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Thread: CV Writing

  1. #1

    CV Writing

    Dear all,

    Circumstances may compel me to start looking for a new job. Not written a CV for some considerable time, any hints and tips greatly appreciated.

    Also, create your own CV or use a template online. If online, any useful sites you could recommend.

    Best regards,

    Ben

  2. #2
    Master
    Join Date
    Sep 2014
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    I work in recruitment and look at cvs all day long, you almost neee to tailor your cv to the job you are applying for and a good cover note goes along way, main points are name, address and contact details you'll be surprised how many I get that don't have contact details. Keep it to two pages and after a short profile saying how great you are etc.... list your roles in chronological order, list basic duties and responsibilities and bullet point achievements or why your good e.g (if your in sales and you signed 14 new clients and beat your target by 146% say so!!!) List a little about your hobbies and references Etc.....

    I wouldn't suggest going back no further than 5-7 years work history if applicable as it just get some too busy, also if you've had lots of jobs list reasons for leaving it eradicates the elephant in the room. it's probably not relevant to what your doing now what you did to en you left education so don't bother if you've been in employment and focus on your at your doing now and how that is relevant to the role you are applying for and then list your education any additional qualifications and references.

    After that follow up any applications, It will stand you out for the crowd don't be shy to follow up by phone and look up the contact on LinkedIn so you have some common ground.

    Also know your cv as it will be the basis of any questions you get and so don't lie as it will find you out and with the power of social media theee days if you say you like helping the aged at the weekends and your social profile has you at festivals it won't go down too well
    Good luc
    Last edited by R0bertb00th; 6th December 2016 at 22:55.

  3. #3

    Hello

    Thanks very much for the response.

    It's just a precaution.

    Thankfully i have not leapt ship that many times. Civil Servant for the last 16 years and moved departments once. So i am pretty loyal.

    I have GCSE's, A Levels and a Degree and hopefully my work experience will help. But i do realise its a tough market these days and i am heading towards 42 in Jan 17!

    Regards,

    Ben

  4. #4
    Master robcuk's Avatar
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    I've just used Taylor CVs: http://taylor-cvs.co.uk

    They do a whole package, CV, LinkedIn Profile & customised Cover Letters, and one payment gives you acccess to all services for 9 months. The writer who did my CV was great and spent over two hours on the phone building a profile of me to help him tailor the CV to me.

    Now I need to start using it/them.

  5. #5

    Hello

    Thanks, will check them out.

  6. #6
    Master
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    Choice is yours but I'm a massive cynic of paid for cv writing, cvs get interviews people get jobs and trust me I've seen some brilliant cvs but shocking candidates and likewise poor cvs but great candidates all of which points to the fact it's the individual that gets the job

    You've got a lot of experience and so that's what people will be buying, speak to your peers and use your network as I said join LinkedIn and research research research it's the people who want the jobs the most that get them

    As an example if I have two identical cvs, same candidate, same interview and one tells me he's a passionate watch and shoe fan and the other hates sport as an example guess which one I employ ??????

    Look at my profile on Instagram and it would tell you a lot about me, so it's not hard, most interviewers are poor at qualifying and go with there gut so if you can. Hold that rapport it goes a long way, I'd recommend you apply to lots as the interview practice will serve you well and give you some valuable knowledge of how you are perceived and be realistic.

    I'd love to play for Man Utd or earn £300k but it's just not realistic, my value in the market is in recruitment and in the space where my contacts are as an example and your experience will be well received

  7. #7

    Hello

    Thanks, will bear that in mind.

  8. #8

    Hello

    Thought i'd set up a Linkedin profile won't accept any post code i try. Useless!

  9. #9
    Craftsman Bluemoon7's Avatar
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    I too am a cynic when it comes to paid CV services or in fact allowing anyone to put together a CV for you. Good advice noted already to tailor the CV to a specific area of work. It depends on the type of role that you are applying for or hoping to get within a specified industry. In my line of work we have to list every role ever held in terms of employment and education, so only noting the past 7 or 8 years only would disqualify you immediately. I get sent CVs all the time and get bombarded by employment agencies too. Half of what I look at gets deleted......

    Employment agencies are sometimes looking for a way to place applicants quickly when preparing applicants for specific roles and will sometimes chop and change the CVs of the people they are trying to place (sometimes without the applicant's knowledge) and without realising that what they do actually disqualifies the applicant. Those CVs end up in the deleted file. They will also sometimes embellish applicants experience / encourage applicants to do so without realising that to place somebody in a role where they are out of their depth can not only destroy their applicants confidence but put people at risk. They very quickly get found out.

  10. #10
    Master
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    I just updated mine. Didn't bother with a personal profile. I listed qualifications and experience. I am currently getting about 6 calls a day from recruitment people. Wasn't that fussed about a new job but thought it was worth checking out the market.

    If you qualifications and experience is strong. They will be in touch to speak around the rest or want to meet up.

    I'm yet to haves caller that says. Tell me more about your interest in canoeing etc.

  11. #11
    Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by burnside View Post
    Thought i'd set up a Linkedin profile won't accept any post code i try. Useless!
    I did the same recently and had the same issue. Worked round it somehow but can't remember how. If it it comes back to me I'll let you know!

