CV help, a bit of a strange one
Discussion
Hi,
I need some help for my Son in Law writing his CV. He has just finished his Masters doing something Media related, I am not totally sure and ideally this is the path he wants to go down but right now appreciates he just needs to get a job paying money.
He is married (obviously to my daughter) and they have 2 primary school aged kids and he is 25 and apart from having a brief zero hours job a few years ago working the front counter & phones at a pizza place, has not had a job which is very unusual at his age.
Apart from being at Uni has mainly been the stay at home parent with the kids (who both are SEN so can try the patience of a saint) as my daughter went to Uni also and is now working within the NHS.
the problem is we are trying to write a CV for him and struggling to really put anything meaningful on it. He is fabulous with the kids but employers do not recognise the skills someone has in parenting kids, let alone SEN children.
Anyone have any suggestions on how to approach this?
I need some help for my Son in Law writing his CV. He has just finished his Masters doing something Media related, I am not totally sure and ideally this is the path he wants to go down but right now appreciates he just needs to get a job paying money.
He is married (obviously to my daughter) and they have 2 primary school aged kids and he is 25 and apart from having a brief zero hours job a few years ago working the front counter & phones at a pizza place, has not had a job which is very unusual at his age.
Apart from being at Uni has mainly been the stay at home parent with the kids (who both are SEN so can try the patience of a saint) as my daughter went to Uni also and is now working within the NHS.
the problem is we are trying to write a CV for him and struggling to really put anything meaningful on it. He is fabulous with the kids but employers do not recognise the skills someone has in parenting kids, let alone SEN children.
Anyone have any suggestions on how to approach this?
Edited by solo2 on Tuesday 30th September 17:49
Thanks Countdown.
Hi OP,
It shouldn’t be too difficult once he’s clear on the types of roles he can realistically pursue and enjoy. That step alone, however, often requires more guidance than putting together a CV. Once the target roles are identified, creating a CV that gets through shortlisting is very achievable.
Hi OP,
It shouldn’t be too difficult once he’s clear on the types of roles he can realistically pursue and enjoy. That step alone, however, often requires more guidance than putting together a CV. Once the target roles are identified, creating a CV that gets through shortlisting is very achievable.
I’d recommend just being honest. He went to uni. Took on casual work to make ends meet. Put his children first to enable them to get a good start in school and now is ready to put his more formal skills to good use. He sounds throughly decent and if an employer can’t recognise that, the company is not a good fit for him.
CraigyMc said:
cliffords said:
CraigyMc said:
I don't understand why you're writing a CV for him.
OP trying to help a family member. Does that help you with the understanding?
Anyway OP, sounds like your son in law has a good academic record so he can focus on that. In Europe 25 with no work experience would be absolutely normal for many people.
DM if you like with the CV, happy to take a look. I worked as a headhunter for 20 years.
Gargamel said:
CraigyMc said:
cliffords said:
CraigyMc said:
I don't understand why you're writing a CV for him.
OP trying to help a family member. Does that help you with the understanding?
Anyway OP, sounds like your son in law has a good academic record so he can focus on that. In Europe 25 with no work experience would be absolutely normal for many people.
DM if you like with the CV, happy to take a look. I worked as a headhunter for 20 years.
Has son in law actually even tried writing a CV?
solo2 said:
He has just finished his Masters doing something Media related
'Media' is a very broad Mosque. Do you know what specific field he is interested in? Media is the pond I paddle so knowing what he's looking at may help to focus the approach.One thing to keep in mind is that for many aspects of media 'projects' can sometimes be more useful to employers than 'employment'. So for example, if film is his thing, it's highly likely that as part of his learning, he will have made some films... so list these along with a short statement that describes the approach to each.
Media is also usually visual so he should make sure examples of his work are accessible somewhere; a showreel, portfolio, tear-sheets, etc.
HTH
CraigyMc said:
The advice is clearly to get through chap to write his own CV. I interview people frequently. How the son in law is supposed to actually perform in a role if at the first step op's helicopter step parenting this for him I don't know.
Has son in law actually even tried writing a CV?
Well maybe write that instead of all the passive aggressive cap. Has son in law actually even tried writing a CV?
CraigyMc said:
Has son in law actually even tried writing a CV?
Given that he's managed to achieve a Masters whilst raising two children with special needs all before he's reached 25, my guess is not.To me, the fact that he's achieved those things demonstrates far more commitment and mettle and character than could ever be conveyed on a few pages of A4. But fact is, he needs one. My Mum and Dad helped me write my first CV - as I suspect most Mum and Dads do. No different here - just that the lad is starting a little later than most.
