CV tips??

[Colapop]

Hey there all,
Is anyone out there any good at CV's or an Employment Consultant? I've recently decided enough is enough and I'm looking at a new place to reside professionally. I've updated my CV and written a covering letter (Cheers to that person who has helped me previously). I have had some comments from an employment consultant that I have to expand on further.

Anyway having seen a few people on here and in 'real' life who've recently either changed jobs or are contemplating it, I thought it might be good for people who have the skill at these things to share the love so to speak. Do you have tips that will help set up a CV so that it's more appealing to an employer? Best places to look for work? Covering letter or not?

In today's fluid job market keeping everything up to date seems to be part of your job as well as work. Any tips, tricks or any other help is greatly appreciated.


P.S. I'm looking for work in the project Management related field (Construction) in Wellington, so if you have any leads feel free to PM me.

[SARGE]

get ahold of Heavenly.Talker or her hubby Mack the Knife..

i hear shes REALLY good..

[soundbeltfarm]

dont send your full C.V .

nothing worse as an employer going through 20 peoples C.V.

when i applied for our lastest sharemilking job we got professional help with this side of things and we were told condense C.V down to one piece of paper and we laminated it ( because this is hard to screw up and toss out and it always looks pretty good condition)
we included a photo of ourselves and any higher honours education just to show we can apply ourselves and previous employment that was similar to the employment we were seeking.
we put referees down and had that a full C.V was available if required.

we asked the employer if what we done helped and he said it was a definate advantage.

if you want to see what i mean i can PM you a pic of what we had.

[Colapop]

Thanks for the help thus far. I'm thinking a short (3 page) document should do the job. As long as it's clear and to the point I should go ok. I do well at interviews it's just getting to that point.

Yes please - that'd be good, SBF.

[Swoop]

There is also a good resource I found in our library. It is a kiwi book on doing your own CV and has a disk in the back with about 5 or 6 different templates to use. A kiwi written book seems to have more of the "flavour" that we are used to compared to overseas examples.
Best of luck.

[The_Dover]

For fucks sake don't do one of those retarded kiwi style CV's that is four or five pages long and lists everything from your favourite colour to the first CD single you ever bought, even if it was Pantera.

No employer really gives a fuck at this stage that you enjoy getting blind drunk with your best friend Baz and having a circle jerk with the soccer team when you win.

A good CV should be 2 pages max, detail your work experience, recent or relevant employment history, notable achievements and basic (factual) personal details.

Holding the resort record for the dentist chair is not a notable achievement, unfortunately.

Photo's are not good practice either as it is illegal to descriminate on appearance, even if you'd rather have a dumb hot PA than a competent pig.

Short, sweet and factual with a good clear layout, chronological order and no flowery "I think I am a good worker cos ....."

Reading through a few hundred pages of shite is not top of any recruitment persons priorities. Finding someone with the necessary skills and experience is and an efficient and well presented CV will set you apart from the dreamers.

Tell them about your Satanic Metal Band and swingers club antics at the interview, it'll give you something to talk about. Especially if you recognise them.

[Cookie]

Here's a CV from a Nihilist - more an example of how not to do it really.

[Hitcher]

A good CV should be fit for purpose.

A two-pager may be OK for somebody considering a job as an apprentice plumber or clerical worker, but an applicant for a senior managerial or technical role will probably have a CV that runs to several pages.

Your CV should be different based on whether or not you are applying for an advertised role or just on spec.

And, more importantly than the CV, is the covering letter that goes with it. This should answer the question "Why hire you?" that a CV itself cannot answer.

[geoffm]

Keep it short. Remember what it is supposed to do - sell yourself as the answer to their problems. In other words, what are your achivements that are relevant to them. E.g. "sales manager" - yeah ok, by itself, so what. "Increased sales by heaps, with a profit margin that would make the IRD blush" - now we are talking about what you can bring to the party, and why you should get the job with the big bikkies
Geoff

[Cookie]

I recently read a CV which listed as achievements:

1. Membership of an IT team within a previous business (So what? We were not looking for a cleaner).

2. Attendance at a number of software vendor demonstrations - with a list of products included. (So they have sufficient bladder control to sit through software presentations – WOW!)

Lame “achievements” are a big turn off for any potential employer.