cv help???

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hey guys,


ive been readinf around the forum for a few months and created my CV and applied for level one tech support jobs, however im getting nothing at all back, even for jobs that I am able to do, i know my CV doesnt include a personnal statement as i normally include that seperatly with a cover letter. now im starting to think my CV is wrong or im missing something on it? ive asked other people to take a look but they all give me contradicting advice so im asking you guys if you could give me some positive criticism.

thanks for any advice

 

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To be honest, you need some sort of personal statement although it can be short.

You also need to focus on achievements rather than job roles if you can.
And I'd lose some space by dropping your Uni projects - you can talk about them in the interview.

At the moment your CV is a bit generic and doesn't really tell me anything about you, and why I should consider you more than the next guy.

But it's a sound start.

 

As JonnyMX says, your CV at the moment is very generic and impersonal, I scanned through it and successfully learnt nothing about you or your skills.

You have on average about 10 seconds to make your mark, if all you do is list qualifications your not making full use of your 10 seconds. I find the best way to look at a CV is to think (as you would if writing a story) about the beginning middle and end.

Beginning: Open with something which gives them an idea of who you are and what your skills are, don't expect them to work it out from a list of qualifications. Include at least a small personal statement as this will give them a bit more insight than a bullet pointed list.

Middle: This is the qualifications and employment stuff. With your education you want to keep it short and to the point, the guy reading it is more interested in the certificate than the big project list that got you it. Employment history is your chance to give the skills list a bit of context and show why you've listed all that stuff to begin with.

End: This is a bit more free form, give an idea of your interests outside of work and use it to further reinforce your skills and attributes.

This is just my approach and isn't based on any recruitment background but its been fairly successful for me so far! (I have always got through to interview for any job I have applied to)

 

cheers guys, ive edited my CV somewhat, what do you think now?

 

Getting better!

Good effort.
Generally the personal statement is written in the third person, but otherwise it sums you up well.

I would generally move your work history up above your education and software skills, however your work expereince to date I'm guessing isn't something you want to draw too much attention to (no offence, what I mean is that it's not the kind of job you're looking for moving forward).
I'd also try to write less about your duties and more about what you actually contributed or achieved, and maybe play it down a bit. You might be one of the cases where a chronological CV isn't the best kind.

Things like 'evacuating auditoriums in case of emergency' I'm guessing isn't a daily task you had to perform.
Try not to list too many irrelevant tasks just for the sake of it.
You could just re-phrase some of it to sound better.

For example, 'working within in a team to work within time constraints to clean auditoriums' while confused in it's syntax makes you sound like a janitor, which isn't what you want. Teamwork is good, working to time constraints is good (providing you meet or exceed them of course) so you can use that - but how about saying that you were providing a pleasant customer experience or environment?

 

dont worry i know what you mean, thats why ive tryed to play empthesis on customer experiance and working in a team.

done a quick rejig btw do you think its a good idea to move my work experiance to the top? dont want to put off potential employers too early!

 

That would normally be the case, but I think you might want to look at a functional CV rather than a chronological one.

This would normally consist of:

• Professional Summary
• Selected Achievements/Skills
• Professional Experience

So you're drawing attention to the skills you have, rather than your work history.
As I said, your problem with your work history is that you don't have much of it and it isn't relevant to what you want to be doing.

 

That's getting there.

You might want to take computer games off your hobbies.
I'd only mention things that are interesting or show that you have a 'rich' character.
You could argue that cinema is a legitimate interest, as long as it's more than just going there on Orange Wednesday. Likewise driving can be a passion as long as it isn't doing doughnuts in the Tesco carpark.

I'd have another look at your work experience.
If you're looking at IT jobs, you have got experience in handling a stock control system, CMS, database, producing reports and troubleshooting issues but you've put it right at the bottom, below cleaning, and then told them you only did it for 3 months.

Don't forget, the role of a CV is to get you an interview. It's a sales tool, not somewhere to make excuses.
While it isn't the done thing to lie - what you do want to do is tell the recruiter what they want to hear.

You could also make more of your film quiz. It was organising an event, public speaking, providing a customer experience, researching a subject, acting as a host, representing your organisation to the public. Who cares if you did it in the pub for four people?

 

cheers man, took your advice and ive rearranged and edited some things. and tesco? only waitrose for me!

this looking any better?