One of the reasons people can't find employment....

bugslet

I'm ot against CVs. Last time we advertised for a van driver, one of the CVs harped on about how he knew the Yorkshire Ripper, the conspiracy by the DVLA to stop him getting his HGV license and his strength training programme.

Scary that there isn't more help, but equally, entertaining enough from the safety of your office.. just wouldn't get that with an application form.:rotfl:

I think I must reject around 80% of applicants straightaway because they don't fulfill the criteria. I used to write back and say thank you, but....I've given up now simply because if they can't be bothered to read the job spec, why would I be bothered.

TBagpuss

Nick_C wrote: »

I don't understand why firms accept CVs instead of having their own application forms. CVs make it much harder for the people drawing up the shortlist to analyse unstructured information.

As for spelling and grammar, they were always essential criteria for jobs I was recruiting to. I would sift out over half the applications this way.

I don't accept dyslexia as an excuse for errors in a formal document. Do your composition with a WP package. If there are still errors, then its a failure to pay attention to detail.

Partly because a CV allows a good candidate scope to show that they are a good candidate, and a bad or hopeless one to demonstrate that! And if the information is well presented and the CV and covering letter are well structured,it isn't diffcult to analyse the information.

I agree that in a formal document such as a job application or CV it is important to get things such as spelling and grammar right. I know I am a poor speller, and am mildly dyslexic. And not the greatest typist. All of which are reasons why my forum posts are often full of typos. But my professional letters and documents are not, because I do use appropriate software, and I check documents with extra care, knowing my weak points.

Every time I have been job-hunting I got people I trusted (and, crucially, who I knew to be better at spelling than I am!) to check my CV before I started to send it out, to try to minimise the risk of letting it slip through with any errors.

I think part of the problem is that a lot of people have never had any specific training about how to apply for jobs. I don't recall any - in the final year of my undergraduate degree course I approached my university's careers office for help, but I don't recall them being terribly helpful.

The most useful advice I got was from my dad. He was in a completely different field from mine, but his role did mean he was involved selecting candidates at times. He gave me some very useful feedback about my CV and cover letters and, crucially, he also explained *why* he was suggesting particular changes / ways of doing things. But not everyone has a friend or family member with relevent experience so lots of people don't have access to that kind of advice. And while there are a lot more resources available now to help people prpare good quality applications, people are only likely to be looking for that kind of help if they realise that their application is not good.

Now that I am in a role which can include dealng with applications, I, too, see how bad a lot of them are, and not all of those are from people who are simply trying to fill a quota for JSA. Unfortuantely, it's quite difficult (and prohibitively time consuming) to give feedback, particualrly to those whose applications are not good enough to get them an interview. One the odd occasion when I have been in a position to provide some feedback in those situations, the applicants had no idea how poor their CVs/applications were or how much they were likely to be holding them back.

TELLIT01

Nick_C wrote: »

Does software score the CV against a person specification?

The software I've seen basically scans the documents for keywords, phrases etc. It's a quick and dirty way to exclude CVs which don't have any of the relevant requirements in them.

gettingready

pioneer22 wrote: »

Grammar and literacy isn't one of my strengths, curse of being dyslexic I guess.

Then you have no right to criticise anyone else I am afraid as you have no idea what their story is.

usefulmale

pioneer22 wrote: »

So I am on the interview panel for a role where I work, and I've asked HR for the CV's we've had so far. Just a standard PA/Admin role.

Wow, do people not realise the indeed format for CV's is terrible, and just some of the basics are wrong, spelling, Format, content, cover letters are for other jobs.

I appreciate people are looking for jobs we've had about 200 people apply. A lot are from non relevant industries, barwork, cleaners etc. Which is fine people want to move around but there is literally nothing to say why they want the job and what transferable skills.

One of the guys in HR said when they rung one of the candidates they said "whose this, I've applied for so many jobs" At least pretend you know which job it is!!

Incredibly frustrating.

pioneer22 wrote: »

Grammar and literacy isn't one of my strengths, curse of being dyslexic I guess.

No evidence whatsoever of dyslexia in your opening post.

You have not made mistakes typical of dyslexia, ie wrong order of letters, substituting 'd' for 'b', for example, nor is there any poor or inconsistent spelling.

Stop insulting genuine sufferers of this condition by hiding behind claims of dyslexia to cover up your poor knowledge of grammar and writing skills.

[Deleted User]

I like how people are confusing a flipping online post, with a CV. A post on here isn't under the scrutiny that a CV is, and there is limited importance in how good the grammar and spelling needs to be.

Although.. if you are bothered, it's worth installing a plugin for your browser like Grammarly. This will spellcheck and grammar check everything you type in before you post it.

PasturesNew

They get paid £70-£150 or more to apply for your job.

They don't care if they can do the job - if they don't apply they might lose their dole, their housing benefit, their council tax benefit ....and any other number of benefits.

They get paid £70-150+ to apply for your job ... because doing so prevents being cut off.

Tell it to their hand because their ears aren't listening.

steampowered

Yes, that must be very frustrating.

On the flip side I suppose you can quickly tell who the best candidates are likely to be, on the basis that they have structured their CV clearly, spell-checked it and taken the time to present it well?

pioneer22

usefulmale wrote: »

No evidence whatsoever of dyslexia in your opening post.

You have not made mistakes typical of dyslexia, ie wrong order of letters, substituting 'd' for 'b', for example, nor is there any poor or inconsistent spelling.

Stop insulting genuine sufferers of this condition by hiding behind claims of dyslexia to cover up your poor knowledge of grammar and writing skills.

I'm really not interested in your opinion. I have had to struggle through 5 years of university, and having been through a fitness to practice so I fully understand dyslexia.

Claree__x

I'm shortlisting CVs at the moment too and I really, really hate them. Why people feel the need to fill up page after page with generic nonsense I will never understand. The CV in front of me, for example, she might be really great at the job but I probably won't know because I've missed important details while skimming over how enthusiastic, positive, loyal, trustworthy, patient, calm and friendly. Maybe that's my fault, maybe I should spend more time looking past these things; but I've got another 200 to review.

Also, there's a line on this specific one that says "no training was provided for the software and therefore limited achievements were completed to the best of my ability" - why would you put that on a CV? No one asked, why put yourself down?