Take a look at my CV, smack it around a bit...

Discussion in 'Employment & Jobs' started by Mikeyboy, Mar 2, 2011.

  1. Mikeyboy

    Mikeyboy Kilobyte Poster

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    Evening all...

    Just been amending my CV, trying to keep it fairly up to date as I learn new things... Please everyone feel free to give me your honest opinion? I had a lot of comments before about fonts I had used so changed that accordingly.

    Interested to see if people think I should word anything differently, or remove (or add in) anything - don't want any unnecessary crap on there.

    Thanks :)
     

    Attached Files:

    Certifications: VCP,MCSA, MCP, MCDST, MCITP, MCTS, A+, N+
  2. GSteer

    GSteer Megabyte Poster

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    Hi MikeyBoy,

    There's a couple of things I'd change myself, personal opinion/preference:

    1) Remove the "(see below)" from the opening paragraph, not needed and it breaks the flow

    2) Change the ordering of the Key Skills list to promote the customer service skills (5 years) and make the layout flow better, I'd organise it by moving the bottom three to the top and removing the two column layout in the middle bit

    3) Loose the entries for Companies 4 + 5 - any IT recruiter will skip over these so they are just filling space and pushing it to three pages. Remove them, set the lines between the Education and other companies to one line break and you've got a nice concise two page layout. Company three does show helpdesk style position so I'd leave it in.

    4) Not too sure about this one, but maybe expand the acronyms for the MCP's etc as some people, who may not be in the IT field, may see it as a wall of letters, possible display it like:

    Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) - Windows XP
    Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) - Windows Vista: Configuration

    Keeping the acronyms in is good for the automated keyword searching job apps.

    5) Remove the word "Mainly" from the first point in Company 2 - it just sounds a bit, er, well, kinda like - if you get my drift. Promote the fact it was Customer Service.

    On other point of note would be that, most of the time, the into profiles are not written in the first person as it introduces a lot of "I this" "I that etc" - you could try re-writing it along the lines of:

    "A hard working, keen individual, who has an aptitude for problem solving and who is also a fast learner with an eye for detail. Currently working in a Helpdesk / Support role..."

    Just some thoughts. It's looking like a nice rounded combination of technical / soft skills.

    Edit: Additional - The fonts fine, Calibri is a nice one, I would remove the underlines from the section titles and see how you like it, gives it a more modern feel.
     
    Last edited: Mar 2, 2011
    Certifications: BSc. (Comp. Sci.), MBCS, MCP [70-290], Specialist [74-324], Security+, Network+, A+, Tea Lord: Beverage Brewmaster | Courses: LFS101x Introduction to Linux (edX)
    WIP: CCNA Routing & Switching
  3. Mikeyboy

    Mikeyboy Kilobyte Poster

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    Thanks for the reply. Taken the points on board, altered my CV for most of them - however still left the customer service skills at bottom of the list, I would rather emphasise my technical skills before those :D but I can understand why you said to "promote" them.

    I always previously had a single list in the middle but just experimented with a 2 column layout, I thought it looked a bit messy too. Anyway have re-arranged it a bit so see what you think!

    Welcome any other criticisms from other people too thanks...

    Just edited to add : I think my "Profile" section feels a bit empty now, perhaps just because I have changed it from what it has been for a while... any suggestions on that would be good :D
     

    Attached Files:

    Last edited: Mar 3, 2011
    Certifications: VCP,MCSA, MCP, MCDST, MCITP, MCTS, A+, N+
  4. LukeP

    LukeP Gigabyte Poster

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    It's quite good actually. :D

    I would try to reduce font size to 10 and increase margins a little. I think it's going to look better.

    Try rewording your profile. Word underlines the whole lot in green. Recruiter/employer will open your CV in Word too if you email it to him so he is going to see the same thing.

    The only things that should be flagged by Word are product names and acronyms.

    I agree with the points raised by GSteer too.
     
    WIP: Uhmm... not sure
  5. GSteer

    GSteer Megabyte Poster

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    Looking a lot better Mikey.

    As Luke said, you might want to reword the profile to clearup the auto-grammar check complaint from Word.

    Also one last point, the last bullet point in the top section is out of line "Network Printing and Troubleshooting" - it doesn't seem to know which list it wants to be in, knock of the bullet and back on should fix it.
     
    Certifications: BSc. (Comp. Sci.), MBCS, MCP [70-290], Specialist [74-324], Security+, Network+, A+, Tea Lord: Beverage Brewmaster | Courses: LFS101x Introduction to Linux (edX)
    WIP: CCNA Routing & Switching

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