Question:
What makes a good CV?.
Answer:
-There are 2 types. One to send to Employment Agencies, in which you tell them
everything relevant, and they use that as their mase material for their own CV
they send out to clients.
The other type you rewrite for every situation, to ensure it is the best it can
be by being absolutely focussed.
Having seen a lot of CVs, I can tell you that very few people appear to rewrite
them for each position applied for. Those who do stand out immediately.
-One good tip I was given is to call it a Professional
profile rather than a CV
-I'm reviewing cv's for a position I advertised in the Herald this week
(received 42 so far!) here are some of the things I like to see:
A photo is very worthwhile - it seems to personalise the process.
Brevity is good, but if it's too short (like one page) it looks like you're
not really keen! No long waffley statements about career goals, objectives,
etc. Also, lose the qualifications that go back centuries (I don't care if
you won a prize for swimming a length of the municipal pool in 1965!)
One thing that really stood out for me (simple but effective) was a huge
Nike type tick on the front of one cv.
I look at PERSONAL DETAILS (Name, address, phone, DOB, marital status,
health (but only put this if you can put: "Excellent non smoker")
STRENGTHS (like: positive attitude, sense of humour, computer literate,
attention to detail) Be careful here, if you put this make sure you have no
typos in your application. Our company name is Money Managers, I got one cv
addressed to Money Matters and the applicant said she had an "irritating
habit of striving for perfection..."
WORK EXPERIENCE (be brief, with no gaps that aren't explained) latest jobs
first
INTERESTS - again brevity rules, just gives reader an idea of what kind of
person you are. Be careful again here, if you get an interview, generally a
question is asked about your interests to break the ice - so don't put golf
if you've never played!
REFEREES - three is good. Work, Personal and Academic (if appropriate).
Make sure you alert the referees that they may get a call - employers do
check.
