[unar]

Just wondering if anybody have tried a professional CV service. Are they worth the money? I might be applying for my first "real" job in NZ, never really had a proper CV before. Another difficulty is I might be changing fields as well, therefore have to do all that transferable skills thing which I am not feeling very comfortable about.

Thanks for all our help again!

[Duncan74]

A lot depends on the person, but I'd generally say no, there is plenty of good advice out there for free (books, t'interweb), but mostly from people you know. I've seen plenty of shocking CVs though. But here's a few thoughts from a person in a non arty profession (I imagine that creative sorts would require a different 'style').

1) Keep it short. 2 pages max. You can elaborate in general at the interview, and you;ll be sending a specific tailored 1 page covering letter with the CV which lets you add a paragraph on 2 specific items in the CV. If it's 4 pages long it won't even get read.
2) Don't just list every bit of office or professional software that you've heard of / seen. What I want to see is the key skills, if they are in a list of 20 other out of date / generic skills I'll not actually notice that you have what I want, or I assume that you have only used each of them once as no-one can be highly proficient in everything.
3) Kep formatting very clean. Go easy on the bold and underlining. Generally no italics. Times New Roman, Verdana or Arial font.
4) I know it's a CV. Don't waste the top inch with the incorrect spelling of 'Criculun Vitie" . If it's got your name, quals, experience then credit me with the inteligence to know it's a CV.
5) Experience. Don't care about your summer holiday job cleaning tables during uni. Just start with your first 'proper' job, and tell me what you did, not what the company does.
6) Everyone reads, likes socialising and playing badminton. There have been relatively few people I've decided not to interview when they had all the right skills / experience but turned o0ut not to play badminton, a sport which is synonomous with being a sport played soleoy for the purposes of being added to a CV as it implies that you aren't a couch and yet equally are unlikely to be too competitive or be off work with an injury sustained during a fight whilst playing sport.

[Syed]

Thanks Duncan74

[IanW99]

A lot depends on the person, but I'd generally say no, there is plenty of good advice out there for free (books, t'interweb), but mostly from people you know. I've seen plenty of shocking CVs though. But here's a few thoughts from a person in a non arty profession (I imagine that creative sorts would require a different 'style').
...


Just to be clear, you are offering advice based on your UK experience, or NZ experience of what employers are looking for in CVs?

Ian

[Duncan74]

Very definately a UK view.

(although I followed the above for mine and certainly got no comments regarding any deficiencies from either of the companies that it was sent to).

But I would again stress that this is also likely to be sector specific in some ways. However, I still can't see that there isn't going to be simmilar advice available for other sectors, and having seen some of the tosh that comes from these CV services then in the wider context, I still think that taking the time to produce your own CV is a better investment than paying a company to do it for almost everyone.

[Ngeru]

I think it's better and more effective to have a well targeted CV, tailor made for the job you are applying for, rather than firing off a generic CV to all and sundry. The personal touch is a better way to go, especially using language that you are comfortable with, rather than someone else's words.

Having seen some of the CVs written by recruitment agents, sometimes it's hard to recognise yourself as that person. :laugh

Always look for the keywords in adverisements and think of the skills required for that position and match these with examples from your own work or study experiences. You should also allude to similar key points in your covering letter, stating how well matched you are to that specific job.

If you are going to do a basic CV to start with, look at some adverts for the types of jobs you would go for and write your CV accordingly. You can always tweak and embellish it here and there to suit other advertisement.

There are heaps of templates and stuff on the internet, which you could copy and edit to suit.

[GreenMeansGo]

My husband, who has been talking with a few NZ recruiters, was told by one that he could stand to lengthen his CV. His was a typical American 2 page resume.

He was only told this after he specifically asked-- apparently it wasn't so out of line that the recruiters thought it was a problem previously... but then again, he has not gotten a job offer yet- we'll see if the new and improved version brings in more interest. :yes

[BkyMonster]

I wrote OH's CV and there were no problems getting interviews with that (LTSSL job), but mine (not LTSSL) which is very customized for each job with the same overall format (not as OH's, just same layout with information tailored to the position) has gotten very little interest so I'm obviously doing something wrong. I really think it depends on the type of job on how closely they are willing to look at it and how much leeway you are given in deviation from 'standard'. Since I'm not as much in demand I think they see my latest experience was overseas and toss it in the bin.

[Janey]

NZ cv's are typically a lot longer than 2 pages I also was told to expand in detail mine, many include a photo of the applicant when I first starting recruiting over here I found this hard, also they include the applicants ambitions etc at the beginning and a lot more on skills and lessons learnt as I am now returning to the uk needless to say I have had to cut mine in half again!:laugh

[eassae]

I was told many times that my CV was very American. One page short and sweet. Most recruiters recommended 4 pages minimum.

When I first arrived, I had a hard time caring at all about my resume because in my last environment if someone asked me for a cv it was kind of a polite brush off. Eventually I caved and followed recruiters advice and didn't get any jobs either. I was offered a job last week but that is mostly because I know the person. I am qualified for the position, but still.

OH got her job with her one page American CV.

So basically all advice is null advice.

[eassae]

On a side note about tailoring your cv. I applied to a ultra hip company last week. My resume consisted of a link to my portfolio and a picture of me sitting naked in a chair with a glass of Cognac, petting a fake dog missing half his face, with a strategically placed fig leaf.

I will let you know how that works out.

[RJLink]

You can be advised to do any number of different things with your CV. That's because different people want to see (and don't want to see) certain things when they're trying to decide who to hire. In the end it probably doesn't matter as much as we think it does. No excellent candidate is going to get dismissed out of hand because his or her CV was 1 page instead of 4, or vice versa. Keep the bottom line in mind: you're trying to get the employer interested in interviewing you, by whatever means possible. If you don't trust yourself not to shoot yourself in the foot, by all means hire someone to help write your CV for you.

[unar]

Thanks for all of your advices. I have been reading about cv writing from content to fonts. All very confusing really, everybody prefers different things. I just did what I thought is good instead. I prepared three general cvs, and will customize it when I actually apply for something.

I am a research scientist with a PhD. All my other jobs were also found through direct emailing etc. CV was never a big part of the job application, well except the publication list. After moving to wellington, I am hoping to stay in research, but also thinking about maybe science policy and outreach. So I did a technical CV, an analyst and a public engagement CV with transferrable skills etc. I will sent them to policy/analyst friends of mine to see if they are appropriate. I found it so hard to talk about myself, and finding solid examples of my skills. Science is much easier. :)