my first cv!

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Hi everyone,
attached is my CV that i will be using to get my first Desktop support/1st line support job. How do you think my CV turned out and does anyone have any pointers on what i should improve?
Many thanks

 

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You should maybe rename the first section Profile.
It's a bit verbose. I prefer to keep it short. Look to lose anything that mentions skills (you talk about these later) and maybe remove the bit about MCSE. It's all very well having ambition but the MCSE would have to be a long term goal and mentioning it while looking for your first job would make me think you were in it more for the cash than anything else. Save that sort of thing for the interview, they quite often ask where you see yourself in a few years, and keep your ambitions modest or they'll think you'll do a runner the first chance you get.
single handily (?)

Skills:
I'd reverse the order of the certs, stick them in their own section and maybe lose the ECDL. It just makes me think you've not been around computers very long.

You have made absolutely no mention of your customer service skills in your skills section. For a helpdesk/1st line job these are more important than technical skills.
Lose the stuff you can't back up with cert knowledge or employment history. Make sure everything that you do mention can be linked to some sort of proof.
I'd bullet point them as well.
It's convention to put employment history with your most recent job first.
good speedily customer service(?)
You've made no mention of what you're working as now. If you're not working you should maybe indicate that, it may be to your advantage if they need someone to start ASAP.

You are eligible to live and work....
You have a clean Zimbabwean driving licence. Does that mean you can use it in the UK? Don't make me do the work.



It's taken me months to get my CV into shape. Lots of research on CV/cover letter writing, countless redrafts etc.
It takes time to get it right so don't lose heart.
Try to think about it from a prospective employers point of view

 

They is not right or wrong way to do a CV really.

 

I have to disagree. While there is no one right way, there are many wrong ways to do a CV.

Read his CV like your his prospective employer with a short attention span (which they will have if they're trawling through 50+ CVs). Every time you have to look elsewhere for information, every time you wonder where a sentence is going, every time something just doesn't add up, every time you have a question rather than an answer; that's a potential point where the CV gets filed in the round filing cabinet at the side of the desk.

 

Soundians points all good. Lose a paragraph from your personal profile.

Look and feel is somewhat subjective but I would also lose the boxes and I probably would not advise adding more bullet lists either.

Stuff is normally in reverse chronological order as stated. This should also apply to your education, make your degree more prominent than the other qualifications.

One way to do this would be to trim down the college section and use the certification section to highlight this information.

eg remove :-

Remove the MCSE or put it into a personal profile or interests section as a long term goal.

Remove 'references on request', its normally assumed that you will provide references if required these days.

Maybe make the graphics a little smaller and put them only on the footer of the last page.

Consider making sure MCP appears in text and dropping that graphic.

It's 'McAfee' not 'McFee'.

Might want to think about the phone number, various styles exist '+44 (0)77...' is one, since you've made the country code optional you should probably put back in the leading zero, '(44) 077...'

This should be eligible.

Consider either full month names on all dates or change this to three character prefix to match the rest.

Use tabs to make this stuff line up :-

The three sections should be aligned down the page.

Change 'Distant Learning' to 'Distance Learning'.

Why are subheadings in EDUCATION bolded and not in TECHNICAL SKILLS, maybe lose the bold ? You want to highlight the qualifications more than the sub headings.

I'd expect you could probably get a CV down to two pages with your experience, but don't sweat it if you can't, keep good clear open layout like you have.

Otherwise good job !

 

I suppose it depends if you want a job or not...

I'd just mirror what's been said above and change everything round to be in reverse chronilogical order. Make your most recent education and highest certs the ones they see first.

And take 'Curriculum Vitae' off the top - people know what it is.

 

In my oppinion, there is no need to state your eligibility to work in the UK.

 

Becks appears to be a Zimbabwean national, it is important that she makes it clear she has a valid work visa and is eligible for residency.

Its also important to state whether she is allowed to drive in the UK or not, but yes the exact wording could be changed.

 

I think there is.
All application forms make a point of asking - it's a bit of a hot potato at the moment with hefty fines for those who employ people who aren't.

 

THANK YOU EVERYONE.

I really appreciate all that has been said and im definately reviewing my cv. Its uncertain times and i just dont wanna blow my chances of missing out crucial job opportunities.

Many thanks and keep the reviews coming!

 

Re eligibility, if I think twice I might state it on my CV as well...
I thought that it was assumed one was eligible to work because they always check eligibility before employing you so it would be waste of time for both sides if someone wasn't eligible...

Good luck becks and don't give up!