CV review, engineering student.

[l354uge]

Hello all,
Has anyone with any experience in HR for an engineering department (or even just time to spare!) got a minute to look through and critique my CV for me?

I've seen the careers advisor and have taken on his feedback but the waiting list for a meeting with him is now 3 weeks!

Comment here and I'll pm you the file, thankyou all.

[mike9009]

I am engineering manager for a small company, so review CVs of engineers if we are recruiting. Generally I will review all CVs.

If you would like me to review and critique then please feel free to drop me a PM. (I know what I look for - so whether it is what the best CV looks like - I don't know??)

Mike

[rog007]

Top offer there. Also happy to cast an eye over.

[jkh112]

I too am a recruiting manager in an engineering firm, always looking for good chartered engineers and engineering graduates Happy to have a look for you.

[PaulG40]

Some really good offers there, I would definitely take them up!

I just finished my CV (well, until I decide to mess with it again) ready for a oil and gas careers fair on Tuesday. I seen lots of CVs from all my friends who have already got jobs and not one was the same format, all were laid out differently. Ours are all Ex RAF ones so maybe written differently though. But there doesn't seem to be a set layout to follow.

I've done an initial profile about me, my experience and systems worded as what they would understand, put in buzz words about adhering to health and safety, COSHH, risk assessments, Quality Assurance etc. Then my key strengths bullet pointed. Career history. Skills gained and technical experience of systems etc. Quals and training.

[PaulG40]

Oh, something I was just thinking about that I'm hoping the experts can advise. Is it best to have your CV electronic version be a word document I.e .doc (and if using a new version of word, a .docx??) Or is it best to have it as a adobe .PDF document so it viewable on more devices like ipads etc?? Or just both?

[h0b0]

Good luck. I am a Chemical engineering graduate (Birmingham 2000) that went into pharmaceutical instrumentation in a company just outside of Manchester. Through several changes in direction of career, ended up being a mid to senior level manager working 20 miles away from New York City. Engineering has its opportunities and you should do what you can to take them.

If you plan on applying for jobs at large companies read up on resume/c.v. scanning software. Your c.v. has to go through an initial round of interrogation where a human is not involved. It will be set to scan for key words/skills. Most of these will be in the job posting so have a c.v. for each position being applied for having tailored your c.v. to answer the question the job posting is asking. In the past, people have "hidden" thousands of key works in their c.v. so that it was guaranteed of passing through to the next round. If you do that today the c.v. is just discarded by the software.

Even if they are not using software scans to filter applicants they will be with HR who will have no knowledge of the position and the skills required. We have tested this by applying for jobs we have posted with resumes of qualified people and seen that they never made it to us because our HR did not understand the termininology.

Make sure the c.v. is targeted at the audience that will be reading it. So, don't be excessively technical or specific. One that catches people up applying for jobs where I work is referring to systems that are only known to their current employer. For example, you could write "Extensive experience in CIT and FSR databases." This is meaningless to anyone outside of company X. But, "Extensive experience with proprietary Lotus Notes databases" would put it in more general terms. Even this may be too specific so can be brought back to "Extensive experience in customer interaction tracking and resource invoicing".

I realize that you are a student at this point but your c.v. should have a large focus on 2 aspects. One, any work experience you have. ANY. I would not hire a student that has not demonstrated work experience. I have however, hired a student that was an intern at the company I work for previously. Second aspect is your final year project. Assuming, like mine, it was a large project that required you to work as part of a team. This is a "job". Treat it like one.

I hate reading resumes (I'm in the US so forgive the term) that feel like effort to read. This applies to both the content and the format. I have contact details in the header and each section is separated by a bold line. That's as fancy as it gets. File type should be specified by the web site you are applying through. Have copies of your c.v. printed off on nice paper. Keep it white with black and possibly blue text.

[blank]

PaulG40 said:

Oh, something I was just thinking about that I'm hoping the experts can advise. Is it best to have your CV electronic version be a word document I.e .doc (and if using a new version of word, a .docx??) Or is it best to have it as a adobe .PDF document so it viewable on more devices like ipads etc?? Or just both?

PDF every time in my opinion. That way it will (nearly) always look the way you intended and it's more difficult to edit.

Whenever anyone sends me an important document as a word file I see it as rather unprofessional. Can't really put my finger on why though! A word document always seems like a 'work in progress' whereas a PDF seems finished.

[l354uge]

Those who have offered to critique you should have mail.
Others who have given advice; thankyou. I'm finding it very hard to stand out while still looking modest/honest and any advice is very welcome and appreciated.