I don't really understand your beef on this.
Simon_GH said:
I d recommend just being honest. He went to uni. Took on casual work to make ends meet. Put his children first to enable them to get a good start in school and now is ready to put his more formal skills to good use. He sounds throughly decent and if an employer can t recognise that, the company is not a good fit for him.
Our worry is that given he is 25 he would start on minimum wage and he would be more expensive than an 18year old with about the same experience so less likely to be offered a jobsolo2 said:
Simon_GH said:
I d recommend just being honest. He went to uni. Took on casual work to make ends meet. Put his children first to enable them to get a good start in school and now is ready to put his more formal skills to good use. He sounds throughly decent and if an employer can t recognise that, the company is not a good fit for him.
Our worry is that given he is 25 he would start on minimum wage and he would be more expensive than an 18year old with about the same experience so less likely to be offered a jobStevieBee said:
solo2 said:
Simon_GH said:
I d recommend just being honest. He went to uni. Took on casual work to make ends meet. Put his children first to enable them to get a good start in school and now is ready to put his more formal skills to good use. He sounds throughly decent and if an employer can t recognise that, the company is not a good fit for him.
Our worry is that given he is 25 he would start on minimum wage and he would be more expensive than an 18year old with about the same experience so less likely to be offered a jobThe problem at the moment is we do not foresee him being able to do anything media related as he needs to get a Monday-Friday, 9-5 type job due to the kids. My daughter works 12.5 hour shifts mixed as day and night shifts so she can not be guaranteed to do school drop off and collection. He needs to be able to do this and not travelling around the country working on projects. Well not until the kids reach an age where they can be left to look after themselves but that is pretty much ten years to go/18+ years old if you assume a child (adult by then) to sleeping in the house at night without a parent present.
What was the point in him doing a masters in a subject he is not even going to try and get a job in?
People on his course should be getting jobs, or already be in them. Has he not been networking?
He basically needs to get his foot in the door, take an intern job etc. Depending on what "media" he has studied he needs to offer his services and then that can go on his CV, even if its only for a few months.
The fact he is coming to you to ask for help with his CV makes me wonder what he has been doing the last few years....
People on his course should be getting jobs, or already be in them. Has he not been networking?
He basically needs to get his foot in the door, take an intern job etc. Depending on what "media" he has studied he needs to offer his services and then that can go on his CV, even if its only for a few months.
The fact he is coming to you to ask for help with his CV makes me wonder what he has been doing the last few years....
Ah I have just seen its sound / production.
He needs to write to lots of production companies, the smaller the better, and offer to be a runner / sound assistants assistant.
Forget a 9-5 though. I have worked in TV and Film on the production side and you have to be on set or location when the call sheet says.
For almost all work, studio, OB, location etc its going to be very mixed hours. I worked on jobs at places like Space, Black Island, Pie Factory, so mostly sound stages and they are 24/7 places. That said once he is on the tools so to speak there are limits to working hours that the industry imposes. Its paid quite well too.
There are companies that offer ad hoc jobs who are usually based out of these big sites. I know Space has one. You could try contacting them - but you would of course need to live near one I dont know where you are. Again it would just be for lines on his CV but it would be better than nothing.
Its quite a small niche industry and you can easily get work if you build a reputation and network but a 9-5 its not. Even if he went down the post production route I think it would be long hours.
He needs to write to lots of production companies, the smaller the better, and offer to be a runner / sound assistants assistant.
Forget a 9-5 though. I have worked in TV and Film on the production side and you have to be on set or location when the call sheet says.
For almost all work, studio, OB, location etc its going to be very mixed hours. I worked on jobs at places like Space, Black Island, Pie Factory, so mostly sound stages and they are 24/7 places. That said once he is on the tools so to speak there are limits to working hours that the industry imposes. Its paid quite well too.
There are companies that offer ad hoc jobs who are usually based out of these big sites. I know Space has one. You could try contacting them - but you would of course need to live near one I dont know where you are. Again it would just be for lines on his CV but it would be better than nothing.
Its quite a small niche industry and you can easily get work if you build a reputation and network but a 9-5 its not. Even if he went down the post production route I think it would be long hours.
Sound for film/TV is what I do, and doing a Masters (in anything) is just about the worst way to try and get in to it. With no experience he’ll have to start as a trainee, and the industry is in a slump at the moment, so opportunities are few and far between for anyone, let alone new starters. It’s probably not a job for a parent of two young kids either, you work long days and often 6 day weeks. I suggest he focusses his efforts elsewhere.
Gassing Station | Jobs & Employment Matters | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff