Funny or strange things written on CV's

highgiant1985 · 29-08-2011 10:54AM

syklops wrote: »

I've seen a few other whoppers in my time too. Like:

Hobbies: I like reading, swimming and long walks.

I don't see what's wrong with this one

? Maybe I'm blind...?

Sticky_Fingers · 29-08-2011 10:58AM

highgiant1985 wrote: »

I don't see what's wrong with this one ? Maybe I'm blind...?

It makes the applicant sound like a 40 year old frump looking for some loving in the personal ads section of their local rag.

Guy:Incognito · 29-08-2011 11:20AM

podgemonster wrote: »

I enjoy TCG (Trading Card Gaming) and I am a member of the College Gym

Why do people put an abbreviation and then explain it? Fair enough if its a big paragragh thats going to have the thing repeated over and over. But if its just the once its pointless.

CrazyRabbit · 29-08-2011 11:26AM

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

Why do people put an abbreviation and then explain it? Fair enough if its a big paragragh thats going to have the thing repeated over and over. But if its just the once its pointless.

TMDR (too moany, didn't read).

Apolloyon · 29-08-2011 11:27AM

Chuck Stone wrote: »

Hobbies: Chess.

Chess me bollocks.

But I do like chess!:(

The Scientician · 29-08-2011 11:32AM

One time a lad left a CV into ther store where I was working. It was very impressive, 5 higher-level A1s and A2s in the Leaving Cert. He had great previous work experience too. I was getting ready to call him for an interview when I noticed he hadn't included his contact details...

I reckon he must have had them on a separate sheet and forgot to staple the last sheet on. I hope the poor sod didn't give out too many of these CVs.

rafaetha · 29-08-2011 11:36AM

Do we really have to add interests and hobbies? Why does that matter to a recruiter?

highgiant1985 · 29-08-2011 11:44AM

Sticky_Fingers wrote: »

It makes the applicant sound like a 40 year old frump looking for some loving in the personal ads section of their local rag.

May I ask how old are you? I'm guess you're pretty young going by your opinion on the hobbies.

I would disagree with your opinion. Sure it could have been structured better but it doesn't seem untruthful and I would not consider it funny or strange to see on a CV.

highgiant1985 · 29-08-2011 11:47AM

Apolloyon wrote: »

But I do like chess!:(

A lot of these funny or strange things are really just - "god look at these people with interests that don't match mine. Aren't these people weird."

The same goes for the card trading game.

I really don't see whats funny or weird about liking chess either to be honest.

I do fell sorry for the chap who forgot to put his contact details on his CV.

29-08-2011 11:51AM

We had a cover letter and CV from a girl who'd spoken to the boss on the phone and had been told to send in an application. He was obviously considering hiring her. The e-mail comes in, a day later, with an impressive CV attached, but the worst cover letter ever:

Dear X,
Unfortunately, having checked on my computer, the most up-to-date CV I can find only goes up to September 2010, so the last two jobs I did are missing. As I told you on the phone, I worked at X and X after this.

WTF? The lazy cow can't find FIVE MINUTES to update her CV in Word? She wants a job but isn't prepared to do the basic task of making sure her CV is finished before sending it off? The boss took one look at it and told me to delete it. I'm sure she's gone off to her mammy, complaining that there are just no jobs and that companies are such timewasters these days. Fecking idiot.

29-08-2011 11:58AM

later10 wrote: »

The most absurd thing I've seen people put on their CVs are the schools they went to. I was once an intern in a bank in London and the amount of applicants who would list Harrow, Eton, Oundle, Stowe, Uppingham, St Pauls or other well known schools was ridiculous.

Having said that, i fully understand why they did so, because many of the senior staff came from these institutions, and whether out of of loyalty to the school or out of the belief that it made for better staff, these applicants were disproportionately represented at interview stage.

Not sure if it is as common to mention the school attended on CVs here in Ireland, but I'm sure it is just the same.

I don't see why you wouldn't put your school. It's absolutely the norm in the UK. I've always done it. You wouldn't list your degree results without mentioning the university, so why wouldn't you put your school down?

im invisible · 29-08-2011 12:02PM

rafaetha wrote: »

Do we really have to add interests and hobbies? Why does that matter to a recruiter?

likes to play football = team player,
likes chess = not so much

likes TCG (Trading Card Games) = DO NOT HIRE

syklops · 29-08-2011 12:03PM

highgiant1985 wrote: »

I don't see what's wrong with this one ? Maybe I'm blind...?