  12. #12
    I amended mine a few months back after being made redundant, kept it to two sides of a single A4 and concentrated on the more recent positions and experience listing all the qualifications and training I'd recieved. It's easy to write too much, keep it direct and ensure all key points are noted, and triple check for spelling and grammatical errors.

    I haven't, as yet, written alternative CVs tailored for specific jobs as 99% of what I've aimed at has clear parallels with my last role however I'd certainly tailor if I thought it worth doing.

  13. #13
    Master PipPip's Avatar
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    Having been made redundant at the end of October I've recently had to do my CV for the first time in 10 years too. I started off with a fairly standardised CV using it on LinkedIn, a few job boards and with a few bigger agencies but didn't get very far at all. I then started putting much more effort into networking with pretty much everyone I knew in the industry and started preparing a fully tailored CV for each opportunity. I also started applying for contract roles as well as permanent. This approach resulted in a few leads, some interviews which were practice as I didn't really want the job and in the end interviews for two great jobs both of which I was keen on. Ultimately I was offered both jobs and was able to negotiate terms. Back in September I never thought that would happen. I start my chosen new job on Monday. With the growth of technology I found the personalisation of job hunting has gone and recruitment consultants are absolutely useless. They don't return calls, they promise a lot and deliver nothing. 99% are a waste of space. You are just one of thousands of candidates with full visibility of the opportunity and fairly easy technology platforms to apply on. This can make it all quite soul destroying in a tough market like this, so you really do have to work hard and stick at it. Good luck!

  14. #14

    Hello

    Thanks all.

    Linkedin has played ball, finally!

    So i will put some bits and pieces on it. Tomorrow now to be honest.

    Reassuring to know good things can happen. It's only a precaution at the moment.

    Thanks again.

    Regards,

    Ben

  15. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by PipPip View Post
    ...With the growth of technology I found the personalisation of job hunting has gone and recruitment consultants are absolutely useless. They don't return calls, they promise a lot and deliver nothing. 99% are a waste of space. You are just one of thousands of candidates with full visibility of the opportunity and fairly easy technology platforms to apply on. This can make it all quite soul destroying in a tough market like this, so you really do have to work hard and stick at it. Good luck!
    I've fired off plenty of applications via job sites knowing full well that every Tom, Dick and Henrietta will be doing the same. I fully agree that it's soul destroying, especially when more than most of them disappear into the ether, though I still do it as it raises the odds of catching something. I just grin and bear it, not that it's easy.

  16. #16
    Master
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    Thread bump as I'm working on improving my CV. I tried one of the "free CV assessments" and it has come back with a middling score - not bad not great. There seems to be a fair amount about the ATS system, the scoring and the key words. The kind of info I have found on this is such as https://biginterview.com/blog/2015/0...ng-system.html and https://lifehacker.com/5866630/how-c...-a-humans-hand. Is this how things need to be done now? Whilst I am not adverse to paying for a professional CV it seems slightly at odds with the need to tailor it for each application, then the cover letter and then a Linked-In profile. So whilst this might give me better insight into what I should have in it I would still be probably creating new ones for each application and hence being able to tailor a good one myself.

    Any insights welcome.

  17. #17
    Master sean's Avatar
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    Trouble is, ask 10 people for opinions on what should be in a good CV and you'll get 12 different answers. At least that's what I've found whenever I've been working on mine.

    Distilling the two links in the post above, it seems that common sense should get anyone a long way; that is, if you're suitable for the job your well-written CV should already contain the 'keywords' needed to get through an automated system.

    I wonder if there isn't too much second guessing and over-analysis of CV writing. If you've got the skills required for the job and can get the basics of CV writing right (e.g. no typos) you've got to be in with a chance. Otherwise, you may be in danger of ending up with a jargon- and key-word filled CV that could read nonsensically when it gets into the hiring manager's hands.

  18. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by R0bertb00th View Post
    I work in recruitment and look at cvs all day long, you almost neee to tailor your cv to the job you are applying for and a good cover note goes along way, main points are name, address and contact details you'll be surprised how many I get that don't have contact details. Keep it to two pages and after a short profile saying how great you are etc.... list your roles in chronological order, list basic duties and responsibilities and bullet point achievements or why your good e.g (if your in sales and you signed 14 new clients and beat your target by 146% say so!!!) List a little about your hobbies and references Etc.....

    I wouldn't suggest going back no further than 5-7 years work history if applicable as it just get some too busy, also if you've had lots of jobs list reasons for leaving it eradicates the elephant in the room. it's probably not relevant to what your doing now what you did to en you left education so don't bother if you've been in employment and focus on your at your doing now and how that is relevant to the role you are applying for and then list your education any additional qualifications and references.

    After that follow up any applications, It will stand you out for the crowd don't be shy to follow up by phone and look up the contact on LinkedIn so you have some common ground.

    Also know your cv as it will be the basis of any questions you get and so don't lie as it will find you out and with the power of social media theee days if you say you like helping the aged at the weekends and your social profile has you at festivals it won't go down too well
    Good luc
    I used to recruit a lot and the above is a good summary. Although not going back more than around 5-7 years is good, still fill in any blanks even if only a one liner of dates, employer and title (no gaps!).

    Unless applying for identical jobs, you should be 'recrafting' the 1st narrative parts each time.

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