Cutting a CV down

baby and crumble

Hey guys,

I've been out of work and looking for a couple of months now. I have a lot of experience but there's just so few jobs going in my field social research/ social work) that I've been applying for anything I'm even vaguely qualified for. I'm not even getting interviews for jobs I'm overqualified for- probably because they reckon I'll be looking for work while I work for them and they're right!

I'm just wondering if my CV needs work. I've managed to get it down to 2 pages (3 for research posts) but I'm hearing all sorts of things about how it should NEVER go over 2 pages. How on earth can you cut a CV down that much? Unless you're just listing the job titles and giving no more information?

I have my education on there (only 3rd level quals included) and my work history, an that's it. I even have to cut out jobs to get it all down to 2 pages, and I feel that might be selling myself short, but if I even just list everything it goes to 3 pages. (I worked a lot of part time jobs to get myself through college, mostly running concurrently)

How do you cut it down?

Stheno

Are the part time jobs relevant to what you are applying for?
If not cut them out?

Mrs OBumble

Keep your full version long (my total CV is now at 6 pages)

But each time you send it out, cut out the stuff that isn't relevant for that job, from that copy.

Unless they're relevant, condense all the student jobs to a one liner
"Various part time student jobs: waitresssing, filing, security, <<whatever>>" 2001-2004

Oh - and maybe make a totally separate dumbed-down version for the jobs you're totally over qualified for. Don't lie, but tell the truth in a way that the manaager there is likely to understand. eg mine says "made changes on the computer" in place of "gathered and analysed requriements for major changes to applications software".

Aswerty

On a professional C.V I find some people take up way too much space on Education. The LC shouldn't take more than one line and JC and Primary should be left out. I only leave the LC in because it seems to be expected. Third level once you get some real experience should be condensed down to a few lines (depending on the number of qualifications you have). My third level is just the qualification, dates and a tiny bit of info on the course and dissertation.

Also I find people take up a good bit of space by putting their address as they would on a letter. I don't see the point since it just chews into prime location on the C.V. I guess some people think it looks well.

Stheno

Aswerty wrote: »

On a professional C.V I find some people take up way too much space on Education. The LC shouldn't take more than one line and JC and Primary should be left out. I only leave the LC in because it seems to be expected. Third level once you get some real experience should be condensed down to a few lines (depending on the number of qualifications you have). My third level is just the qualification, dates and a tiny bit of info on the course and dissertation.

Also I find people take up a good bit of space by putting their address as they would on a letter. I don't see the point since it just chews into prime location on the C.V. I guess some people think it looks well.

I only list professional certifications as LC etc are irrelevant for me at this stage, I also never put in my address, just location: Dublin along with email and telephone

baby and crumble

Thanks for the replies, everyone.

I have a few 'versions' of my cv and make sure to send the most relevant one for the post. I don't have my LC or JC included, but because I have a basic degree, a H. Dip and 2 masters degrees it's a pretty hefty section.

As for the various jobs I have, some aren't as relevant as others so I don't include them. Lots of the part time jobs I had were research based and I get publications from them so I include them when applying for research posts.

I don't have my address, just my email and phone no.

I'm trying to figure out how I account for my time if I'm doing a 'dumbed down' CV. There would be huge chunks of time if have to delete, you know?

Mrs OBumble

baby and crumble wrote: »

I'm trying to figure out how I account for my time if I'm doing a 'dumbed down' CV. There would be huge chunks of time if have to delete, you know?

Data-entry :cool:

Why:
You googleed for and read papers, journal artricles etc -and entered the key information and references somehere. That's data entry.
You prepared and administered survey - that's really just the frist step in data-entry!
You prepared carried out field-based action research initiatives .. but when you got home you wrote up the results - data entry again.
Etc.

Itsallrelative

Make sure you're not using up space outlining the standard duties for each role. If you were a shop assistant then you are obviously dealing with customers and handling cash, no need to write that down. For the work that's relevant to what you're applying for, focus on the things you accomplished in the role, rather than the bog-standard tasks.

For part time/temp/irrelevant roles, just list the company, title and dates to account for your time. Add in that it was temporary/contract etc to show why you weren't there long if needed. Apply this to jobs that were very long ago as well.

Also try playing around with the formatting if you haven't already; trim down your margins, use smaller fonts, put information into tables if it helps to display it better. Whatever you need to do - this will make it look a bit more unique as well

Lastly, don't worry if it's still 3 pages. As long as all the information on there is relevant and concise then nobody will complain.