

Spelling
Punctuation
Clean and easy to read
Any achievements in the previous 2 or 3 roles. I recruit Sales professionals, but I would say 8/10 sales people don't put their achivements or sales figures on their CVs.
Don't bullshit.

Be prepared to have to be persistent, and deal with plenty of short sighted employers/recruiters!

[R99]

Good advice, thanks all!

Finished a rough draft last night - I just summarised my role, but great feedback about listing actual achievements...

I will re-visit.

I really don’t know “what” I want to do after 15 years of retail, so I’m keeping an open mind at this stage!

[Watsey]

Originally Posted by dobbo99

Watsey and Brigand pretty much cover everything.
I probably look at 50 CVs a day, and the simple things do stand out if miss them off

Spelling
Punctuation
Clean and easy to read
Any achievements in the previous 2 or 3 roles. I recruit Sales professionals, but I would say 8/10 sales people don't put their achivements or sales figures on their CVs.
Don't bullshit.

Be prepared to have to be persistent, and deal with plenty of short sighted employers/recruiters!

Picking up on one thing you mention, no BS i.e. lies and exaggerations. Your story will get blown, in the interview /reference checks / in the role and then it's game over.

Finally, never go to an interview. Interview = interrogation, you're in a passive role, and there are very few good interviewers. Far better to go to a business meeting, thinking as if you were in the role. Not arrogant, but demonstrating your ability to understand where and how you'd make a difference.

[Nobby Clark]

For me it’s the first paragraph that must grab. It needs to factual relevant and with evidence.

Not interested in jobs older than 8-10 years, they are out of date, so talk about experience. I’ll only read the 2nd page if the first gets me there, I don’t have time for a third, if I did I’d read an autobiography.

Always follow up with a potential employer. Ask if they got a CV and when you can come in.

[....,,,,..,,..]

Originally Posted by Watsey

Picking up on one thing you mention, no BS i.e. lies and exaggerations. Your story will get blown, in the interview /reference checks / in the role and then it's game over.

Finally, never go to an interview. Interview = interrogation, you're in a passive role, and there are very few good interviewers. Far better to go to a business meeting, thinking as if you were in the role. Not arrogant, but demonstrating your ability to understand where and how you'd make a difference.

Yep good advice, avoid going down the Bertie Bullshit route, the bullshit alarm goes off.

Also please gen up on the fucking role you want to do.

I find it annoyingly embarrassing that some interviewees cannot answer simple questions.

I score on technical / job knowledge, confidence, experience (not always same as knowledge) and occasionally some other bits. I then score each person with a mini write up.

Make sure you can expand on what is in your CV, be able to quickly provide examples.

Remember depending on role you are going for using the word WE, is different to using I.

Have a read up on body language and psychometric testing.

Another important bit.

As you have not had any interview experience for a good while, apply for some random jobs (same sector) where you pretty much will get an interview.

You will need the practice and it pays to get up to speed before going for that golden job you must have.

[R99]

Originally Posted by Brigand

Yep good advice, avoid going down the Bertie Bullshit route, the bullshit alarm goes off.

Also please gen up on the fucking role you want to do.

I find it annoyingly embarrassing that some interviewees cannot answer simple questions.

I score on technical / job knowledge, confidence, experience (not always same as knowledge) and occasionally some other bits. I then score each person with a mini write up.

Make sure you can expand on what is in your CV, be able to quickly provide examples.

Remember depending on role you are going for using the word WE, is different to using I.

Have a read up on body language and psychometric testing.

Another important bit.

As you have not had any interview experience for a good while, apply for some random jobs (same sector) where you pretty much will get an interview.

You will need the practice and it pays to get up to speed before going for that golden job you must have.

Yeh, with regards to the last point I intend to do that in order to brush up on my interview technique & build confidence in an interview environment.

Again, thanks for the advice.

[R99]

Originally Posted by Nobby Clark

Always follow up with a potential employer. Ask if they got a CV and when you can come in.

I did exactly that this week with a job that sounded great!

Sadly though, despite listing manufacturing experience as “desirable” the recruitment team advised that it was, in fact, essential!

I’m keeping an open mind and building my CV as currently I do not ‘need’ another job