Have a quick look at my CV ;)

jank

Have been applying for lots of IT jobs lately but havent been getting fast.
I would like if I could get some feedback regarding my CV.

My own opinion is that there is too much irrelevant information on the 2nd page. But I dont have loads of work experience in my related field so I dont really know what else to write about.

Any ideas?

Other then that I feel its pretty good, then again what do I know.

jc94062

Well normally people just write 2.1, 2.2, 1st etc...
I'd just say recent results averaged at a 2.1 (Hons) or something.

I'd also run a spell check, seeing "empahsised" will turn people off, I think organisation is organization in the UK as well, think its that in Canada as well.

Full driving license could be "full clean driving license" if relevant as well
The additional information is too like bullet points without the bullet points, maybe turn it into 1-2 paragraphs that flow.

Rest looks okay, my advise for finding jobs though... recruitment fairs rather than online applications. They've ended now pretty much but start again from Sept\Oct. time.

nesf

Bullet points. For some reason people like them on CVs. Makes it easier to read.


Personal Opinion (bearing in mind I've never applied for anything in IT):

No need to go back so far with your employment history. I'd only mention the two most recent/relevant. I'd mention the two IT jobs if I was you. Deli work is irrelevant regarding IT applicants tbh.

Bullet Points.

Focus on your skills, not your work experience. Most of the jobs you listed shouldn't be on there imho. A HR person looking at your CV won't care that you worked in Tesco in secondary school. They would be far more interested reading about your skills.

Expand your skills a bit. They aren't as readable as they could be imho.

The additional information has no place on the CV itself. That stuff should be in the cover letter, again imho.

Use the extra space to group your IT skills better. I'd make more of an issue about the Cisco stuff (iirc it's looked on well in IT CVs, I could be wrong though).


Hope the above helps.

madramor

i've edited your cv a bit see attached

1:
what sort of job are you looking for?
if your just looking for any old IT job because thats what you did in college
employeers will pick up on that and not hire you.

2:
nesf point are all good and i implemented them in the cv

3:
use the cover letter to add extra info but alway keep the cv
to 2 pages and very neat and easy to read.

4:
you a graduate so the BSc and MSc should get you an interview for
graduate positions although it might be a bit late in the year for some companies

Victor

I would somehow try to make it more obvious that you have an MSc.

I would also emphasise profession experience over employment.

Civilian_Target

Yeah - definitely, the masters is disappearing without due notice here.

My other feelings would be that it's a bit hard to read and a bit long.
I definitely think that you should also flesh out the ebay stuff a bit more, give a reference if you can, it seems like its being brushed over.

I also think you should write complete sentences - they're much easier to read, despite being clumsier IMO.

Finally - try a bit more formatting (font face, line spacing, page numbers?), and consider putting your name in the footer of the page, so when they come to the end of the CV they get a second blast at your name...

dbnavan

had look at your cv, looks impressive. If I where you, I'd..........

............space it out a little better

............ dont put so much info on each job you had (introduce stuff, leave reader with questions may help with getting u the interview)

............ Do something a little flash with it, but dont over do it, your name in wordart or something, some may disagree, i tried it once and HR told me the it made CV jump out at them.

Would definatly space out personal info more and have slightly more fancy headings, yes its bold and underlined but doesnt quite jump out as a heading.

and as someone else said check spelling, not that I can talk, wish boards had spell checker!

nesf

dbnavan wrote:

Do something a little flash with it, but dont over do it, your name in wordart or something, some may disagree, i tried it once and HR told me the it made CV jump out at them.

Dear Lord no!


Seriously mate, forget you ever heard that. A professional CV with word art.... :eek:

Genghis

I like madramors style much more - it is easier to read and scan and it doesn't have that bland Times font - use your CV to show you know your way round a PC and what you can do with it! With respect your original version looks like something a novice typed up and conflicts with the experience and skills you list.

I am glad madramor took out your casual work experince, deli service in Dunnes will not win you any points. Don't worry about looking like you were unemployed - people can see you are a graduate, they will be looking at your qualifications first, and then any relevant experience. I think the project idea is great here as it demonstrates 'experience' without necessarily needing you to have been in employment.

One further change I would make is to your interests and hobbies. I am of the opinion that you should use this section to give an insight into your personality, and what you do outside work. Unfortunately nearly everyone says they like reading, music and sport - putting these down does nothing for you. I would contract that section into a single paragraph. Also try to list other stuff you are passionate about - say you run a blog, an ezine, for example, or you organise something in your community, or you are into cars, amateur theatre, etc. Don't bluff too much, you could be interviewed by a fellow enthusiast!

dbnavan

nesf wrote:

Dear Lord no!


Seriously mate, forget you ever heard that. A professional CV with word art.... :eek:

if done properly and doesnt look like word art, it looks really well. Seriously, just the persons name on the top. And I have worked in very professional positions.

nesf

dbnavan wrote:

if done properly and doesnt look like word art, it looks really well. Seriously, just the persons name on the top. And I have worked in very professional positions.

I don't doubt that you have, it just runs against everything I've learned, from both personal experience and conversations with friends of mine who work in HR.

It just strikes me as being very off.

Then again, maybe it depends on the field. The one's I've worked in tend to be more "traditional" in this respect.

dbnavan

Well, not sure what a traditional position is, but thanks for the stand down, I would agree with you and guy who suggested it to me I had same argument with at the time but I tried it for a position i wasnt bothered about getting, for the craic, and first thing was said to me in interview is my cv header jumped out at them. I got the job and its been used ever since.

I dont for a minute using wordart everywhere in a cv. and dont use preset colour scheme, thats too obvious, try to use just for your name. but make sure its readable.

For jobs that get 100's of applications u need something to stand out.

dbnavan

for instance would you know my signature below started out in word art?

nesf

dbnavan wrote:

for instance would you know my signature below started out in word art?

No, I assumed it was photoshopped. But then, i'm not digital image manipulator personage.

Regardless this has gone well off topic. A nice sideline but I don't see it's relevance to the thread etc etc

Victor

dbnavan wrote:

for instance would you know my signature below started out in word art?

I can't read you signature in Cloud skin.

Lump

Cut it down a lot. Get rid of the Tesco job infor and all the other ones that dont relate to computers/it in some way.

Fully Justify it.

John

jank

Thanks all for the help. I agree with a lot about what ye say. Its an OK CV but madramor style is much much nicer. Will do something along those lines and post it up again. Hope it will be a big improvement

IMO PDF CV's look much nicer and are easier to read but microsoft documnets seem to be the way to go.

Lump

Ban!

John

CV Specialist

jank wrote:

Have been applying for lots of IT jobs lately but havent been getting fast.
I would like if I could get some feedback regarding my CV.

I think there may be a little too much emphasis placed on your hobbies and interests, and the layout here seems somewhat harsh.

This article on CV writing may contain some tips that you find useful, and these sample CV designs should help with the overall look of your curriculum vitae.