CV advice.

Thanks Rod. I got your email, however, there's no cv with it perhaps you forgot to attach it?

 

Ho-ho! That old trick.


Ahem, second try...

 

Thanks Rod! That's great!

I wonder if I could get away with just changing the name and passing it off as my own

I've not got a fraction of your experience or qualifications, so I guess I'll have to try and beef up the Profile and Interests parts.

Also, I see you've mentioned a clean driving license. I've only a provisional (need to get back to earning before I can afford to continue lessons), and am unsure if I should even mention that?

Thanks again

 

That's because I'm an old git.

In earlier years I used to list all qualifications and courses I had done, but as you can see, where I am now, I only listed what was important for the job I was going for. As I never attended college / uni, after a while, school exam results became pretty meaningless. I'm sure this will be more relevant for you though.

It's probably more how you describe your experience. Did you ever supervise a junior member of staff / are you a good team player, but able to work unsupervised / able to work away from base at short notice / work overtime or weekends / whatever, to suit your situation. Don't say you will be willing to do something that you have no intention of ever doing, unless you're only after a short-term position...

Others may have a better idea, but you could point out that you have a provisional, and if successful in landing the job, you will then aim for getting a full license. To show that you are willing to do things to improve your employability will surely help.

With regard to the CAD job not being your ideal choice. Remember, it is almost always easier to get another job while you are actively holding down a job. It's more experience and you will also be building up some cash reserves - unless you blow it all on <women / drink / music / hi-fi / other> If the ideal job turns up, you just have to sort out how to leave without burning your bridges. Mind you, trying to organise interviews without being sussed could prove interesting.

Did I say, Good Luck!

 

Generally speaking different employers look for different things in a CV, as do the managers reading your CV. For example, I do not care if you like long walks on a beach or you like reading books or spending time with your family. Each CV should relate to the specific vacancy.

Think of a CV as a sales brochure and talk about the benefits which you can bring ie reduced costs by X% etc. Match as many of the bullet points against the job/person spec.

If you wish to lie or oversell a skill, make sure you can back it up with something. I remember interviewing an engineer a few years ago, everything was going very well and we were all very happy with this man until the point he made a reference to visiting France a lot and being a very fluent French speaker. Language skills were irrelevant to the job but one of the panel could speak French and asked a question in French, yes, you guessed it, he could not speak French. He went from favourite to least preferred in seconds.

The CV is useful for gaining an interview only, it will not get you a job, so it needs to be balanced against your interview skills

 

Very true, the trick with interviews is apparantly to tell them what they want to hear but not sound rehersed so make out that you are giving the question a good thought (but not too hard, don't make it look like you're thick!) and then answer the question.

If you answer too quick they will know its just a fake answer.

 

Same here. Do I emphasise my years in the SAS, or my Nobel Peace Prize? Should I mention in passing my invention of a time machine, or might that sound a tad geeky?

 

"Working both individually and as part of a team, tight deadlines had to be met whilst ensuring and maintaining excellent standards of quality. Often extra responsibilities were given, such as organizing and setting up of both human and "?the stuff itself?" rescources as well as completing paperwork for the orders."

Can't think of the term I'm after.....

 

'physical'?