Writing the perfect CV! Thanks and one more question - clothes!!

Alleycat

Hi all,

I am just in the process of writing up a CV to be sent to various agencies specialising in social housing (I currently work as a Homelessness Officer for the local authority) and in a bit of a quandry.

I have pretty much completed it, but I am not sure on a few issues. I have read loads of articles regarding writing the perfect CV but they tend to lean towards the commercial industry, IT etc and are to be sent to specific employers so not sure how relevant they are.

Anyway, my question. In my employment history bit I have put the job title, company name and bullet points of my skills, experience and what I have done in each of the jobs. I have so far listed the three jobs I have had in housing which would be relevant to what I am looking for which takes me back to April 2002. Do I need to list my previous jobs which were admin on temp contracts for only a few months here and there? I graduated in 2000.

Also, do I need to put the dates of my education history or just level, course and location?

Oh, one last question. A lot of the articles say to have bullet points of achievements and expertise, but I can't really think of anything to put plus I have run out of room (trying to keep it to only two A4 sheets). Is this important? I have included a brief profile at the start of the CV.

All help would be much appreciated and if there is anyone who is experienced in reading and writing CV's I would be indebted if you would be able to read through it for me!

Thanks,

Alleycat

Astaroth

Education, I would simply put the year of passing

Many employers want to see up to the last 5 years of work experience (where it exists) so worth going back a little further unless it will look bad with lots of very short employments.

The first thing to realise of cause is that there is no such thing as the perfect CV. What a person is wanting to see will vary between managers.... for example, recently both myself and my opposite number in one of our other divisions were both looking for an assistant. We decided to sit down together and go through the CVs together and even though the jobs were identical (other than I was paying £2k more) we both picked out different CVs as our top candidates because they appealed to our personal styles.

On my CV I have job title, company, dates, role description and achievements. My job titles (generally things like Customer Service Advisor in my early jobs or Project/ Strategy Manager in more recent years) tell people what skills they are going to have given me and adding achievements like "CSA of the year" etc shows that I was an expert at them so dont have seperate "expertise" section for each job

cats_whiskers

Hi

I usually do a chronological CV and put a profile at the start. After this I usually put work experience and start from the the current job and work back which looks like you have done the same. You mustn't leave any gaps of time unaccounted for otherwise employers will wonder what you were doing in the gaps!

For the years after college whilst temping I would be inclined to put this into one heading, say June 2000 to April 2002, Temporary Administrative positions. For bullet points on skills you just need to keep it brief but could say something along the lines of gained word processing skills/computer skills/management experience. This improved my skills as an organiser and administrator.

If your CV is longer than 2 sides of A4 the employer may not take the trouble to read through it.

Good Luck
Cats.

Savvy_Sue

The main thing is to avoid 'gaps' which aren't explained. It gets more and more difficult to do this without exceeding two pages! But I've taken to putting "19** - 19**: various temporary jobs during school and university holidays" and listing any relevant experience gained in those jobs - for me it's switchboard, reception, typing etc. ...

Good luck!

Alleycat

Thanks for the advice. I'm glad that you have verified what I have done. Makes me hope I've done it right! Its all finished and I just need to write a cover letter and email to some agencies on Monday.

Just got one more question though! Do you think that I need a full suit for interviews? My old one is a bit tatty and doesn't really fit properly anymore, so I would need to get another, but as I am so tall they are really expensive. I wish I was a normal size so I could get a reasonably priced one, but alas I am resigned to Long Tall Sally and Dorothy Perkins tall range which is a bit limiting and a tad expensive!

jobbingmusician

I think you can never be overdressed for interviews, and it's always worth wearing a smart suit. Think of it as an investment in your future! You might get away with wearing smart black and white for a job at 25 year old level.

DO you REALLY need to go to Long Tall Sally, though? Have a really good look around street markets - for example, I saw loads of suits and separates at the market in Leather Lane, London yesterday (Including some charcoal grey smart jumpers with three quarter length sleeves which might be ideal for the tall person - genuine NEXT at £5 each!)

Alleycat

Thanks for the suggestion Jobbingmusician, but unfortunately yes, I do need the specifically tall ranges as I am 5'11" so the length of the sleeves, body of clothes is always a couple of inches too short. The only market we have here is rubbish. Loads of cheap nasty stuff and always too short!! I saw a lovely suit in the sale at Long Tall Sally yesterday, and they had hte jacket but the trousers were sold out!

My OH has said that we will make ourselves afford a suit for me as as you say it will be an investment. I don't need to wear one doing the kind of job I do now, but for interviews, attending court etc it is useful. I have a uniform at the moment, so I wear that suit when I need to.

blackcateddie

I'm 5ft 10 so i know what you mean - just bought a suit from the Next catelogue which was 29.99 for the jacket and 19.99 for the trousers - bought the xlong which come up as a 34 leg and it fitted great. Better quality than Dotty P's and it is washable too.
Been in HR for 20yrs and would definately recommend a suit, partly cos you don't know the age of the person who will interview you so you don't know their thought processes re dress. always best to err on the side of caution.
Besides if you find you don't wear the suit then ebay is great for selling next suits, I've sold suits recently from 5yrs ago and cos they all have 34 leg then average price was £17 plus P&P.

Good luck

Savvy_Sue

I'm going to put the opposing view about suits here: when we moved, I helped interview for my old job. And when the three of us interviewing AND all three candidates were all wearing black jackets, I thought "time for a new interview jacket!" (I haven't ever had a suit.)

The jacket I had most success with was - wait for it! - pink! Well, not that pink, but a deep reddish pink. With that I would wear black or navy trousers.

When I did wear my black jacket, I teamed it with lighter blue trousers.

I also had a mid blue jacket.

But I like to think I always stood out at interviews!

So, if you're going to need a suit anyway, by all means get it now. But if it's only for interviews, then think about separates.

The other question: can you get the reduced jacket then see if you can get the trousers from another branch?

Also worth looking in charity shops. My latest acquisition is a Jacques Vert jacket in turquoise, really stunning. Not sure it's suitable for interviews but it's wonderful for weddings! And I have long arms!

jobbingmusician

Are you a size 14, by any chance? Just thought I'd have a quick look on Ebay - I suggest you set up a search and ask them to email you every time something with 'Long Tall Sally' in the title is registered on the site

Or there's this one.......

or this one!

Alleycat

Hi all and thanks for the suggestions. I have spotted a gorgeous suit in Matalan that has enough hem on the legs and sleeves to allow for alteration, so I just need to go up and buy it when we get paid. There are loads of tailors here, so it should cost no more than £15-20. The suit itself is only £46 as well!!

I've registered with about 9 job agencies and waiting for them to phone me back. Hopefully I can line up some interviews for either the end of this week or the beginning of next week. Yay!!