CV advice

Author
Discussion

Z064life

Original Poster:

1,926 posts

248 months

Monday 16th January 2017
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Hi All,
I am working on my cv to apply for an IT Job (Infrastructure Arhcitect type position). Anyone here in the business of reviewing cv's who'd be happy to see mine?

Also, the company is a large corporate type, what's the best way to structure my duties and achievements in my current job? As prose or bullet points?

Thanks in advance! smile

rog007

5,759 posts

224 months

Tuesday 17th January 2017
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Delighted to look over and provide feedback; just PM me once ready.

Use bullets and describe outcomes.


Z064life

Original Poster:

1,926 posts

248 months

Wednesday 18th January 2017
quotequote all
rog007 said:
Delighted to look over and provide feedback; just PM me once ready.

Use bullets and describe outcomes.
Hi Roger

PM'd you.


Thanks!

maccas99

1,706 posts

188 months

Wednesday 18th January 2017
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I'm in the same line of work as you, happy to provide a review as well.

Z064life

Original Poster:

1,926 posts

248 months

Thursday 19th January 2017
quotequote all
maccas99 said:
I'm in the same line of work as you, happy to provide a review as well.
Thanks I've emailed you. I will need a reply and then I can send cv smile


Thanks guys!

rog007

5,759 posts

224 months

Friday 20th January 2017
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Emailed back a couple of times; may be worth checking your spam folder?

maccas99

1,706 posts

188 months

Friday 20th January 2017
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I'll take a look over the next couple of days and send you the feedback.

timbo999

1,293 posts

255 months

Friday 20th January 2017
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As someone who has recruited in the IT industry my key advice would be to be brief (so yes to bullets) - perhaps no more than two sides - and have a summary statement at the top describing your experience and skills - happy to share mine if you want to see an example.

My other piece of advice is, if you are going to upload your CV to job portals/ company web sites etc, make sure you abide by their formatting rules. There is nothing worse than trying to read a poorly formatted CV that had been corrupted by the upload process - these always go to the bottom of the pile!


chilluk7

113 posts

104 months

Friday 20th January 2017
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timbo999 said:
As someone who has recruited in the IT industry my key advice would be to be brief (so yes to bullets) - perhaps no more than two sides - and have a summary statement at the top describing your experience and skills - happy to share mine if you want to see an example.

My other piece of advice is, if you are going to upload your CV to job portals/ company web sites etc, make sure you abide by their formatting rules. There is nothing worse than trying to read a poorly formatted CV that had been corrupted by the upload process - these always go to the bottom of the pile!
It would be cool to see an example if you don't mind. I am struggling having spent the last 15 years not needing my CV or having to interview - I have had all my work from recommendation and just worked direct through my ltd company - I just don't think the agents can understand that and I'm not getting a look in for roles I could do in my sleep.

Also - online applications via Jobserve and the like - is it better just to phone the agent direct rather than bother with these?

maccas99

1,706 posts

188 months

Friday 20th January 2017
quotequote all
chilluk7 said:
It would be cool to see an example if you don't mind. I am struggling having spent the last 15 years not needing my CV or having to interview - I have had all my work from recommendation and just worked direct through my ltd company - I just don't think the agents can understand that and I'm not getting a look in for roles I could do in my sleep.

Also - online applications via Jobserve and the like - is it better just to phone the agent direct rather than bother with these?
Take a look at this article from a recruiter: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/contractors-how-inc...

Some very useful tips.

chilluk7

113 posts

104 months

Friday 20th January 2017
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Cheers that's a good post - makes sense. I need to think more carefully how to represent the last 15 years of my life then as I'm pretty sure my CV is getting binned currently.

timbo999

1,293 posts

255 months

Friday 20th January 2017
quotequote all
chilluk7 said:
It would be cool to see an example if you don't mind. I am struggling having spent the last 15 years not needing my CV or having to interview - I have had all my work from recommendation and just worked direct through my ltd company - I just don't think the agents can understand that and I'm not getting a look in for roles I could do in my sleep.

Also - online applications via Jobserve and the like - is it better just to phone the agent direct rather than bother with these?
I can understand the issue as I spent 20 years with one of the big four and then floundered a bit when I left to go on my own. 'Phone is better in my opinion.

And - Ok - here's my CV summary, please don't take the piss (too much!):

A highly intelligent, enthusiastic, proactive service manager looking for a significantly challenging and interesting role in IT service management.

An experienced Service Manager, qualified to ITIL Management ‘red badge’ level, with a deep understanding of Service Management process and techniques drawn from practical experience.

Several years experience of service integration within a diverse and challenging multi service provider environment, building strong relationships with key stakeholders.