It says loner in a big way. I was always told include some kind of social activity. Even during the times of my life when my main interests were swimming and reading, I still included socialising or some such.

A lot of these funny or strange things are really just - "god look at these people with interests that don't match mine. Aren't these people weird."

You are completely missing the point. A CV should be like a seduction. Its the only thing a prospective employer may see of you, and so it should grab their attention. Like any seduction there are guidelines to follow, and if you dont follow them it suggests you either dont know them or couldn't be bothered to implement them. Both of these things say something about you to a person who may not see you face to face.

It has nothing to do with making fun of people who have dissimiar interests, its about making fun of people who don't know or understand the soft skills that go with CV formatting and wording.

Aishae · 29-08-2011 12:12PM

Shelby Attractive Mirage wrote: »

I don't see why you wouldn't put your school. It's absolutely the norm in the UK. I've always done it. You wouldn't list your degree results without mentioning the university, so why wouldn't you put your school down?

Cv etiquette is that you list your most recent education. So if you went to college and finished it then you don't need to include the secondary school. But either way you include the college name so they can verify you were a student. You do include any Certs like first aid and an advanced driving course - IF the latter is relevant to the job.

I've worked in personnel in two separate places so I've come across some mad cv gems. The ones that springs to mind are:
Sex: yes
And hobbies: keeping my porche shiny

O_o

locked_out · 29-08-2011 12:20PM

"He is a straight shooter with upper level management written all over him!"

http://www.thehotglove.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/eric.jpg

Vicxas · 29-08-2011 12:23PM

"Ive been into gaming since the early release of commadores and ataris"

He was 16... 10 years younger then when the commadore was released.

29-08-2011 12:24PM

Aishae wrote: »

Cv etiquette is that you list your most recent education. So if you went to college and finished it then you don't need to include the secondary school. But either way you include the college name so they can verify you were a student. You do include any Certs like first aid and an advanced driving course - IF the latter is relevant to the job.

I've worked in personnel in two separate places so I've come across some mad cv gems. The ones that springs to mind are:
Sex: yes
And hobbies: keeping my porche shiny

O_o

Any job I've applied for in the last two years has asked for details of my school name and A Level results and even GCSE results in some cases, so I don't see the point in leaving them off my CV. I have an MA and I still get asked about what I did for A Level. Perhaps it's because we specialise much earlier in the UK and they're interested in what I chose to study. I definitely don't think it's odd to put your school on your CV, but maybe it is in Ireland.

Aishae · 29-08-2011 12:31PM

Shelby Attractive Mirage wrote: »

Aishae wrote: »

Cv etiquette is that you list your most recent education. So if you went to college and finished it then you don't need to include the secondary school. But either way you include the college name so they can verify you were a student. You do include any Certs like first aid and an advanced driving course - IF the latter is relevant to the job.

I've worked in personnel in two separate places so I've come across some mad cv gems. The ones that springs to mind are:
Sex: yes
And hobbies: keeping my porche shiny

O_o

Any job I've applied for in the last two years has asked for details of my school name and A Level results and even GCSE results in some cases, so I don't see the point in leaving them off my CV. I have an MA and I still get asked about what I did for A Level. Perhaps it's because we specialise much earlier in the UK and they're interested in what I chose to study. I definitely don't think it's odd to put your school on your CV, but maybe it is in Ireland.

You're probably right. It's a bit of a grey area though. Supposedly you're meant to include it if your college course was a cert or diploma as opposed to a degree. But at the same time you're taught to say "such and such available upon request"

It's true we don't specialise at all until 3rd level. Adding primary school is just completely irrelevant though, ive seen it on cv's many times

NinjaTruncs · 29-08-2011 12:38PM

I was working in a Spar when I got a CV from a young chinese guy call Thomas Thomas, I double checked he claimed his name was Thomas Thomas, anyway he had down as a hobby "serving customers"

tiny_penguin · 29-08-2011 12:40PM

rafaetha wrote: »

Do we really have to add interests and hobbies? Why does that matter to a recruiter?

I dont have hobbies and interests on my cv and have been told to every recruiter ive been too not to add them. A CV should really just have the most relevant information to the job on it.

When I was interviewing and scanning CV's when I was team lead i would not even bother reading the hobbies and interests of anyone who had added them. We had loads to go through and i was interested in their experience.

