Employers: What do you look for on a CV?

TrickyWicky

I think the title describes it but I thought this could be a useful thread for those of us out of work to find out how to help ourselves back into work.

So, employers and HR managers, what do you look for on a CV when sifting through applications?

Perhaps more importantly, what makes your alarm bells ring and reject an applicant? Do you prefer an honest but lousy CV or a top notch perfect CV thats probably full of tripe?

dizzyrascal

Alarm bells ring when things can't or don't add up.
If something looks too good to be true or sounds unachievable.
For instance, if someone said they achieved a PhD aged 23. That would ring alarm bells as it is highly unlikely if not impossible. That would make me question the remaining CV

Lovelyjoolz

Honesty and as little bullsh*t padding as possible.

I do like to see a Personal Profile on the first page, but I am put off by one that contains too many cliches.

The words motivated, challenging, and team player are instant turn offs. Use the profile to tell me who you are and what you want, don't just show off how good you are at searching in a thesaurus.

I would rather see a simple profile that says :

"Honest, punctual, reliable (job title) experienced in (using this or that software) looking for a role in (sector or department). I have X years experience as a (job title) and am looking for a career progression role."

than one that says:

"Motivated, focussed, team player looking for challenging new role."

because it's just bull and tells me nothing about you, the person. I often dismiss a CV based purely on the profile because it's full of "buzz-words" and crap.

Keep CVs simple, fill it with facts about what you can do and why you would be an asset to my company.

cavework

People skills .. what the heck are they,surely that means you can work with other people normally? Team player , means the same as above? Passionate (the Apprentice and boring) ,
Now honesty and a bit about yourself , not flowered up goes a long way in my books. it attracts my interest.
Forget CSE's gained in 1975 it is about experience in the last few years
I want someone to tell me they can do the job because they have done it before or something similar, they want to work and have at least an idea about what the company does
Lovelyjoolz you beat me to the post

Lovelyjoolz

Great minds, cavework?

paddyrg

Put yourself in the employers shoes - why are they hiring? Not because they want to spend money, but because they have a problem that requires someone to solve it. How can they tell from your CV that you are the person to get rid of their headache?

Hence I agree with no bullpoo, no wafflewords, no photo (!!!!!!), no silly fonts, no clip art, no essays, no longer than 2 sides ever, no misspellings.
Get all the key info in the first half of the first page - profile in a couple of sentences if you must (although they all read alike), then skills that solve the problem, then experience to back up those skills, then education to underpin the experience, and tucked away in the back of the second page any other stuff like languages, marital status, interests, referees, etc if you must. It will depend a bit on the job, but format this is very effective for IT jobs.

So, as an employer with a stack of CV's to read, tell me in the only bit of your CV I will read in the first round why I should read the rest of your CV, assuming I don't know you, and don't care about your GCSE's from 1988 for a graduate position, etc.

For printed submissions, btw, use paper at the good quality end of 'normal'. No subtle pictures of tigers, or woodblock-printed nepali rice paper, but say 100gsm white, good clean crisp print.

Fiddlestick

paddyrg wrote: »

Hence I agree with no bullpoo, no wafflewords, no photo (!!!!!!), no silly fonts, no clip art, no essays, no longer than 2 sides ever, no misspellings.
Get all the key info in the first half of the first page - profile in a couple of sentences if you must (although they all read alike), then skills that solve the problem, then experience to back up those skills, then education to underpin the experience, and tucked away in the back of the second page any other stuff like languages, marital status, interests, referees, etc if you must. It will depend a bit on the job, but format this is very effective for IT jobs.
.

I've always understood that three pages are acceptable for IT due to the need for a skills summary.

wantsajob

dizzyrascal wrote: »

If something looks too good to be true or sounds unachievable.
For instance, if someone said they achieved a PhD aged 23. That would ring alarm bells as it is highly unlikely if not impossible. That would make me question the remaining CV

Not impossible at all. Kids could take GCSE's at 12, A levels at 14, have a degree by 18, and a PhD by 21. Sadly because the world is mostly full of thick people, the education system has to delay at what point the more able take exams. If you're a parent with lots of money, however, this is not an issue.

Quick google.... http://www.onlinedegree.net/10-youngest-college-graduates-in-u-s-history-and-where-they-are-today/

londonTiger

"socialising" on the hobbies and interests

paddyrg

:money:

Fiddlestick wrote: »

I've always understood that three pages are acceptable for IT due to the need for a skills summary.

If you can't summarise in 2 sides of A4 why you should be called in for interview, it says something. Opinions may be split, although I suspect the bulk will be with me - a job where you are required to be efficient and brief requires an efficient and brief CV. I don't know many IT managers who award points for prose, or who care about your education etc. Remember, most agents are tools, so will oversupply useless CV's meaning the manager doing the hiring (who is busy and has a problem he would rather be solving than recruiting staff) has a ream of printed CV's to deal with. Last thing he wants is more to read.

People advertise jobs because they have a problem. They need people to send them adverts (CV's) saying "I can fix your problem, and I won't make you look bad". This is why skills and former employment are 90% of the value of the CV. Able to program in xyz languages? Previously worked for Microsoft for 3 yrs? Get you in for interview because you can make this problem go away and can't be all bad if blue chips used you.

Seriously, from experience, if the deal isn't done by the end of the first half-page, you are already in the shredding pile. After that is a bit of support/padding/filling. Remember, IT is inherently about efficiency!

dizzyrascal

wantsajob wrote: »

Not impossible at all. Kids could take GCSE's at 12, A levels at 14, have a degree by 18, and a PhD by 21. Sadly because the world is mostly full of thick people, the education system has to delay at what point the more able take exams. If you're a parent with lots of money, however, this is not an issue.

Quick google.... http://www.onlinedegree.net/10-youngest-college-graduates-in-u-s-history-and-where-they-are-today/

It would be an extremely rare and therefore it would attract my attention. That is what I said.
Education is also about maturity and the ability to enjoy the experience alongside the academic work. I would doubt that the person you describe could do that. For one thing, any under 18 year old has to have a full-time guardian with them.