Should this be on CV?

cherilady

Hi There,

I first came to UK under working holiday program which allows me to stay for 2 years but work for 1. During that 2 years, i find it utmost difficult to land in a 'decent job' ( i am a uni grad) so i end up doing packing work for agencies.

Long story cut short, i am more permenant now ( visa) and has worked as an administrator for a local veterinary(alas!) for about 8 months and the honeymoon period soon ended. I got made redundant in Feb'11( what another turbulance)

I am always curious the work experience ive done as a packer in my CV will it jeopardize or will make me look incompetent?
I had one interviewer sighed when he saw that entry and he just said ' no good'. I reason him by telling that my wallet is left with £20 that time and i had to do what i need to do to find food. I wonder could this be also the reason i am not getting much interview.

I do want to take the entry out but i had problem answering what ive been doing for that 2 years!

Many thanks in advance for any advice!

DCFC79

I cant see a problem with it, you did what you had to do to earn money when others might have done nothing. Im sure someone with more experience/knowledge would be along soon.

claire16c

If I were you, I would list it, just so it shows what you were doing that year, but literally write it as a one liner with the job title, date etc.

I would then make the focal point your admin job, and list your responsibilities and make it sound really good. So that could take up a few bullet points.

Ive interviewed graduates and I dont find it unusual that they have had jobs similar to that, or waitressing, bar work etc for periods of time after leaving uni, before moving onto something else. It really wouldnt matter to me.

You just need to make the other job the highlight and they will just scan over the other one.

If they do ask you about the other job, I would just make it sound as best you can. I.e were you ever left in charge? Did you teach new employees what to do? You dont have to focus on the 'packing' aspect, you can show you went over and above that.

The worst thing I've seen on cvs is when people don't make the most of themselves. For example I once saw a cv where someone wrote about 10 lines on a waitressing job they did, and then wrote about 2 lines on a job they did working with a fashion designer, which was actually a really good job but they didnt make it stand out at all. The job they were applying for was for a fashion retail head office! I wanted to redo their cv for them and send it in again!

cherilady

yes Claire, i did that. ( one liner on the agency work and full description on my other roles)

I am running out of ideas howelse or whatelse i can do ..getting very frustrated now that it is almost 5 months in getting no work... is the economy really that bad?

I have thoughts running back to agencies work but on 2nd thought, i tried not to as long as i can because that is what killed my confidence at the first place. I had nightmare experiences with them, the client ( racist, physical incapabilities at times - stacking heavy pallets ends with blood shed at times, crazy hours 6pm-6am and so forth) Sorry for the rant.

I know i need to proove harder of my capablities as me being a foreign, so it is natural that they will have certain doubts in me. At my CV now, i currently remove my nationality and ethic race just for sake they wont discriminiate. Am i thinking too much?

I just want to know ive done the best i can in finding work so i wont have regrets in the future. Ive called up all local vets if they have they are employing, no avail. I search for jobs online everyday and every website you can think of.
Ive widen my search scope.

Sorry for the rant again, if not here..where else?
Spoke to a friend who so happen an ex recruitment consultant, she said 70% of the job they advertised are fake. It is such a heart pain to hear this..

DCFC79

I dont mean for this to come across in the wrong way but is the standard of english on your cv any good, have you thought about improving your english or written

t0rt0ise

I have never put nationality and ethnicity on my CV and wouldn't even think to do so. I'd get someone whose first language is English to read it over and check that the grammar is right and that the sentences flow correctly. Apart from that just keep on trying. It is very hard.

claire16c

I would ring the vets and ask if you can volunteer. Getting work at a vets can be really competitive.

What sort of jobs are you applying for?

J_i_m

Seems your English is fine to me.

The packing job sounds like a bore, mention it... but focus on your other experiences and skills

cherilady

Actually, English is my spoken language although not mother tongue. We use English as business language at my home country but yes, my English written or spoken isnt 100% perfect.

I dont exactly think it's got to with my English. I never had any feedback before from ex-employer, agency nor ex collegues saying they cant understand what i say or write..

I somehow think its more on perception towards foreigns..esp being a non caucasian. Infact, i got alot from them asking me how did i spoke good english..

Oh well, i blame the economy but i am not giving up, yet..

I am looking for admin and marketing being my forte in Kuala Lumpur for 5 years.

btw, is my written english here all broken? :P i didnt use the spell check here..

Annisele

Your written English is certainly not "all broken"! However, I do still think that it's possible that your English might be an issue. It's just little things - for example, I'd say that English is used in my home country rather than at it, that I was a foreigner rather than a foreign, that sort of thing. I know that's incredibly picky - and that you're posting on a forum rather than carefully crafting a CV - but if that sort of thing has crept into your CV, then I think you're needlessly making things a little bit harder for yourself.

I know you say that nobody has ever mentioned it to you, but if I'm speaking to somebody I know in person I have to know them very well before I'll criticise their English.

By "an issue", I don't necessarily even mean that your English is poor. For example, American CVs sometimes look very odd to an English eye, so if you were taught English by an American there might be some slightly jarring phrases in it.

Edit: And having written a post like that, I'm almost guaranteed to have made some horrendous errors. Please consider them deliberate mistakes!

DCFC79

t0rt0ise wrote: »

I have never put nationality and ethnicity on my CV and wouldn't even think to do so. I'd get someone whose first language is English to read it over and check that the grammar is right and that the sentences flow correctly. Apart from that just keep on trying. It is very hard.

this is what i meant, its not bad OP as you say english is your first language but maybe get someone to check it over.