How to make a good CV

[Calza]

I've been thinking about getting a job for ages but now it has really dawned upon me just how much I need the money. And then of course I came too my first hurdle, creating a CV that didn't suck. Now I have done a few CV's but they were in school and they didn't seem very pro. So I was wondering if you guys have any hints and tips or even a template of sorts that you stick when creating yours.

 

Just in case anybody is wondering I'm going to be applying at Halfords as there was three people that quit the Bikehut section and they are looking for jobs. Anybody here worked in Halfords by any chance?

[Dante]

Try this site Calza.

[chairdriver]

My aunt who interviews people for a living says that at the end of the day, she doesn't care how the CV looks, it's whats on it which counts.

[blender]

post it on here with personal details removed and we can laugh at it and help you. Most chains have applications forms. I found that sometimes you have to play down your CV for entry level positons

[Calza]

Thanks for that site Dante, although it self wasn't that useful it had some really good links that helped me out a bit.

 

Right heres me first attempt, obviously the black rectangle won't be in the final version. It's just covering all my personal stuff.

 

 

It's only one page but I'm not really sure if thats enough. To be honest I don't really like the whole 'Intrests' stuff etc but then again if thats what employers want I can't really not have it in.

[Dan_Dare]

You need a personal statement.

 

I could email you mine? It's based on a pretty good format and gives you the right idea.

[Calza]

Yeah that would be great, either send it to [email protected] or if you just meant PM then... PM me.

 

By personal statement do mean like why I would like to work there and what I want to achieve etc?

[Dan_Dare]

It's more like Interests and personality stuff. You also want a list of skills you have, how you learned them and what they're good for.

 

I'll email you now.

[blender]

they are going to want to know if you are going to university this year. their employment decision is going to be tied to that. LIE!

[Calza]

I won't be going to Uni until the 2009-10 semester so I don't think I would have to lie, they would be getting me for about a year.

[Charlie]

Thanks for that site Dante, although it self wasn't that useful it had some really good links that helped me out a bit.

 

Right heres me first attempt, obviously the black rectangle won't be in the final version. It's just covering all my personal stuff.

 

 

It's only one page but I'm not really sure if thats enough. To be honest I don't really like the whole 'Intrests' stuff etc but then again if thats what employers want I can't really not have it in.

 

 

Please take this as constructive criticism rather than me being harsh on you, I'm not meaning it to be like that (it's just that I was teaching wee kids all afternoon so all my nice criticism is used up for today :P).

 

Right, so you worked at the SQA for a week. What did you learn from that? What skills did you need to use? How well did you communicate and work with your colleagues? How will this help you when working in Halfords? Relate everything back to Halfords and how it will help them (without actually mentioning Halfords). So for example, if you were at the SQA and someone phoned you up asking for help how did you deal with them?

 

What skills did you need to complete the DoE award? Everyone has it, but what does it actually mean? You needed to work in a team, write that down. Teamwork is a major major major thing in employment, everything's about working in teams, one of the most common interview questions is "tell us about a time you worked successfully within a team"

 

[Overly harsh interviewer]

I don't know what the "National Semiconductor Prize" is and sure as hell can't be bothered going to find out what it is or means.

[/Overly harsh interviewer]

The guy looking through CVs doesn't have time to look at stuff like that, you need to tell him exactly what it means what you needed to to do achieve it. Make the whole section into a paragraph. That's potentially something which will make you stand out if you told them what it meant. How many people were in the competition? Example: On XX/XX/2007 I came first in the NSP out of a field of XXX people by doing YYY.

 

And also, you're currently working towards your Gold DoE, not 'doing'.

 

I've emailed you mine, which is by no means perfect, if you want to take a gander at it. My dad helped me with it who's been interviewing people all his life just about.

 

Make yourself stand out from other people, make the CV template actually look good, you say you have good computer skills (well you didn't actually, but you probably do... say that!) - put them to use and make the CV look nice.

 

I change my CV for every job I'm applying for to make it specific to that job, so don't think you've completed your CV and will never need to look at it again, chop and change it all the time.

[Calza]

Thanks for the help guys, I've taken everything onboard.

 

I've updated my CV and now it is on 2 pages however it only fils half the 2nd page and apart from increasing the size of the text (which I won't do) I can't think of what else to put in.

 

 

 

Sorry Dan and Charlie if it looks I've just lifted straight from yours, I really am struggling and it needs to get done tonight.

[Charlie]

Looking much better than before mate, but make sure you go over your English. A few things I noticed were:

"Remedying the problem" doesn't really sound right. "As whether a call" should that be "as whenever"?

 

Carrying out what with financial documents?

The English you use in the CV is just as important as what's written in it in my opinion, my dad said he would reject people automatically if they didn't have good English.

[Noodleman]

Guys its Halfords the fact he seemingly isn't a complete retard is going to put him a step above most of the applicants. Although it is good practice for when you want a full time job, I wouldn't worry too much about it.

[Paj!]

I wouldn't put my worst result at the bottom, because they'll look down the list and the last thing they'll see is that 3 in French.

 

I'd put it in the middle, so it doesn't stand out as much.

 

Just my opinion though.

 

 

EDIT: This is Chairdriver at Paj's house, BTW.

[chairdriver]

Don't say "I had to help", because that makes it sound like the work experience was a chore.

 

Also, you should use semi-colons where two sentences are linked, but a comma wouldn't make sense.

 

Eg: "The DoE scheme ... develop my teamwork skills; it showed me the importance..."

[LukeLee]

I wouldn't put my worst result at the bottom, because they'll look down the list and the last thing they'll see is that 3 in French.

 

I'd put it in the middle, so it doesn't stand out as much.

 

He's right, it's known in Psychology as the primary and recency effect, in fairly long lists people tend to remember the start and the ends of the list. Start for long term memory and last for short-term.

 

Anyway, the CV should be tailored around the person specification. I'd agree that ideally it should be a unique CV for every job, but when you're applying for loads all over the country and you know they dont stay open long (as in my position) then you don't have time to make it completely unique. If i remember correctly there are 3 types of CVs, not that i can remember all the names. A CV is something you should be working on fairly often. I'll PM you my two CVs, but be mindful of what they're looking for and your own position. Also, avoid dead space, that half a page is wasted, if need be just put your references there.

[chairdriver]

Also, don't title it Curriculum Vitae.

 

Anyone with half a brain will know what CV stands for anyway, and unnecessary use of Latin just looks pretentious.

 

I put my name as the title on my CV, it might sound arrogant or whatever, but my name is the most important thing about the CV.

[Will]

Also, don't title it Curriculum Vitae.

 

Anyone with half a brain will know what CV stands for anyway, and unnecessary use of Latin just looks pretentious.

 

I put my name as the title on my CV, it might sound arrogant or whatever, but my name is the most important thing about the CV.

 

This. Use your name in nice big writing as a title.

 

Also get rid of the long paragraphs describing your jobs and skills. It looks poor and people won't be bothered with reading it when they have a pile to get through. Instead a brief 1 or 2 sentences to introduce each and then bullet points for each key thing you did in the role.

 

Don't worry about having space in your CV, lay it out so that it takes up the 2 pages evenly though. Presentation is massively important, its saying something about you before the person even reads a word on there. I'd spend a bit of time cleaning it up if I were you - it can make a massive difference to your chances of getting the job.

 

I'm also happy to send you mine if you want to take a look.