my CV - your assistance please?

Discussion in 'Employment & Jobs' started by veloce, Aug 17, 2010.

  1. veloce

    veloce Byte Poster

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    Guys,

    I know some on the forum dislike these kind of requests but I think its an excellent sign of the kind of people on this forum, that they would take time out of their own lives to give invaluable feedback to others.

    My cv skills are weak, as such I have spent quite a bit of time on this draft, with help from examples provided here (Craigie, GBL etc).

    Can I get some some feedback, on layout, content etc?

    Thanks in advance.


    Declan
     

    Attached Files:

    Certifications: A+
    WIP: BSc Hons Computing & IT
  2. veloce

    veloce Byte Poster

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    bump:cry:
     
    Certifications: A+
    WIP: BSc Hons Computing & IT
  3. LukeP

    LukeP Gigabyte Poster

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    Change font to something tidier.
    Change profile from bullet points to nice short write-up.
    Get rid of references (if they want them they will tell you)
    Other than that it's not bad. Work a little bit on formatting and you're good to go.
     
    WIP: Uhmm... not sure
  4. veloce

    veloce Byte Poster

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    cheers Luke, thanks for takin' the time
     
    Certifications: A+
    WIP: BSc Hons Computing & IT
  5. greenbrucelee
    Highly Decorated Member Award

    greenbrucelee Zettabyte Poster

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    yep seems ok, maybe try and beef up your experience a bit though.
     
    Certifications: A+, N+, MCDST, Security+, 70-270
    WIP: 70-620 or 70-680?
  6. Fergal1982

    Fergal1982 Petabyte Poster

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    I agree with Luke, but also...

    Add the date to your A+ and ECDL, change the "working on currently" to "In Progress" on your N+, and tidy up that section a little - Display it in the same format as the lower education sections perhaps. Anything really, but tidy the whole Edumacation section up and make it look consistent.

    Work History: You use an impersonal tense when detailing your jobs (which is good), but revert to "my" describing your travelling. Stick to one. Personally, I think that personal pronouns should only be used in the profile section of the CV. Everywhere else should not use them. Remove "Work History contd", its unnecessary - the employer can see it continues.

    Possibly include a (bulleted) "Key Skills" section after the profile, where you list the technologies you have skills in, if there are only one or two, perhaps leave it as it looks sparse, but if you can get around 10 it will help to fill out the CV a little.

    You have an unexplained 5 year gap between your CV between the end of your education, and the start of your employment. Given how little you have in your employment history, its going to stand out like a sore thumb. This early on, you need to fill that gap, even if its not relevant to IT in any manner. It looks suspect and could mark your CV for the round filing cabinet on the floor. At the very least, indicate that there is a history, and state that the details are available on demand (then save a copy of the CV with the full history so its there if required). As you gain more experience in IT, or as more time passes, you can drop things off a bit from the history, but not at this stage.
     
    Certifications: ITIL Foundation; MCTS: Visual Studio Team Foundation Server 2010, Administration
    WIP: None at present
  7. veloce

    veloce Byte Poster

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    thanks guys, will amend as suggested and upload revised
     
    Certifications: A+
    WIP: BSc Hons Computing & IT
  8. veloce

    veloce Byte Poster

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    GBL, by experience you mean any gained in my current role?

    thanks
     
    Certifications: A+
    WIP: BSc Hons Computing & IT
  9. veloce

    veloce Byte Poster

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    folks,

    see amended:dry
     

    Attached Files:

    Certifications: A+
    WIP: BSc Hons Computing & IT
  10. Smiff

    Smiff New Member

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    Hi Veloce

    CV looks fine in my opinion. I notice you are from NI, I think you sent me a welcome message when I joined the forum. If you don't mind me asking, where did you do your A+ exams? I'm looking to do mine soon in Belfast, if that's where you did yours a recommendation of a exam centre would be a great help!

    Cheers

    Smiff
     
    Certifications: HNC Computing
    WIP: A+
  11. Fergal1982

    Fergal1982 Petabyte Poster

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    Ah no. You misunderstand Luke's point about the profile. Dont simply remove the bullets. rewrite it as a flowing piece of prose.

    Qualifications looks better, but everything else is reverse chronological, so stick the N+ at the top.

