I Have a Question - Volume 133

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Fri 26 May 2006 23:40
A little help with a C.V. - Dalglish
Any replies would be greatly appreciated


try a search in msn, yahoo or google for "sample cv".

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Fri 26 May 2006 23:43
A little help with a C.V. - Adam {P}
Thanks Dalglish.

I've already done that. I was hoping for some experience from someone who knows what they're on about on here too.
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Sat 27 May 2006 01:33
A little help with a C.V. - Avant
Adam - I recruit graduates for a largish firm of accountants and read CVs most working days....

To be negative first, a few things that annoy me:

- GCSE and A-level grades not specified: that doesn't kid anyone

- long verbose covering letters (unnecessary as anything essential should be in the CV

- gaps in time

- spelling mistakes or careless typos: one can't help getting the impression that the person doesn't care enough

- also, infuriatingly, someone who has forgotten to delete another firm's name when applying to us

- (as a general point) too many jobs in a short time, but this doesn't apply to new graduates like you as they'll have been temporary or vacation jobs

- the Citroen syndrome - someone sending 2 CVs on successive days in case you didn't receive the first.

What I like is:

- clear evidence of academic results

- chronological order of jobs (the fashion is to show them backwards but I find forwards just as easy; current job first though)

- concise description of each job

- interests / hobbies briefly described

- extra-curricular achievements included - particularly things that I can pick up and get the candidate to talk about at interview. Duke of Edinburgh and Young Enterprise are particularly good things to have done.

- examples of projects / enterprises which required you to think laterally (sadly, many degree courses with their multifarious unrelated modules don't always achieve that)

- a brief, specific summary of what you think your strengths are - particularly, of course, those which are likely to be useful in the job you're going for.


My E-mail address is on my profile - if you would find it helpful, do send me your CV and I'll have a look at it over the weekend. You say it's quite ordinary - that's probably a good sign!

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Sat 27 May 2006 02:19
A little help with a C.V. - spikeyhead {p}
Excellent advice from Acant, the only thing that I would add is for a graduate to keep it to one page, and put enough in your hobbies and interests to show that you have a life but not enough to bore someone senseless. I don't care if you play golf or swim, but I would care if you've achieved something with it.

The best hobbies and interests list I've ever read simply said, member of CAMRA and MENSA. sufficient to give a good idea of the person.
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