Critique my CV please. Going for simplicity.

Zoodlebop

Hi all. This is selfish, I know, but I'm hoping someone could spare the time to critique my CV. I'll be looking for any part time work I can get in Dublin over the course of the coming academic year, or for Christmas work.

What do people think about cover letters. I won't just be lashing the CV around Dublin randomly, so I was thinking I'd tailor it using a cover letter for each place I apply for.

I was also wondering what people think about providing a link to my couchsurfing profile on my CV. I have about 50 people who've written on it, referencing me and saying I'm OK. For work in a cafe or something, do you think this might be a plus? Have a look yourself (if arsed). http://www.couchsurfing.org/profile.html?id=5705FRA

Any help really appreciated.

Thanks,

Hal

edit: the attached is a scan of my reference letter from Deloitte.

Eoin

Off the top of my head, I reckon the formatting could be tidied up a little - put the job titles in bold. I think you could talk up your responsibilities a lot more. I presume as head barman you were managing the team? That's something to put down I would think. "Used radio to communicate with the manager" - so what? Or do you mean that your manager delegated the supervisory responsibilities to you as he wasn't in situ?

Interests: "Reading, writing, food and drink, cycling, music, travel, coffee and tea, galaxies, the universe."

I don't think that "Food and drink" comes across too well. It might mean gourmand slash budding chef, or it might mean 10 pints and a kebab. "galaxies, the universe" makes you sound a little like a stoner to be really honest - I'd make it clearer that it's do to with your chosen field.

I wouldn't include the couch surfing thing.

Zoodlebop

eoin wrote: »

Off the top of my head, I reckon the formatting could be tidied up a little - put the job titles in bold. I think you could talk up your responsibilities a lot more. I presume as head barman you were managing the team? That's something to put down I would think. "Used radio to communicate with the manager" - so what? Or do you mean that your manager delegated the supervisory responsibilities to you as he wasn't in situ?



I don't think that "Food and drink" comes across too well. It might mean gourmand slash budding chef, or it might mean 10 pints and a kebab. "galaxies, the universe" makes you sound a little like a stoner to be really honest - I'd make it clearer that it's do to with your chosen field.

I wouldn't include the couch surfing thing.

Thanks mate, that's perfect feedback.

Sidenote: not a stoner!

mdu

thats a dreadful CV mate!

for a guy who has such a good leaving cert and picked from 500 applicants to work in Deloitte , surely you can put together something more clear.

not sure a cafe/restaurant manager would care for your achievement about travelling through sth america without flying tbh!

youve loads of good stuff there - leaving cert, trinity, deloitte, travel, the football (tho leave out the link!) . tidy it up and use sentances.


g'luck

islay

I am a manager in the service industry and wouldn't give this CV a second look its too chatty and informal. I would suggest bold headings and further details in bullet points.

Waiter/Barman

• Working in a busy customer interfacing role.
• Entrusted with responsibilty of opening and closing the bar.
• Maintaining excellent housekeeping skills.

These are just a few examples of what I would expect in a CV.

Best of luck

Serafijn

One piece of advice I always give about CV writing is to highlight the things you did outside of the normal duties. Everyone knows the main duties of a barman or waiter, so don't worry about things like stocking the bar, talk about your quiz night that you planned and ran for a year, or being a point of contact for suppliers or whatever else you achieved that not every other barman has.

Regarding your time at Deloitte, you don't say anything about what you did. I expect this would have been a valuable experience, and no doubt is the highlight of your CV for many prospective employers, so go into more detail about it!

Agree not to include the couch-surfing thing

EORaghallaigh

Hi Hal,

Nice and short, you might format it a bit to flesh it out to two pages...

good free CV templates on our site - http://lifescience.ie/life-sciences-cv-download.cfm

E