Professional CV required for Post Grad application - Any advice?

DRose1

As per title, I am looking for some advice on the template I should use for my professional CV...

I am applying for the following course in UCD:

Msc in Computer Science Conversion

As part of the application process, it says the following:

'All applicants are required to provide a 2 page professional
CV (including details of any prior industrial experience)'

Any advice about what information I should include/not include in the CV and what general template to use would be appreciated.

Side-note: Any general comments about the course I linked above would also be welcomed.

DRose1

Anybody?

djpbarry

I think you might get a bit more advice if you have a go a putting together a CV and then seek some feedback.

DRose1

Just putting it together today.

What do people think of these templates and tips:

http://www.dayjob.com/downloads/CV_examples/English_teacher_CV_example.pdf
http://www.dayjob.com/downloads/CV_examples/Business_manager_CV_template.pdf
http://www.businessballs.com/curriculum.htm#cv-template-structure

djpbarry

DRose1 wrote: »

What do people think of these templates and tips:

I think that there is no right way of doing a CV - it is very heavily dependent on individual taste and on the attributes that the author wants to emphasise. We know absolutely nothing about you other than the fact that you're applying for a particular course. In this vacuum of information, it is virtually impossible to provide any kind of meaningful advice.

Raphael

The one thing I always find it useful to bear in mind when working on a CV is that the person reading it doesn't want to be. So you need to make sure that you present the information you want to as clearly, easily, and concisely as possible. Always aim for one page, and allow yourself two if necessary, but don't go above that.

djpbarry

Raphael wrote: »

Always aim for one page...

This illustrates my point beautifully! For every person who has told me to always go with a one page CV, there's been another telling me that unless you have very little experience and/or qualifications, there is simply no way a one page CV is going to do you justice. I think two pages is perfectly acceptable, but certainly going above that is pushing it.

Raphael

I generally manage it at 1 page by cherrypicking the most relevant stuff for a particular application, but I've heard both sides as well - I just prefer to keep it tight, seems better to me.

avalon68

Well, I would consider one page to be a resume - suitable for certain job positions. An academic cv should be two pages at least, and it tends to extend as your career progresses.

djpbarry

Raphael wrote: »

I generally manage it at 1 page by cherrypicking the most relevant stuff for a particular application, but I've heard both sides as well - I just prefer to keep it tight, seems better to me.

But this is my point - everyone has their own personal opinion and taste.

avalon68 wrote: »

Well, I would consider one page to be a resume - suitable for certain job positions. An academic cv should be two pages at least, and it tends to extend as your career progresses.

True - mine's obviously feckin' massive at this stage.

I have seen some absolutely colossal academic CV's and to be honest, I don't really see the point - a pretty good summary can be provided in 2-3 pages tops, or at least a summary of work over the last few years.

avalon68

djpbarry wrote: »

But this is my point - everyone has their own personal opinion and taste.
True - mine's obviously feckin' massive at this stage.

I have seen some absolutely colossal academic CV's and to be honest, I don't really see the point - a pretty good summary can be provided in 2-3 pages tops, or at least a summary of work over the last few years.

Agreed, but generally it's lists of grants, publications etc that take all the space. I recently came across an advert requesting that applicants restrict publication lists to no more than 5 pages! I wish I had that many

avalon68

Op, I would steer clear of this day job samples in your links. Unless you have access to some Design software, and are quite proficient with it, you will never be able to format it like those examples in word. Google some academic cvs, and use the same format.

djpbarry

avalon68 wrote: »

...you will never be able to format it like those examples in word.

Ahem ... LaTeX ... ahem.

avalon68

djpbarry wrote: »

Ahem ... LaTeX ... ahem.

Ive not really used latex much - didn't realise it could format "fancy" stuff like that - just assumed you would need adobe or similar.

itzme

The way you structure and present the information is very important. However, that is the second step.

The first thing you should do is spend time working out the three(or five) things that the employer is seeking the most. Write them out and then mark out what relevant experience you have in those areas. Then these should be the first three/five things you list on the first page of your CV. Make it easy for them to want to hire you.
Then, write out the three/five things you think are important for the employer to know about you. The experience/skills you have developed.

Once you have this done you can work on the structure and how to present it.
Do not just bullet point or list skills! That is a waste of the person who is reading your CVs time. If you say you have a skill/ability you should be able to write a succinct one sentence saying what you've done/for how long. Thats whats important.

The one page/two page should be easy to determine from the first step. Don't fall into the trap of just putting everything you've done on the CV like where you worked during fifth year in secondary school unless it is relevant or demonstrates something positive. If you have enough make it two pages, if not don't waffle and keep it to one.

itzme

djpbarry wrote: »

Ahem ... LaTeX ... ahem.

Eeeek.... I am a big big fan of LaTEX for professional publications such as thesis, some books, papers and so on.
Although I would not recommend it for presentations or for things like CVs where you need more control minute control over the position and style.

djpbarry

itzme wrote: »

Eeeek.... I am a big big fan of LaTEX for professional publications such as thesis, some books, papers and so on.
Although I would not recommend it for presentations or for things like CVs where you need more control minute control over the position and style.

I don't want go drag the thread off topic, but I use LaTeX for pretty much everything: presentations, CVs, posters ... everything. Never had any problems with control - there's a package out there for pretty much everything these days!

pljudge321

I use the latex moderncv package to do my cover letters and cv's. Nice and easy to use while still being flexible and with a really high quality output.

Heres an example of its output: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4025249/stefanie_cv/cv_stefanie_v3.pdf

DRose1

Thanks to everyone on here for the advice. Got it done in the end.