Up my income, change my job, need a good CV

floggit

I have a very historical based CV that talks in detail about all the activities I have done over my 20 year working life. I've decided to update it to make it more executive style and high impact.
Any ideas of what an executive high impact CV will look like?
Are there any HR managers out there willing to advise what gets peoples foot (or Cv) in the door?
Thanks

Grass_Stained_Feet

Hi there,

I'm not in HR, but I have been told my CVs are good, and often help with my friends...

I know a couple of fundamental...like
Keep it to 2 pages, keep it short and mainly in bullet points, and keep each section well framed. You can also find good-sounding words online for CVs.... and make sure your grammar and spelling is perfect....it is worth spending a lot of time on it. Presentation is also key, do NOT bore the employer!

If you have worked in a lot of places you be better off doing a Skill-based CV, which concentrates on the skills you have as opposed to your actual past jobs. A good website is http://www.prospects.ac.uk/cms/ShowPage/Home_page/Applications__CVs_and_interviews/p!eefmd
It is the official site for graduates,but you don't have to be one to have a look obviously!
My is laid out like so:

NAME ......................................................................................................................................
Address (one line)
DOB
Tel
Mob
email (all of this in small font)
Education
Explanation of uni degree
List of Alevels with grades (leaving out the AS I only got a E for! as far as I am concerned I never took it.)
Most important GCSEs with grades

WORK EXPERIENCE ......................................................................................................
employer name dates
position
Responsibilities (listed as short to the point bullets)

next job

(end of page one)

next job

next job

Additional work
company,location: position, dates (one line per job)
..............................................................................................................................
Additional Skills and Awards
(bullets, most no longer than a line-list dates where appropriate, I also list here any extra courses I have got a cert for in previous jobs)

..........................................................................................................................

Interests and Activities
Bullets (just one or 2 lines each)

References available on request

Hope this helps somewhat, if not there are lots of websites out there to help

It is better than it sounds I admit that I am a CV geek.

geordie_joe

Grass_Stained_Feet wrote: »

I admit that I am a CV geek.

There's something odd about this. Forgive me, I'm not having a go at you, just thinking out loud.

Why would you need to write great CVs? Yes, you need to write one great CV, then you don't need it anymore. Because it got you the job.

Surely people who write lots of CVs and get really good at it are people who never get the job?

It's like people saying "Oh I know all about job interviews, I've had loads and I'm an expert now"

Does that not mean they never get the jobs, they just keep going to interviews?

Or does it men they keep applying for the wrong jobs, get them then go looking for another one.

Grass_Stained_Feet

Maybe you should keep your head for thinking

Definition of CV geek: Someone who finds CVs interesting.

Q1) There is no need to write great CVs,however if there is a job you want, and you feel it might be a chllenge to get, you do need to beable to write a great CV, the OP obviously knows that, which is why they are asking advice. I never said I have written myself multiple Cvs. I merely said I am a CV geek.

Q2) I dont write lots of CVs.

Q3) Are you implying I don't get jobs?

I'm going to stop now because I honestly do not know what you are getting at, what you are saying is completely irrelavent!Forgive me, I'm just thinking out loud. Just I don't think the people you refer to, these "people who write lots of CVs" (pressumably you mean for themselves) exist, therefore everything below your 5th sentence is void.

geordie_joe

Grass_Stained_Feet wrote: »

Maybe you should keep your head for thinking

That's what I use it for, and when I don't understand I ask.

Grass_Stained_Feet wrote: »

Definition of CV geek: Someone who finds CVs interesting.

Fair enough

Grass_Stained_Feet wrote: »

Q1) There is no need to write great CVs,however if there is a job you want, and you feel it might be a chllenge to get, you do need to beable to write a great CV, the OP obviously knows that, which is why they are asking advice.

That's what I was getting at. You write one CV and you get the job you don't need to write more.

Grass_Stained_Feet wrote: »

I never said I have written myself multiple Cvs. I merely said I am a CV geek.

You said

but I have been told my CVs are good

I took that to mean you have written multiple CVs

Grass_Stained_Feet wrote: »

Q2) I dont write lots of CVs.

But you said you people think your CVs are good, making me think you have wrote more than one.

Grass_Stained_Feet wrote: »

Q3) Are you implying I don't get jobs?

Nope, I was wondering why someone would write multiple CVs that are good. Surely writing a CV is just part of getting a job (unless you are doing it for other people as a job or hobby). Once you have the job there is no need work work on your CV. Writing a CV is not usually something you "get good at", it's just something you do until you get a job then you forget about it.

Grass_Stained_Feet wrote: »

I'm going to stop now because I honestly do not know what you are getting at, what you are saying is completely irrelavent!

I don't think it is. To me you only rewrite your CV for two reasons.

1. The one you have didn't get you the job
2. The one you have got you the job but now you are going after a different job.

Grass_Stained_Feet wrote: »

Forgive me, I'm just thinking out loud. Just I don't think the people you refer to, these "people who write lots of CVs" (pressumably you mean for themselves) exist, therefore everything below your 5th sentence is void.

Of course people who write lots of CVs exist. For every job that is available there is more than one person applying for it. Some get interviews and some don't.

If two people apply for a job half of them won't get it. If three people apply for a job two thirds of them won't get it.

If 100 people apply for a job 99% of them won't get it.

In other words, most people who apply for jobs fail to get them. One way to improve their chances of getting the next job is to improve their CV.

Therefore there must be people who rewrite their CVs, but they do it because the one they have didn't work.

Saying you write CVs (plural) and are good at it, is like saying you are good at picking brides because you have been married 15 times!

floggit

Grass stained feet, thanks. I agree and think Cv's should be tailored to the job you are going for, it shows that you want THAT job.

Any other advice appreciated.

Grass_Stained_Feet

I have multiple copies

Anyways.....back to floggit, happy to help

tina.anderson

If you have a lot of experience writing Cv's, that not necessarily a good thing if you know what I mean. But writing a good, specific, job-tailored Cv can definitely improve your chances of getting hired.