CV - opinions please

Auburn

I need some opinions about my CV: My CV please.

Any suggestions? What do I need to change?

Thanks in advance

silverside

Overall, a reasonable candidate for interview for entry level IT jobs.
Lack of coding experience will count against you if that is what you want.
CV is laid out OK, but content needs work.

EDUCATION

de-emphasize the shop assistant experience, possibly combine it into 1 section.
put your education up at the top - otherwise how should people know that you have a degree? This is probably your strongest point
(with 475 points in leaving) so point it out. If you got good grades in college include them also.

COMPUTING SKILLS - this is a bit too long - take out the references to all the different packages used.
'Knowledge of many anti-virus products' - this is meaningless.
As well as phrases like 'very experienced in' and 'proficient in' - say what you have written and what it taught you.
if you worked in teams on projects, include this also.

PERSNAL INTERESTS -
take out this section as the interests you have put down do not distinguish you from the crowd.
'Travelling and holidays' make it sound like you will eff off to australia in a year.
Reading, going to the gym - everyone does this.
are you in any clubs or societies - shows teamwork etc.
have you any unusual hobbies to make you sound interesting?

Auburn

Thanks silverside

Originally posted by silverside
Lack of coding experience will count against you if that is what you want.

Definitely won't be going into programming, so that doesn't bother me.

Originally posted by silverside
de-emphasize the shop assistant experience, possibly combine it into 1 section..

I was thinking of doing that but I thought I should put the most recent job first, so I'm unsure about how I would manage that.

Originally posted by silverside

put your education up at the top - otherwise how should people know that you have a degree?

Good point, I'll do that.

Originally posted by silverside
PERSNAL INTERESTS -
take out this section as the interests you have put down do not distinguish you from the crowd....
have you any unusual hobbies to make you sound interesting?

Yeah I know I never know what to put in that section. Not involved in anything unusual.

Karoma

PERSNAL INTERESTS ...
have you any unusual hobbies to make you sound interesting?

better off omitting this section most times - i got turned down, found out why later: for being a trainspotter...

Auburn

Originally posted by Karoma
i got turned down, found out why later: for being a trainspotter before.

I thought you were into the extreme ironing now

Seriously, though, before this goes off topic... could I leave the personal interests section out?

RicardoSmith

I can't see why any one would want or need to know what personal interests you have, unless you done something amazing, like won some sporting stuff or won some amazing award. But if its just the normal stuff I wouldn't bother.

Auburn

I've taken the advice given above and tried to improve my CV.

Is this version ok or does it still need some work? New version

Thanks again

silverside

That version is good. I can't see anything I would change on it.

Good Luck!

Auburn

Thanks silverside and RicardoSmith.

The careers office here at college isn't that good at giving CV advice. Well, they're ok but it's very general advice, they don't seem to be able to distinguish the difference between applying for jobs in the computer industry and applying for other jobs, when they're obviously approached differently :rolleyes:

All I have to do now is find some crummy job that pays me peanuts and I'll be off into the workforce. Wuhoo!

WhiteWashMan

oh, man, i wrote a load of stuff there and it told me that i had too many images

im not going to spend half an hour again.

in short.....

personal skills.
all subjective. your own estimation of your abilities mean nothing to someone else. it cannot be measured.
also, if youa re going to talk about projects, give details.
these are best written into your experiences.

same goes for your other skills.
try and work them into your job and education exxperience.


lose the trademark and copywrite stuff.
youre not oging to get sued over your cv

user knowledge of Linux...... working knowledge of linux.
users are muppets.
remember that....

try and stay in same 3rd person when writing. you jump from 3rd to 2nd and back.

what the difference between cashier and shop assistant?
same thing to me. if theres a difference, tell them the difference. tell them the responsibilities each had

stop dressing up simple chores in your jobs as something fantastic.
eg. Testing and labeling of all CAT5 outlets to ease future network maintenance
lets face it, this is a shít job. its the maintenace of network ports and it sucks.
dont make like its your lifes work! this is simple everyday network engineer studd.
same withyour network monitoring proposals. i would think you were an awful pretntious twat if this cv crossed my desk. you monitored the network traffic. every company does it (or should) it part of your duty, and its neccessary (like the ports) but dont make it sound like tyou ran the network!