I have an idea of which placement I would like (a testing role at Lubrizol) but I'm not putting all my eggs into one basket, its a very competitive market!

[PaulG40]

l354uge said:

I'm finding it very hard to stand out while still looking modest/honest and any advice is very welcome and appreciated.

I know what you mean about making it stand out. I originally had a load of buzzwords in as a personal statement, like this:
"Determined, confident and self disciplined, I am a self-motivated individual who thrives when given responsibility. I step up to any challenge, bringing intelligence and a logical approach with a design to succeed."

Then thought this was just too much and generally what employers probably see all the time, words with no depth to them, and being in the HM Forces, I hope my target employers who recruit from the forces alot know what we are like without me stating the obvious on a CV and wasting line space so I completely scrapped it and started again but now as a 'profile'

[jkh112]

blank said:

PDF every time in my opinion. That way it will (nearly) always look the way you intended and it's more difficult to edit.

Whenever anyone sends me an important document as a word file I see it as rather unprofessional. Can't really put my finger on why though! A word document always seems like a 'work in progress' whereas a PDF seems finished.

I would also suggest pdf. Too many cvs I see are poorly formatted and although I realise that sometimes this may be due issues caused by different versions of Word, it relies upon me to give the benefit of the doubt if they are to get through to the next stage.

[Chris Hinds]

Middle manager and University engagement lead for a FTSE100 engineering company. Drop me a line and I'll read...

[alock]

l354uge said:

I'm finding it very hard to stand out while still looking modest/honest and any advice is very welcome and appreciated.

I work for a small company and only recruit occasionally so maybe ignore this if applying to big companies who might have a HR department filtering of buzzwords.

What I look for is passion. Write about something you did that you are proud of. Why are you proud of what you achieved? Don't just fill a CV with buzzwords and the latest phrases. I skim over those paragraphs in seconds. I want to know what motivates you.

[l354uge]

alock said:

I work for a small company and only recruit occasionally so maybe ignore this if applying to big companies who might have a HR department filtering of buzzwords.

What I look for is passion. Write about something you did that you are proud of. Why are you proud of what you achieved? Don't just fill a CV with buzzwords and the latest phrases. I skim over those paragraphs in seconds. I want to know what motivates you.

This is a balance im trying to find. Some of my coursemates just found a list of wanted buzzword on google and shoehorned them where-ever they can, I'm editing and re-editing in an attempt to convey my passion thoroughly while still getting through the filters...

[l354uge]

I have taken on your feedback and have made adjustments accordingly.
Can I have an opinion on my re-written personal profile please?
To save time I'll just post it here:

A 2nd year Automotive Engineering undergraduate. An excellent problem solver who has developed excellent communication, problem solving and management skills while in study.
An highly motivated, creative and punctual individual with a huge passion for engineering, seeking a 12 month, hands on, testing and development placement within the automotive sector.

[mike9009]

Too much excellent problem solving - not enough other buzzwords. Enhancing teamwork, enabling others, communication skills, keenness, self motivated, working on own initiative..........

Have a quick google search for some - but don't make it too cheesy/ clumsy - keeping the genuine, humble side is worth its weight......

[l354uge]

Ah bloody 'ell, this is why I get stuff proof-read

Edit #3
A 2nd year Automotive Engineering undergraduate. An excellent problem solver who has developed excellent communication, teamwork and management skills while in study and work.
An self-motivated, creative and punctual individual with a huge passion for engineering and automobiles, seeking a 12 month, hands on, testing and development placement within the automotive sector.

[PHuzzy]

l354uge said:

I have taken on your feedback and have made adjustments accordingly.
Can I have an opinion on my re-written personal profile please?
To save time I'll just post it here:

A 2nd year Automotive Engineering undergraduate. An excellent problem solver who has developed excellent communication, problem solving and management skills while in study.
An highly motivated, creative and punctual individual with a huge passion for engineering, seeking a 12 month, hands on, testing and development placement within the automotive sector.

My bold, not being a pedant but having any sort of spelling/grammar mistake on a CV may get it thrown away straight away.

[blank]

Are you looking for a placement for a university sandwich year?

Odd time of year if so! You're either way too late or a bit too early.

[l354uge]

PHuzzy said:

My bold, not being a pedant but having any sort of spelling/grammar mistake on a CV may get it thrown away straight away.

Should be 'A' instead im guessing?
I'll go adjust it thankyou.

Blank: I am a little early, but my coursework hasn't really started yet so I'm utilising my free time to getting my CV sorted now rather than rush it later.