Please critique my CV

Naf

sparx wrote: »

Can I add something? If you are printing a CV, please make sure you use decent White paper, the page is aligned properly, and it doesn't come out stripy or wonky. I reject many CV's on that basis alone, after all if you can't be bothered when you're making a first impression I'm not even giving you an opportunity to make a second! And don't try and cram it all in to one or two pages, space well and if you need to use more than two pages you've written too much! Also use a font that is easy to read, it may well be that the person reading it has a problem with their eyesight so you will be discarded quite quickly especially if a lot of people are applying for the same job. On the other side my manager used to put any CV's that were stapled in the bin... Good luck!

I was going to write similar: you'd be surprised how petty the reasons there can be for discarding CVs initially; from the quality of paper, font etc as above; I even heard of ones like the positioning of the top corner staple (left/right corner, straight/angled), how it's folded, the envelope it came in. Or even that it just looked so much like the vast majority of the others. Yes, some of those are entirely subjective and, arguably, unfair; but with a stack of CVs two feet high something needs to stand out to make them want to actually read it. Might sound harsh, but its a recruiters market out there, waaaay more good candidates than jobs so just good doesn't cut it.
Also don't underestimate the value of hand-delivering it (make sure you're well presented if you do). I used to go so far as to hide away my stereo earphones when I went in to give them it: you never know who it is that'll be taking if off you: manager/owner/interviewer?