Need help updating CV

PocoLocoCoco

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angelamc_2

You could try this site, its free.

http://www.abintegro.com/Join?gclid=CMGxxNamkJgCFQTnlAodeDW_mQ

poker_face

PocoLocoCoco wrote: »

Hello,

I have been unemployed for 2 months now and really need to get a job now.
I need to update my CV apart from adding on my last job, I want to make some changes to it. At the moment I think it's very standard. I just this week signed on to JSA and my advisor is not very advising or friendly or even helpful. Is there anywhere I can go and get help to redo my CV?

I need to get this CV done asap.

Ta

There are plenty of free sites online, Here for example

PocoLocoCoco

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pingu

jobcentre should hve told you where to go there are places where you can have cv done free of charge with the help of an adviser

briona

The problem with many of the free templates I see online is that they can be quite out-dated, some of them still suggesting that you start with a heading of "Curriculum Vitae" (as if your CV might be mistaken for a novel or a newspaper if you fail to title it!) and that you MUST include a date of birth, marital status etc. Too much crappy padding just leaves less room for the information that actually will help your application.

A good CV layout will be clean and easily legible – use white paper and no more than two type-styles, ideally simple and classic fonts such as Arial. Make sure the font is large enough to be legible – what happens if someone faxes your CV? Will the letters fill in ('E's becoming a black blob for example)? These are all worth checking. As is spelling, grammar and punctuation. If that's not your strong point, get someone else to check as telling an employer that you have a "keen eye for detial" is NOT a good look!

In terms of content, obviously some basic Contact Details help – your name, your phone number and an email address will suffice. You can include a postal address although I understand that many people are now opting to omit this. I've got an address on my CV though!

I like to include a Personal Profile; NOT a "motivated, hard-working, trust-worthy, anyone could have written this bit" one but a simple summary of my experiences – "a qualified X with Y number of years experience in such and such a type of role. Comprehensive knowledge of Z... etc". If your Personal Profile just lists buzzwords such as "motivated" and "hard-working", it's probably best to leave it out – employers have read it all before.

Beneath that (assuming you are not a recent graduate), you would need to put your Employment or Career History in reverse chronological order, i.e., newest job first. Make sure you give enough detail about the roles, in particular your most recent one.

After this I like to summarise my Key Skills in bullet point format (this section can go anywhere on your CV, but if someone only glances through it, it's best for them to have as much key info up front). I put a range of industry-specific, computer and teamworking/management skills in here.

Underneath that you would put your Education/Qualifications (if you are a recent graduate this should go above your Employment section), again in reverse chronological order. It's worth naming your school/college/uni and stating the course you took and the grades you achieved. You don't need to name every school you ever went to – if you have a University education you only need mention although, space permitting, there is no harm in listing the place where you got your A Levels as well.

If you have any space left it's worth having an Interests section, but only if your interests are note-worthy! (Watching 'Corrie' might be enjoyable but it's not going to help you land a job!). I tend to expand a little on my interests as well, as saying "reading" doesn't give anyone much insight into the kind of person you are whereas "reading biographies of historical figures" gives you a bit more depth! (That's not what I've written on mine BTW!).

The final thing on my CV is References – a line simply saying "references available on request" will suffice.