Rate/Slate my CV please.

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Hello.

Got my 2nd A+ exam next month so hopefully will be A+ certified soon, then looking to do Network+ and then MCP/MCDST.

Been applying for many entry level IT jobs daily but getting nowhere fast.

I would appreciate if people could take the time to have a look through and advise me how i could improve my chances of landing a 1st line IT role.

Many thanks
Gary

 

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Ok....

First reaction: you can do a GCSE in Accountancy? Never knew that...

Other than that, you really need to look at the layout. You've got 4 pages of text coming in at near 2000 words so its very definitely too long. Don't use 5 words where 2 will do.

Revise the first paragraph of your 'Additional Information' section and stick it right at the top of your CV.

Work experience next, your time in customer facing roles is going to be more interesting to an IT manager than your accountancy GCSE.

All the rest of your additional information goes under 'Interests' at the end if you've got the room.

Thats a start, now lets take a look at your work experience. Your reasons for leaving are your own, you may get asked why you want to leave your current job at interview but no one cares why you gave up working in KFC in 1999.

Bullet points are your friend, less paragraphs more quick fire break down of key information.

 

Before I read it in any depth - first reactions:

Try and get rid of the borders. While they do help add clarity to what you've done, they make it look very cluttered and oppressive. Use white space to break up your page in a slightly more pleasing way. Application forms are normally covered with boxes, but this isn't an application form.

Try to format the document to avoid sections spilling over the page. Try to line the page breaks up with the sections.

Too long. An employer wants to know as much as he can about you with a single glance, not read an autobiography. Try breaking down your job descriptions/achievements into easy-to-read bullet points. The general rule of thumb is to try and get it on to 2 pages.

 

1) Lose the tables

2) Shorten it. 2 pages max.

3) "Additional information" Can be split up. Maybe under "personal profile" you can say things that would relate to the job(e.g. experience you have, and what type of job you're looking for).

Your interets/extra curriculular activities should be under a seperate heading as "interests". I personally only bother putting interests on as a filler, but it doesn't look like you'll be needing that.

 

You don't necessarily need to lose the tables completely but there is a big difference between

"this is a table, its a pleasing way to layout information in an easily readable fashion"

and

"THIS IS A TABLE, WHATS IN IT IS ENTIRELY UNIMPORTANT COMPARED TO ITS MAJESTIC MAGNIFICENCE!!!"

At the moment your CV is more the second than the first.

 

Many thanks for your input, it is genuinely appreciated.

Now if you could be so kind to check my new and revised version and let me know what you think then i would be completely indebted to you

Thanks
Gary

 

Still horrible layout and formatting, as mentioned ditch tables completely, or at least remove table borders at very least.

Consider using styles, paragraphs, columns, indents, tabulation, line breaks, section breaks, whitespace, to make it look more pleasing.

What does additional information mean ? Look at other CV's and CV templates, look at whats easy on the eye, look at what are common sensible breakdowns of information or headings.

I would change 'Skills' to 'Personal Profile' because thats what it really is and is a common format to start most of todays CV's.

Section headings should be more prominent than the table headings, make table headings smaller or drop completely.

Put personal interests in a 'Personal Interests' or 'Interests and Activities' section, put this near end of CV, people who are not interested can then just skip this.

You do not need to state 'references available on request', I'd lose it. If you want to keep it put it in normal font in a 'References' section to match the common look and theme of meaningful section titles in a bold font, with normal font content. (Note :- Never give out references in advance of an interview and formal offer whatever an agent says!)

Most people with some relevant experience should put their education or qualifications further down their CV.

The two page limit is a guideline only, but its generally good for people with less than 5 years experience.

Personally I hate bullet lists on CV's, but maybe thats just me. Try and write interesting english sentences where possible, but keep it brief.

I have a skills section that is just a delimited list of skills to mop up the other obligatory stuff and make sure I hit the important keywords that recruiters search for.

Try and backup what your CV says on your CV, if you're a Word expert and good at english then I expect a killer CV at least in presentation, grammar, spelling etc.