alcazar

iTrader: (2)

Been in town today with my eldest, going round a few agencies, since he is yet again redundant

One place, which deals with people who have been referred by the Jobcentre and have been o.o.w. for over a year, told him to update his CV.

We originally wrote it following a template I got off the net and with advice from his mum who is a headteacher.

However, he has been told to make two changes:

1. Condense it to a MAXIMUM of two pages, since employers will not read more than two.

2. DO NOT include names of referees, but a statement that "References are available if needed".

What do any experts think?
TIA

what would scooby do

Always 2 pages max unless a specialised job.

..again having references separate means less waffle to get through on the first read

Will

No as some WWE reffs has had a kick in

Tell him to put all his experience and qualifications on his CV as it wont do him any harm what so ever. The thicker the CV the better

Most of All, i wish the lad all the best

dunx

iTrader: (3)

Lie, lie, and then lie some more !

Maybe that is why I am an expert in unemployment ?



dunx

SunnySideUp

One sheet of A4 - photo in the top right corner (maybe on graduation day?) - capture the reader within the first paragraph.

They will ask for more details if needed.

OH, and NEVER, EVER lie!!

chocolate_o_brian

iTrader: (22)

Was it Working Links where he went? They helped me with all sorts (documented on here) like CV's, covering letters/emails, interview techniques etc. They didn't end up finding me my job but prepared me for the various stages of application

Re. the CV, mine is/was the same... no referee's (but available on request), qualifications studied and passed (but no grades) and a max of 2 pages. Worked for me and mine looks pretty good to say I only had 2 jobs in 7 years previous to Corus. You're more than welcome to look at a copy when you pop round tomorrow afternoon

IainMilford

iTrader: (15)

I work in recruitment and look at hundreds of cv's every week, couple of pointers I can give you,
- going over two pages is OK as long as it is relevant, and you're not rambling on.
- At the top of the cv have a profile explaining a liitle about your background and what you're looking for, keep punchy and to the point
- If appropiate depending on what industy your son works in, a technical/skills summary table, listing specific skills and either amount of time used or a skill level rating is very useful to recruiters/employers

Hope that helps

worley

I've sent you a simple template, it might provide a few ideas.


Nik

Jerome

I agree with 2 completely, although I'd put "References available on request".

For 1, provided there isn't relevant info being left out stick with 2 pages. Go to 3 pages maximum though.

I would also add a point 3: Ensure there are no typos or grammatical errors. Get someone who is awesome at proofreading if necessary.

urban

iTrader: (1)

I'm currently trying to source a developer/technical consultant

I've had many CV's so far
Most of which are shyte - very badly laid out, don't tell me how old the person is, educational background not even on some CV's


I have 1 CV in particular which is 3 pages long and reads very well.
The application "seems" to possess all the skills I'm after
But again - I don't know how old he is.
Education history sort of exists in that I know which schools he attended but not when.
Employment history began in 2001 so I guess he is around 30.

Doesn't have a mickey mouse picture on there and doesn't even mention references and to be honest I don't care about references - at least not yet anyway.

I'd say more than 2 pages is perfectly OK so long as its all relevant information and your not just repeating yourself.
Don't lie - you will only be caught out and then thats you well and truely in the ****.

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

Thanks for all responses.
If we go with "references available on request", it'll be two pages.

David Lock

No photo. Use "profile" or nothing instead of "Curriculum Vitae".

Agency will read first para and skim through the rest. Remember ALL the time what the employer wants .i.e. a good, honest hard working and reliable lad who is willing to learn. Ideally with a bit of character so do include any interesting non-work interests. Include obvious things like clean driving licence and British citizen.

2 pages is plenty - easy to read 11 or 12 point arial on decent 100g paper. Decent 3 para covering letter is important.

Personal and business references are available is all that is required at bottom. Put a date on botton right, just month and year.

Good luck.

dl

scud8

iTrader: (1)

I screen applications for my company and three bits of advice I would give.

- As a previous poster said a good upfront personal statement is essential. Write something that makes it clear you have ambition and career plans, but are flexible in the route you take to get there, and recognise it will take hard work.

- Make sure you give qualification grades as well as the names of the qualifications - otherwise employers will assume the grades are bad!

- If you've had a number of previous jobs, explain briefly why you moved on each time and try to make this as positive as possible. This is especially important if any of them have not lasted long (less than a couple of years). Even if it is simple redundancy a brief explanation helps (eg. change of company strategy, reorganisation, hard times ...). If you don't do this most prospective employers will end up thinking you struggle to settle and won't want to take the risk.

Leslie

I'd have thought that too long would not be productive since the bloke reading it has probably got a few to see. As someone said-make the first bit as impressive as possible, if he wants more then you can go to town in the "available references".

Best wishes for his success.

Les

IainMilford

iTrader: (15)

depends how its written, a cv that is 3/4 pages long, but each job/company description contains a number of relevant bullet points is ok, a cv that is 3/4 pages long of solid rambling paragraphs will get overlooked

jasey

sample summary statements here;

http://www.keenerinspiration.com/docs/CV_Profile.pdf

Been told that this is probably the most important part of any CV - You need to get past the first cursory skim through the 10's/100's/1,000's of $hite CVs.

scunnered

iTrader: (1)

Why would you want to know how old he is? Are you unaware of the age discrimination act? The Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006

I have never put my age on my CV. However, my working background starts in 1974, so its plain to see I'm no teenager.

Torquemada

Agreed! I've just finished going through 3000 HR records at Ericsson and each one had a CV included (as well as all the other juicy info, lol).
All of the staff, barring a few, had very brief CV's (3 pages at a real push if you've been around for millenia) No prettying up with silly designs/logos or patterns. Basic descriptions of the roles and what duties you had (you can go into detail in the interview) and as stated, either a decent intro paragraph on your strengths or an accompanying letter is a good way to give the employers an idea of what kind of prospective employee they are looking at.
Obviously, spelling and grammar are paramount, depending on the type of work sought.
Don't talk money, don't promise things that can't be delivered and make sure the CV is on all the online sites like jobsite (that one has been particularly good for me) and be proactive (obviously you are doing so!).

Good luck!