    Other than that, its looking not too bad now.

    Where you have a job that you have been promoted in, I would indicate this separately (see attached for an example).

    As an example, I've attached a sanitised version of my current CV.

    If you look at Company C, the Account Admin role was non-development, and included only a small amount of development. Everything I've said is completely true, but I've spent more time detailing the Development-centric tasks than the others so in the end it almost looks like 50% of my job. Dont lie, but you are allowed to draw more attention to the sections that are relevant.

    View attachment 1997
     
    Certifications: ITIL Foundation; MCTS: Visual Studio Team Foundation Server 2010, Administration
    WIP: None at present
  12. Sparky
    Highly Decorated Member Award 500 Likes Award

    Sparky Zettabyte Poster Moderator

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    Yup, it was all a bit ‘meh’ until the McAfee job came up which is a gem in your CV.

    Get the profile changed highlighting your customer service skills and IT work experience.
     
    Certifications: MSc MCSE MCSA:M MCSA:S MCITP:EA MCTS(x5) MS-900 AZ-900 Security+ Network+ A+
    WIP: Microsoft Certs
  13. veloce

    veloce Byte Poster

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    hi there smiff.

    Did it in BT tower, Lanyon place.

    There is a thread buried here somewhere where test takers detail thier experiences with test centres.
    BT tower was ok, but the room that the test took place in was little bigger than a toilet (4 desktops), but the major irritation was people coming into the room midway through your exam, to start thiers! Cue lots of doors banging, swivel chair-creaking, shuffling and sniffing etc!! Not what you want when your trying to focus!

    This was through Prometrics, by the way. I take it you are working on the 2009 A+ (700 series)?
     
    Certifications: A+
    WIP: BSc Hons Computing & IT
  14. veloce

    veloce Byte Poster

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    fergal,

    my confusion in this stems from some peoples opinion that the Profile section should also be impersonal, and written in third-person style, you suggest otherwise?

    Also, my skills may be a little light, maybe 3-4 at most. Leave it out?
     
    Certifications: A+
    WIP: BSc Hons Computing & IT
  15. Fergal1982

    Fergal1982 Petabyte Poster

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    The profile is about the only section I would suggest making personal, if you are going to make any personal. But if you take a look at mine, its possible to achieve it without using personal pronouns, it just needs to flow a little more.

    3-4 is possibly too light, yes. Leave it for now, and just fill out the employment history. You have a wad of blank space at the end of the second page, so feel free to make use of it in describing your roles and responsibilities.
     
    Certifications: ITIL Foundation; MCTS: Visual Studio Team Foundation Server 2010, Administration
    WIP: None at present
  16. veloce

    veloce Byte Poster

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    fergal,

    grasp what your saying about highlighting relevant job roles. My current role is credit controller.Thats what my (fabled) job description details. But I chose to get involved with EDI integration to customer systems and our own back office system, in the same way that I chose to be called upon whenever someone has some sort of hardware/software desktop issue. Its not a significant chunk of my current job but it takes up more of my working week than it once did.

    thanks again to you and everyone else for your input
     
    Certifications: A+
    WIP: BSc Hons Computing & IT
  17. Smiff

    Smiff New Member

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    Hi Veloce

    BT tower beside the Hilton? I know it well and actually walk past it every day so it may be handy for me although I'm not fussed on people interrupting me pushing past to start their exam! Yes 700 series and I will also be doing it through prometric. Thanks for the reply, thats a great help.

    I've been looking at IT jobs in Belfast but all of the ones so far have asked for at least one years experience so I'm just keeping me eyes peeled for that golden 'entry level' opportunity. I agree that your experience in that McAfee job will be a advantage for you.

    Good luck with the job hunt!

    Cheers

    Smiff
     
    Certifications: HNC Computing
    WIP: A+
  18. greenbrucelee
    Highly Decorated Member Award

    greenbrucelee Zettabyte Poster

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    detailing any experience is good.
     
    Certifications: A+, N+, MCDST, Security+, 70-270
    WIP: 70-620 or 70-680?
  19. veloce

    veloce Byte Poster

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    cheers, let me know how you get on with the exams, when you take them
     
    Certifications: A+
    WIP: BSc Hons Computing & IT

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