try to change around oyur syntax slightly and use 3rd person. some of your sentences sound horrible
eg.Installation of hardware components as required by users. should really be 'resolving user hardware requests'.
think about it.
simple is better. flowery is not.

merchandising shelves.
oyu stocked shelves?
if so, what the fúck does merchandising shelves mean?
dont dress it up
flowery bad yea?

bullet points.
try and use a bullet point as opposed to a dash
you have alot of underlining and the dashes kinda mix in. bullet points will make your points stand out. thats what theya re for.

more details about your college years would be good
since its the last thing you did and you deem it important enough to start off your cv with, then you better make sure it kicks arse! put in your projects in details, tell them how you were wonderful. try and work some of your personal and computer skills and experiences into these parts. it will show people that you did actually dosomething work talking about!

hope it helps
i will post again if i get the time, but im still annoyed at having myfirst very long and very detailed post cut down in its prime

seamus

Originally posted by WhiteWashMan
merchandising shelves.
oyu stocked shelves?
if so, what the fúck does merchandising shelves mean?
dont dress it up
flowery bad yea?

Merchandising is where you dedicate an entire section to one product, say Coke, and put up banners and plastic bags and those big cardboardy thingies with details of the latest special offer. It's shelf-stacking with a miniscule touch of decorating.
But unless you're going for a job in marketing, it's nothing more than "shelf-stacking" to a prospective employer.

GuanYin

to be honest what WWM said, but I'd strongly urge you to consider tailoring a CV to the job you are applying for.

No need to list and reem every menial task you ever did in a job, rather take out the ones most relevent to the job you are applying for.

Personally I'd disagree with silverside about education before experience.

Generally there is a minimum education requirement for a position. Its assumed you meet this to be considered, so its going to be your experience that sets you apart. If ther eisn't an entry requirement you will be learning most of the stuff on the job, in either case, experience should be emphasised over education. Most people employing know exactly how much (or little) you will know from your degree course so they will be looking for what additional skills you've picked up. You already said you are a graduate entry level person in any case.

When I'm looking at CV's I classify

Experience
(what do they have besides their degree that would add to this position).

Education
(If people are of a similar experience level, education may set them apart).

Skills
(this is generally subjective, but is there any indication that this person has extra
skills (languages etc) that may be of benefit)

Referees (strange yes, and probably just the area I am in, but I'd see the quality of the referees ie. Supermarket & IT manager Vs. IT Manager and College Project Head, Headmaster and Parish Priest)

I'd not be bothered on personal interests unless it was a personality based job. Usually interviews give a good indication of that.

The ideal CV will leave no ambiguities to be cleared up at the interview allowing them to ascertain how you personally are fit for the job.

WhiteWashMan

Originally posted by seamus
Merchandising is where you dedicate an entire section to one product, say Coke, and put up banners and plastic bags and those big cardboardy thingies with details of the latest special offer. It's shelf-stacking with a miniscule touch of decorating.
But unless you're going for a job in marketing, it's nothing more than "shelf-stacking" to a prospective employer.

then i would suggest that this can be udes in an interview situation.

'tell me where you feel you added something to the companyyou worked for'

well, when i worked in dunnes, i 'merchandised shleves', as we say in the biz!
what do i mean by merchandise shelves, well, let me tell you, and let em tell you how much i rocked at it, and was brilliant, and look at me sell myself by using something on my cv as a talking point and then giving myself the opportunity to spend 5 minutes talking about me, because thats what an interview is.


and breath.......



to be hoenst, i think that some of the most important stuff you put on a cv, are the hooks that will let you sell youself. you should always have something to say about every single line of your cv. after all, thats what an employer is going to base their questions on (probably, unless its a stress interview!)

Earthhorse

That's a pretty good CV Auburn but I think it's a little cluttered.

