[pinkpiggy]

I'm sure I read somewhere on the forum (I've done a search but can't find it) that New Zealand employers like CV 's in a different format to the UK. :confused:

Can anybody confirm whether this is so and if it is in what way does it differ?

We're going to the Expo in London in October and are thinking of taking a copy (well several copies) of Sam's (BaldyBeardyBloke's) CV and thought it would look better if we had them in the correct format to show that we're ahead of the game.

Any help on this subject would be appreciated. Thanks.

[neilw71]

Nothing too different except the length - UK was always 2 or 3 pages max - NZ they look for 4 to 5 pages. The detail needs to be added to your job roles - go into depth around the roles and what experience you had in them. They are not designed to be an introduction for further discussion at interview - get all the detail in there :)

Refferees are also important - think carefully, as they WILL check them out and need to talk with them most times before an offer is confirmed.

That is my experience in the private sector here anyway - public may differ?

Neil

[Singel]

Here is the thread : http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=544&highlight=NZ+format
:cheers

[Singel]

We use NZ format from this recruitment agency : go to "Career Seekers" and scroll down to "Tips for Success", http://www.frogrecruitment.co.nz/

Good Luck :nice1

[Howie]

I ran into problems with this one. In North America they say one page. I got really cheeky and went to two. When I was in the interview they actually turned over the last page looking for the rest. I still got the job, though.

This may also be dependent somewhat on the industry you work in. I would say that the number of pages should be inversely proportional to the likely number of applicants. Since there aren't very many people in this country, I guess you can never really have that many applicants. The one page thing is designed for a job where hundreds of resumes will have to be sorted. However, the company where I ultimately got the job probably only gets a half dozen resumes in a year.

Chris

[marcia]

Another tip is do a load of passport size photos on your computer and attach them to the CV, good especially if you are speaking to people face to face on the day - will help them remember who you are!

[sidcarter]

NZ folks prefer the longer CV. I didn't know about this. So, I took two versions - 2 page version and 6 page version. They chose the 6 page version :)

[pinkpiggy]

Another tip is do a load of passport size photos on your computer and attach them to the CV, good especially if you are speaking to people face to face on the day - will help them remember who you are!
Marcia, what an excellent idea. Will definitely have to do this. :nice1

Thanks to everyone for all their comments. tips and links. They'll come in very handy. :cool:

[johnandbethcox]

I'm an IT consultant, so I've jumped from project to project several times.

I've been using a two-page version with a 5-6 page 'addendum'. The short version has all of the education, certifications, dates, etc. associated with a normal US CV, and the 'addendum' has detailed project descriptions for each of the positions. I also have my references in soft copy, so I send the full package when answering a query.

[k-k]

Hi Pinkpiggy,

OH is in IT and on the recommendation of one of the IT recruitment agencies in Wellington he extended his original CV by quite a bit. He was told that a CV should be 6-7 pages long with the greatest detail relating to the last 3 years employment.
The basic layout (according to this agency):
Name, address contact details etc.
Summary
Technical Summary (for IT specialists in development or infrastructure)
Employment history including details of the company (staff numbers, what the company does etc), remembering that NZ companies may not be familiar with UK companies. Paint a picture for the reader so that they understand the scale, depth and range of work you have done. Plus all the usual stuff, responsibilities, projects worked on, technologies used, major achievements.
Education and Qualifications
Training Courses attended
Professional Memberships
Hobbies and Interests.

Mind you having said all that, I do think the IT industry is pretty picky, they seem to like full details of all the technical stuff. I'm a pharmacist and all I did was pad out my UK CV with a few more details, I think it just depends on the type of job you will be looking for.

As was said previously, try and make your CV stand out. Agencies at the Expos will get loads handed in, so you want to make sure your CV stays near the top of the pile.

Regards
K-K

[Smiler]

OH used a Gantt chart as part of a summary when organising his CV and found it worked really well on the first page. It stood out, especially when in a pile of others.

I re-jigged a CV for a friend who is a graphic artist and (while it doesn't really apply to IT but goes along with what Marcia is saying) she drew a line drawing of herself and popped that under her personal details. It worked!

[tigerlily]

excellent thread all! Thanks for this advice!

[Croft]

Another tip is do a load of passport size photos on your computer and attach them to the CV, good especially if you are speaking to people face to face on the day - will help them remember who you are!

I was once involved in a selection process, pruning some of the CVs. The manager involved threw into the bin any CVs that had a photo attached. His reasoning was that appearance didn't matter, and that anyone attaching a photo was relying on their photogenic qualities.

I've none others throw away CVs because of coloured paper, not using good quality paper etc. They have to prune sometimes so often very subjective criteria can end up being used until they get down to a managable number.

[able]

I don't think this manager was giving his co. the best chance of finding the best people. :laugh

[Stephen Jones]

Does anyone know of a good place to find examples of the NZ-style C.V. layout?


Steve

[KerryS]

You could try one of these places:

http://www.seek.co.nz/career-resources/

http://jobstuff.co.nz/49ef6f94615000a1/advice_article.html?code=CVLE&%20Google=CVResumes

Or try Googling for more examples?

[spitz2]

Great Thread. Never knew NZ resume should be 5-6 pages long. in U.S., it should be only 2-3 pages max. Thanks for the tips!

[browner_]

They certainly do prefer a different format CV here to the UK - I can vouch for that - I rewrote mine about 48 times on the advice of various agencies before I more of less got it right.

Some of the advice you get is conflicting admittedly, but I now get employers and agents praising my CV and offering me jobs, whereas before all I got was "your CV is not up to scratch".

- Make the CV as long as it needs to be, dont force it onto 2 pages like in the UK.

- Summarise your employment history in reverse chronology, under the headings employers name, details of employer, period employed for, job title, who reported to, summary of responsibilities, and key achievements.

- have a brief skills and personal details summary at the front, and there you go.

[browner_]

I was once involved in a selection process, pruning some of the CVs. The manager involved threw into the bin any CVs that had a photo attached. His reasoning was that appearance didn't matter, and that anyone attaching a photo was relying on their photogenic qualities.

I've none others throw away CVs because of coloured paper, not using good quality paper etc. They have to prune sometimes so often very subjective criteria can end up being used until they get down to a managable number.

Absolutely. NEVER put your photo on your CV. Also, dont put your age on either unless you think its giving you an advantage.

[marcia]

I wouldn't advise putting a photo on a CV you are sending by post - but if you are going to an expo or something similar and chatting to potential employers, and handing the Cv out personally - its a handy tool for them to remember who they were talking to!!

[thepiesleys]

Hiyall

I have taken on board all of the precious info from this thread and followed the given links - all useful to a degree- but- i am still not confident about what i should be putting on, or how i should be writing my NZ cv for a teaching position

I have only been teaching English at secondary level for 2 full years and 2 years part time at the same school i did my NQT at ( previously one year teaching in FE (college) and so my cv could look pretty crap on the experience front.

Should i flesh ot these 2 positions to the required 4/5 pages ( easily done as i did get a promotion to HoY and have recived a lot of in house traing cos school worked at is a licensed training school) or be a bit cheeky and include the 4/5 schools i very briefly worked in during my PGCE (placements) to make me look more 'experienced'?

I know i have seen posts from secondary teachers who have secured a job in
NZ and are waiting to be off or alredy insitu (can't find 'em) any advice from these learned people would be greatly appreciated. (yes i am creeping a bit - don't care!) and can u really get a job offer without being obsevred teaching? stiill can't get my head round that... anyway ...

bye for now

Sue Piesley