How can I improve my CV?
I’ve just made a new CV and would like opinions on if it’s acceptable and what I can improve. The layout of my CV is in two columns and in my opinion it’s structured well, however I can’t copy and paste it like it is on paper. For example my Personal Details are on the left hand side, then the address on the right hand side. School Education on the left hand side then College Education on the right hand side (I hope you understand if not then oh well it isn’t the presentation I need advice with)
[NAME]
PERSONAL
Date of Birth: 28/11/1990
Telephone: -
Mob Phone: -
Email: -
ADDRESS (This is on the right hand side of the personal information column.)
EDUCATION
Baverstock Sports College:
(GCSE – 2002-2007)
EnglishC
MathsD
Science Double AwardD
Business StudiesC
Business & Comm. StudiesA
Applied ICT Double AwardC
Media StudiesD
Baverstock Sixth Form College: (This part is now on the right hand side of the school education column)
(AS Level – 2007-2008)
Business StudiesD
ICTE
General StudiesE
Other:
Environmental Studies NVQ Level 2
Entry Level 3 Physical Education
Sports Leaders UK Level 1 Award
Royal Marines Advanced Circuit Course
WORK EXPERIENCE
Neighbourhood Assistant Birmingham City Council
(November 2009 – May 2010)
Worked as part of team and was involved in several projects including “Keep Britain Tidy” and “Street Pride” which involved communicating with the general public, gathering input and making positive changes in priority neighbourhoods.
Other day to day tasks include litter picking, waste disposal, painting, graffiti removal and general gardening tasks such as cutting trees and hedges, pruning and planting.
Work Experience Cunningham’s EPOS SOLUTIONS
(September 2007)
During this time I experienced the programming side to making a Cash Till and the more manual side such as putting together plugs and other electronic equipment.
SKILLS
•Computing: Fast & efficient typist, extensive knowledge in Microsoft packages Word, Excel & Access. Confident Internet & Email user. Basic understanding of HTML.
•Dare to Know: Thrive of being in new places and picking up new skills.
•Teamwork: Enjoy working as part of a team assisting others to complete tasks efficiently.
•Independence: Reliable and confident to make decisions on own instinct.
•Communication: Confident, fluent speaker when dealing with phone calls and face to face interaction with colleagues and the public.
•Organised: Pride myself in keeping everything tidy and stress free from the wardrobe to my files. Deal with a lot of audio files producing music, keeping them arranged is essential.
INTERESTS
Music: Extremely passionate about music of all genres and also the artist behind the music and their history. I produce my own music using the computer using mainly the programs FL Studio & Sony ACID and have recently started to release material online.
Creative Writing: Enjoy writing lyrics and a short story occasionally when I have influence.
The Internet: Regularly use the internet for research, entertainment and social networking interacting with people who leave feedback on my music. I’m a member of several online communities and forums
Computer Gaming: Enjoy games with a deep story or games with active online communities.
Food: Like to go out to eat, appreciating the food and flavours of other cultures and learning to cook new meals.
Travel: New environments bring out the best in me and I thrive being somewhere new with someone new. I hope to travel much more in the coming future.
Clearly i’m not the brightest bunny ever and I should have more variety in work experience now i’m 20 but what do you think of my CV? My lack of work experience gives the appearance i’m lazy as i’ve not had a job in over 6 months but i’ve been working very hard on my music and it’s quality. I need a new job for income to support myself and my music. Any feedback is much appreciated, thankyou 
I find it rather engaging. Definitely the work of a 20 year old, and I like its energy and freshness which comes over well.
I bow to Seven as a recruiter, because I only do so from time to time (been doing it over 20 years mind!).
Dare to Know is new to me, but I totally get it. I agree that the Interests aren’t very relevant unless for the vacancy you are applying, so definitely at the end.
Otherwise, no fancy paper, photos or silly fonts (I like Verdana), keep it to no more than 2 pages.
Good luck!
If you were looking to employ someone what is the first thing YOU would want to know?
when you are competing with lots of other Candidates what will make you stand out – Your C.V. is a tool to get you in front of the company and that is what we have to do,when I read about you I can see your passion for music I am not convinced you want a job,if you really want to earn money convince me!!!!! so:-
Name and contact details
No date of birth ( your experience will date you)
Introduction- look at the job role advertised decide on the type of person they want then highlight your relevant qualities in this intro
i.e. Health Club Ast Manager required, must be qualified and have excellent people skills,, experience not essential as training will be given
Your intro would be
An experienced Fitness Instructor who is looking for a position where customer service is appreciated, where the ability to learn new tasks is expected to maintain a professional image and hard work produces results
You need to complete in you own words but write this intro in the third person as ”I did this and I can do that” sounds a bit like bragging and not appealing. So think about your skills and qualities and list in an interesting way as if a friend was telling somebody about you,listing skills in bullet point fashion does not sound as good
The intro gets the attention so now tell them your work experience I would be thinking at this point that I like the sound of you but can you do the work:- so
Nov 2006 to Now Company X Job Title
List responsibilities
Achievements List 1 thing you did well do not waffle
Oct 2005 to Nov 2006 Company Y Job Title
Responsibilities List what you did
Achievements List 1 thing you did that you are proud of keep it simple do not waffle
At this point an employer has made decision to put you on the KEEP pile or in the bin
so the next bits are for reference or to support what has gone before
Education List last school and Quals achieved
Further Education List quals achieved do not bother with college unless it is well known i.e. Oxford
Interests list no more than 3 do not explain i.e. Reading- Keep fit -Music ( this is something to be talked about at interview , if the interviewer mentions they went to a concert last night then you can bring up your interest in music and your personality will come out , on paper it never does
the max number of pages is 2- no Photos not fancy font no colours, text size readable not too large or small and ask some one to critique it when it is finished and ask them to be brutally honest –
YOU WANT THIS TOOL to GET YOU A JOB WILL IT?????!!!!!
References Available on request ( if you get the job that’s the time the company will need this)
I’d take off your date of birth. Most companies will not look at a CV if they see a date of birth or age stated on it, as they can be accused of age discrimination.
Move your education to the end of your CV. Skills and experience are often more important than qualifications in the first instance and as a recruiter I would go and look for them if the CV caught my attention. Personally I would not include any qualifications where you received less than a C or a pass.
The first thing after your contact details should be your skills summary. This needs to be adjusted to suit each individual job you are going for to match what they are looking for. After that needs to be your employment history. Put the things you have done in each role in bullet points as this is easier to read for the recruiter.
I would not include interests at all unless they are more than personal interests. As a recruiter I would be interested to see if someone was undertaking voluntary work or charity work etc but if they said they liked walking the dog and going to the movies, that means nothing to me unless it specifically helps towards me understanding if the person might fit the role / company.
If the the role needs you to show a particular passion i.e food if you were going to apply for Waitrose, then you can place that in your covering letter.
Good luck.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrGZMCHkbcM
Good luck….
This needs to be adjusted to suit each individual job you are going for to match what they are looking for. After that needs to be your employment history. Put the things you have done in each role in bullet points as this is easier to read for the recruiter.