If I were you I'd work on reducing irrelevant content from it. For instance, under employment your job from 1998 to 2000. That was over four years ago and the skills needed for it are already covered by other positions you've held more recently. Just knock it out, they don't need to know.

Under education for your Leaving Certificate I would leave out the number of points you got and the detailed results. It's not criminal to have them in but I'd wager it's enough to say (for instance), "Received seven honours at honours level." If a specific subject, say French, is required for the job then it might be appropriate to show the result.

Finally, I would agree with what Syke says about tailoring the CV to positions you're applying for. You've nearly too many duties listed under your Cooperative Education Placement or else there just isn't enough space between them. I'd knock a few bullet points off or maybe try and merge two into one. If you're applying for a Network Administration position maybe leave out the bit about Web Design?

Best of luck.

Victor

Drop this: "Higher level: English B1, Irish A2, French A2, Home Economics B1, Biology C3, Chemistry D1. Ordinary level: Mathematics A1." - Ordinary level mathematics is actually a bad ad. even if you got an A1.

Consider changing "Cooperative Education Placement" to "Work Experience (University Placement)" or similar.

My preference would be work experience before education. With the supermarket jobs, list them as "Other Employment" after your relevant experience. No one in industry will really want to know you stacked shelves, just that you have the ability to work and haven't sat on your butt for the last few summers.

seamus

Originally posted by Victor
Drop this: "Higher level: English B1, Irish A2, French A2, Home Economics B1, Biology C3, Chemistry D1. Ordinary level: Mathematics A1." - Ordinary level mathematics is actually a bad ad. even if you got an A1.

Yep. Mine just says - Leaving Cert - 6 Honours, 1 Pass. Your leaving cert is irrelevant if you have a degree, you don't need to include anything that may look bad.

My preference would be work experience before education. Witht he supermarket jobs, list them as "Other Employment" after your relevant experience.

I went with Relevant skills, then Education, then Work Experience. I don't think there's any golden formula tbh.

When you're just starting out, I'd be inclined to include all of your employment, in the correct order. But that's with my relevant skills already declared, so the work experience section is merely a formality, and explanation of where the skills cam from. An employer isn't going to expect you to have tonnes of relevant experience, but may look more favourably on those who have worked at all. They may be looking at the whole "team player, responsible, self-starter, <include buzzword here>" angle, in place of experience, where previous, although non-similar work experience can bring you up.

Entry level grads should never underestimate the value of any work experience.

GuanYin

Try this one.

The Skills/Interests/Achievments part is subjective and can be edited or left out.



I dunno if its any good but its a blank template of what I'd see as a good layout


CV

Kobie

I'd have to say the layout is pretty good. The basic idea is to emphasise what you have. So since you're a soon-to-be grad so you're bang on spending most of your time talking about education & relevent work experience. Put in a bit more on your final project as that'll be the main topic of conversation during the interview. Give them stuff to ask questions about.

I'd move the Skills section to underneath the education. On my own CV I've got Skills at the top - with a few years experience behind you it's the skills that you're trying to sell. It's worth considering, but underneath Education is also fine I think.

On the work placement stuff put in a few lines about the overall job & your roll before listing the specific stuff. Again, you want to give them stuff to talk about in the interview.

It's very american, but put in a few lines at the top with a summary of yourself & your aims. It's BS, but it works. It'll echo what you put in your cover letter. I'd consider the Personal Skills section as fluff & wouldn't bother with them. Perhaps you could incorporate them into the summary.

Also, try to keep it at two pages (as it is) no matter how much experience you get. If you can afford to leave a little bit of space do, because any agency will wip out your address & phone number & stick their logo all over the place which usually makes CV's spill onto a third page. You're also dead right not havin the words "Ciriculum Vitae" anywhere. It's pretty obvious what it is & there's no point taking up space with uselesss information.

This CV would be perfectly suitable for a programmer but you say you're not going for a programming job. What sort of work are you going for? As the lads say, it's worthwile tailoring you CV for each application.

Good luck.

Auburn

Thanks to everyone for taking time to look at the CV and give me their opinions. This is the first time I've had to do a "proper" CV so, as you can see I'm a bit clueless.

@ WhiteWashMan - After I re-read the CV, you're right, it is a bit flowery and I like your idea of incorporating the personal skills stuff into the education and employment sections. It does sound a bit OTT when it's not in context. I'll also try to fix the 2nd/3rd person tense stuff. Hadn't noticed that.

@ syke - Thanks for the template, I might use a modified version of that. You're probably right about experience before education, why would someone be reading my CV if I didn't meet the minimum requirements.

@ kobie - I'd like to get a systems admin-type job eventually but I'll probably have to start off with tech support/call centre work, get some more certification, etc before I can head in that direction. Maybe I'll de-emphasise on the programming stuff.

The advice you've all given here is great. I have an exam tomorrow (Grrr!!), so I'll post the new version of the CV in a day or two to get your seal of approval

WhiteWashMan

Originally posted by Auburn

@ syke - Thanks for the template, I might use a modified version of that. You're probably right about experience before education, why would someone be reading my CV if I didn't meet the minimum requirements.

becasue a lot of the time people simply dont have the time to sort cv's out.

someone will look at your cv and decide whether you will go into the next bunch after about 15 seconds.

one quick scan and you are either in, or you arent. hence why layout and presentation is so vitally importnat in a cv. more so than the content it could be said.
presentation will get your cv accepted.
content will get you your interview.

post up your cv when you get a chance and we will go through it again.
i m going to start charging for this service!

Auburn

Originally posted by WhiteWashMan
post up your cv when you get a chance and we will go through it again.
i m going to start charging for this service!

Thanks Well, you know what to do if you ever fancy a change of career...

Anyways, here's the updated version. Hopefully it's now laid out better and I've tried to remove the crappy bits. I enhanced the education section, but I'm not sure if it's any good.

What do you think?

WhiteWashMan

no need to add in 'graduate level'
all you are saying is 'inexperienced'


no need to add in 'seasonal work'
if you are asked about it, you can tell them


remove 'Also included some intranet projects'
if you arent going to say what they are, then leave it out. you can use it as something to talk about when asked about what you did.


who did you coach technically?


with regards virus infected machines, did you do any of the server side stuff? or just clear up after users?


'Upgrading operating systems and software whilst keeping licensing constraints in mind.'
reword that, putting the emphasis on the licencing. if anyone can understand modern day MS licencing, you should automatically be given a promotion to presedent of the world:)
something like 'implemented and maintained a licence database to ensure that company licencing policy was upheld'
or some such shíte!

'Preparing and implementing a Computer Resources and Internet Policy web page. '
did you do this on a regular basis? if not, you are in the wrong tense. this looks like a one off project to me. it may look the same to another reader.


Reviewing and assessing the need for Microsoft Exchange mail services
again, this looks like a one off. either that or you are really crap at reviewing and assesing that you have to do it all the time!

you donyt have the word responsible in there enough. try and crowbar it in!



take out the due to graduate this year. it serves no purpose.

you may as well add in server knowledge under you r hardware listings.
they are just big workstations



apart from those, its starting to shape up

Auburn

Originally posted by WhiteWashMan
with regards virus infected machines, did you do any of the server side stuff? or just clear up after users?

Just clearing up after users. A lowly stoodent like myself wasn't allowed near the precious server room :rolleyes:

Originally posted by WhiteWashMan
if anyone can understand modern day MS licencing, you should automatically be given a promotion to presedent of the world:)

Ain't that the truth That MS licensing is confustulating stuff.

Made the other changes suggested here . Much improved since the first version. Thanks for the advice.

CV Specialist

Although the content of this document is reasonable, the layout is perhaps not quite as sharp as it could be. Both of these elements would be greatly improved with just a little extra effort.

To fine-tune the content, this article on CV writing should do the trick.

For the aesthetic element of your curriculum vitae, these sample CV layout options would certainly give your presentation a welcome visual boost.