Same goes for secondary school (got a couple that listed their primary school) - its not really relevant if they have gone on to study further, leaving cert results are only relevant if they are the highest qualification received. I think they are added to bulk up CV's that applicants feel are short on experience.

Bob the Builder · 29-08-2011 12:40PM

A girl who lives locally, born and bred in ireland... Quoted word for word...

"I d'ont have irish citisenship until I get my passport re-newed, but if this prevents me from getting this career, I will a get new passport now"

Dohnny Jepp · 29-08-2011 12:51PM

tiny_penguin wrote: »

I dont have hobbies and interests on my cv and have been told to every recruiter ive been too not to add them. A CV should really just have the most relevant information to the job on it.

When I was interviewing and scanning CV's when I was team lead i would not even bother reading the hobbies and interests of anyone who had added them. We had loads to go through and i was interested in their experience.

Same goes for secondary school (got a couple that listed their primary school) - its not really relevant if they have gone on to study further, leaving cert results are only relevant if they are the highest qualification received. I think they are added to bulk up CV's that applicants feel are short on experience.

Hobbys and interests are talking points with the interviewer. If he played rugby and you have have it in your hobbys and interests then you's have a little thing to chat about.
It may not be relevant to the job, but it'll stick in the interviewers mind, and if two prospects are neck and neck, the interviewer will remember the chat about rugby.

Its happened before and will happen again.

Aishae · 29-08-2011 01:00PM

Hobbies - a former employer who goes through dozens of cvs every few months, told me: they show how social you might be depending on whether the hobbies listed are social or solitary. Which might be relevant for a job in the service industry for example.
But a lot of folks don't pay much attention to the hobby/achievement section so it doesn't really help all that much.

Speaking of achievements, I came across - I can knit sock heels.
That sounded mad. But at the same time, the heels are harder to get right. Still!

Cuddlesworth · 29-08-2011 01:02PM

Dohnny Jepp wrote: »

Hobbys and interests are talking points with the interviewer. If he played rugby and you have have it in your hobbys and interests then you's have a little thing to chat about.
It may not be relevant to the job, but it'll stick in the interviewers mind, and if two prospects are neck and neck, the interviewer will remember the chat about rugby.

Its happened before and will happen again.

I've found that if you do a technical job your qualifications, experience and skills are all that matters. If you do a non-technical job, hobbies and interests become important.

whydoibother? · 29-08-2011 01:08PM

Shelby Attractive Mirage wrote: »

Any job I've applied for in the last two years has asked for details of my school name and A Level results and even GCSE results in some cases, so I don't see the point in leaving them off my CV. I have an MA and I still get asked about what I did for A Level. Perhaps it's because we specialise much earlier in the UK and they're interested in what I chose to study. I definitely don't think it's odd to put your school on your CV, but maybe it is in Ireland.

Yes, I can understand having your school details on your CV. I've got where I went to school on my CV too, not with the aim of trying to gain an advantage for where I went to school or anything, just a wish to account for where I was for all those years. I'm Irish. I never knew that it wasn't the done thing in Ireland until this morning.

syklops · 29-08-2011 01:14PM

Cuddlesworth wrote: »

I've found that if you do a technical job your qualifications, experience and skills are all that matters. If you do a non-technical job, hobbies and interests become important.

Not in my experience. The hobbies and interests are usually the clincher when you have 2 similar candidates, and as someone else posted, its a talking point. Having just come out of 1 hour interview, we were trying to get a feel for the guy since he will be on our team, so being able to ask him about non-computer stuff from his CV was of huge benefit.

D1stant · 29-08-2011 01:15PM

A chap in college had

Hobbies: 'Talking to old people about olden times'

revell · 29-08-2011 01:19PM

Bob the Builder wrote: »

A girl who lives locally, born and bred in ireland... Quoted word for word...

"I d'ont have irish citisenship until I get my passport re-newed, but if this prevents me from getting this career, I will a get new passport now"

it might be true for some specific cases, though English is not forgivable.

Fozzydog3 · 29-08-2011 01:22PM

I was snooping around a lads ECDL file in fourth year and he had his CV written out it read:

Achievements: I once won an Ipod in a raffle

Archeron · 29-08-2011 01:27PM

I once seen a CV handed into a place I worked in, and there was a snot smeared right down the front page.

that was on of the most disgusting things I've seen.

Funny or strange things written on CV's

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