A firm foundation in technical projects has led to a broad understanding of technical environments and the issues and opportunities they raise for Service Management.



Edited by timbo999 on Friday 20th January 14:22

rog007

5,759 posts

224 months

Saturday 21st January 2017
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timbo999 said:
I can understand the issue as I spent 20 years with one of the big four and then floundered a bit when I left to go on my own. 'Phone is better in my opinion.

And - Ok - here's my CV summary, please don't take the piss (too much!):

A highly intelligent, enthusiastic, proactive service manager looking for a significantly challenging and interesting role in IT service management.

An experienced Service Manager, qualified to ITIL Management ‘red badge’ level, with a deep understanding of Service Management process and techniques drawn from practical experience.

Several years experience of service integration within a diverse and challenging multi service provider environment, building strong relationships with key stakeholders.

A firm foundation in technical projects has led to a broad understanding of technical environments and the issues and opportunities they raise for Service Management.



Edited by timbo999 on Friday 20th January 14:22
Assume you’re open to feedback hence the posting; this could be much, much better. Just a few things amongst a number of others:

- ‘Highly intelligent’; I’ll be looking for you to evidence this in your CV otherwise it’s baseless. Then I’ll be thinking what else may be just empty words?

- Word ‘manager/management’ used x 6 times thus consuming scarce space and giving the impression that the document has not been checked.

- Lacks impact in this opening salvo; what have you actually achieved? This is the most important part of your CV and if it fails to engage the reader, some, like myself, may discard it at long listing.

- Using ‘years’ as a marker of competence is flawed; you may have been at best only average for those years).

I hope that little feedback adds some value.

The development of a top-drawer CV is a time consuming task and a good one will be using best practice and proven theory; this is what separates the very good from the good.

timbo999

1,293 posts

255 months

Saturday 21st January 2017
quotequote all
rog007 said:
Assume you’re open to feedback hence the posting; this could be much, much better. Just a few things amongst a number of others:

- ‘Highly intelligent’; I’ll be looking for you to evidence this in your CV otherwise it’s baseless. Then I’ll be thinking what else may be just empty words?

- Word ‘manager/management’ used x 6 times thus consuming scarce space and giving the impression that the document has not been checked.

- Lacks impact in this opening salvo; what have you actually achieved? This is the most important part of your CV and if it fails to engage the reader, some, like myself, may discard it at long listing.

- Using ‘years’ as a marker of competence is flawed; you may have been at best only average for those years).

I hope that little feedback adds some value.

The development of a top-drawer CV is a time consuming task and a good one will be using best practice and proven theory; this is what separates the very good from the good.
All of which is probably true, but it hasn't stopped me getting a succession of lucrative contracts over the last 6 years... results matter most!

Go on then, be brave and post the summary of your CV...

PS - Service Management is a discipline within IT, which is why the word appears more than once - you may not know that if you don't have experience in the field.

Edited by timbo999 on Saturday 21st January 12:31

rog007

5,759 posts

224 months

Saturday 21st January 2017
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Great news it works for you. My experience tells me not all are as lucky as you, so most do still try to improve their CVs. And I'll politely decline your challenge on this occasion; but thanks for the opportunity!

timbo999

1,293 posts

255 months

Saturday 21st January 2017
quotequote all
rog007 said:
Great news it works for you. My experience tells me not all are as lucky as you, so most do still try to improve their CVs. And I'll politely decline your challenge on this occasion; but thanks for the opportunity!
Thought not! Not sure I'd trust an 'expert' who won't put their money where their mouth is...

Another reason for multiple mentions of certain skills is it improves the 'hit rate' returned by database searches...

rog007

5,759 posts

224 months

Saturday 21st January 2017
quotequote all
Oh dear.


Anyway, back on topic; got yours in the end Z064life. Hope the feedback is of value. Good luck going forward!

klmhcp

247 posts

92 months

Saturday 21st January 2017
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timbo999 said:
rog007 said:
Great news it works for you. My experience tells me not all are as lucky as you, so most do still try to improve their CVs. And I'll politely decline your challenge on this occasion; but thanks for the opportunity!
Thought not! Not sure I'd trust an 'expert' who won't put their money where their mouth is...

Another reason for multiple mentions of certain skills is it improves the 'hit rate' returned by database searches...
You've made yourself look very silly here tim!

timbo999

1,293 posts

255 months

Saturday 21st January 2017
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Apologies! I've obviously having a bad day...

Z064life

Original Poster:

1,926 posts

248 months

Wednesday 25th January 2017
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rog007 said:
Oh dear.


Anyway, back on topic; got yours in the end Z064life. Hope the feedback is of value. Good luck going forward!
Thanks Rog! I will have a think about your offer and get back to you mate, cheers.