Can I get help in structuring my CV?

aav

I have a CV for which I thought was good but I did not seem to be getting any interviews. Having taken a closer look I can see that some changes could be made. I'm just wondering if you guys could answer a few questions.

My first question is do you put education before or after work experience?

Should I include all my work history even short employment stints?

I've put a profile at the beginning of my CV showing basic skills is that right?

Finally is their something I've missed that I should have in my CV?

Wyndham

It depends on your age and experience. I'm 45 and mine is mostly about work, but then my education is there, but later on. If I were 17 it would be the other way round.

I have a skills based CV, as I've had a few different jobs. So I have my skills listed first, then a list of where I've worked over the years. I also have a profile, but I'm less fond of it than I used to be.

Hope that helps!

General_Grant

aav wrote: »

I have a CV for which I thought was good but I did not seem to be getting any interviews. Having taken a closer look I can see that some changes could be made. I'm just wondering if you guys could answer a few questions.

My first question is do you put education before or after work experience? Do you have a degree/professional qualification required in the work for which you are applying but don't have much relevant work experience? If that's the case, put the education ahead of work experience. Otherwise, put it after your career history.

Should I include all my work history even short employment stints? If you can group things under an agency, do that. How much work history do you have? Actually how long were the "short" stints?

I've put a profile at the beginning of my CV showing basic skills is that right? What basic skills? In bullet form or grammatical sentence(s)?

Finally is their something I've missed that I should have in my CV? No idea. But don't include hobbies/interests (unless absolutely relevant to the job) and don't include reference contact details.

Do check spellings - don't just rely on the spell-checker as that won't pick up on, for instance, their and there.

cookiethekitten

I put education first when applying for graduate jobs and work history first when applying for non-graduate level jobs. I don't list jobs I had when I was younger as they are unrelated to ones I'll be looking for instead I just put: "2002-2005: Hospitality and Retail. Various short term jobs in these sectors". I've got a profile on my CV as I've been told by several sources that its important now but I never used to; I'm not keen on having it as when do I send a CV I put a covering letter/email containing the same information with it anyway.

aav

OK thanks guys for your help guys.

Samsonite1

What is your situation? If you have had a graduate job already then I would put work experience first and education second. This is pretty standard. If you explain your education and work experience it would be easier to give you specific pointers.

mikecc

aav wrote: »

I have a CV for which I thought was good but I did not seem to be getting any interviews. Having taken a closer look I can see that some changes could be made. I'm just wondering if you guys could answer a few questions.

My first question is do you put education before or after work experience?
If you are a recent graduate, or school-leaver, then education first. If you have had a full time job of more than 1 year, put experience first. Otherwise put whatever you feel most relevant to the role(s) you are applying for.

Should I include all my work history even short employment stints?
- Depends massively on your depth of experience, if you have 5 years of professional experience, I don't really need to know about the 3 weeks you spent temping between roles or after you graduated. If you are low on experience then everything helps, just be clear on the achievements from each entry and how it relates to your overall objective.

I've put a profile at the beginning of my CV showing basic skills is that right?
A brief introduction is fine, but don't fill it with buzzwords like 'Enthusiastic, Hard-working and Polite' because these mean anything. Give it a 3 section structure, 1-2 sentences per sections sufficient for one paragraph. 1) Who you are (job title, profession, highest qualification) 2) Key achievements in work or education, related to the job you are applying for, 3) What you are looking for (industry, type of career, full/part time etc)

Ultimately you just want to make it factual so the employer knows if you meet their need before going further. Don't fall into the trap of trying to cover EVERY angle at this point, you're better off focussing on relevant points to the employer

Finally is their something I've missed that I should have in my CV?
Show it to a friend, ask them if they feel it describes you in your best possible light. Then show it to someone who doesn't know you as wel but you can trust (a parent's friend perhaps) and ask them if they would be able to figure out what you're looking for.

I am happy to review your CV and provide some more in depth comments if you like, the above is just general stuff to get you started. I'm a Recruitment Manager and can offer you advice from the 'reviewers perspective'.

Dizzy_Ditzy

Another thing that u think would help is to print your cv on higher quality paper- I use thicker, cream paper. Helps make it physically stand out more

pmduk

I found the National Careers Service to be of great help. I had 3 sessions with an advisor, (who has helped me since outside her work life). I started with very little self-confidence but she helped build that up as well.