Chapter 3: This is me continued

As mentioned in my previous blog http://hollievictoriasmith.blogspot.com/2012/02/chapter-3-this-is-me-continued.html I thought it would be beneficial to ask a friend of mine that works in recruitment a few questions about CV's.  I wanted to share this with you as I think her answers are really good to know.

1.       Please briefly describe your role and how you use incoming CV’s within your workplace.
I work in recruitment and receive numerous CVs each day. CV’s are screened and sent to the clients if they match their needs. CVs are also used for lead generation, for example, a reference on a CV gives direct access to a potential hiring manager.

2.       What makes a CV instantly stand out so you continue to read?
·         Well presented – borders, nice fonts, etc.
·         Simple with bullet points
·         Impressive achievements listed in the personal statement.

3.       What makes you instantly discard a CV?
·         Too wordy, long paragraphs instead of bullet points
·         Too long – CVs should generally be kept to two pages or less to maintain the recruiter’s interest
·         Too egotistical
·         Spelling and grammatical errors

4.       Should you always include all your experience even if you do not feel it is relevant to the job you are applying for (if left out it may lead to career gaps on CV)?
No, if it is irrelevant do not include it but add a short section under employment titled ‘other employment’ with a short explanatory sentence stating that details are available on request.

5.       If you are following multiple career paths should you keep these CV’s separate?
Yes. You should tailor your CV to each individual role you apply for, picking out only relevant skills and experience in each case.

6.       If you practised the same skills in different jobs should you repeat them or not?
It is better where possible to avoid repetition, you can summarise these skills in your personal statement if relevant. If it makes sense to repeat the skills, emphasise how they were used in different contexts.

7.       Do your clients search potential employees within social networking platforms eg. Facebook, twitter, blogs?
Yes, almost everyone in the workplace uses social media in some form and a Facebook/Twitter page can give insight into the interests of a potential employee.

8.       Do your clients often ask for hard copy CV’s or is it all done online?
It is all done over email.

9.       Are your clients starting to use video CV’s at all?
No, although I would forward on to the client if I received one and the candidate seemed like a good match for the role.

10.   Do you have any brief tips/biggest mistakes to share?
·         Check the CV thoroughly for mistakes. Spelling errors demonstrate a lack of attention to detail.
·         Keep it short, simple and to the point – recruiters will not take the time to read a wordy, four-page CV properly if there are 60 other CVs to sift through for the same role.
·         Ensure the key information stands out, for example, put job titles in bold font.
·         Add a short personal statement, highlighting your key skills/qualifications/experience at the top, but don’t make it too long – it should be no more than about five lines.
·         Put your most recent position at the top and work backwards in time down the CV.
·         If you have been promoted within a company, put your most recent position and add a sentence underneath indicating what position you started in and the date you were promoted.
·         State that references are available on request instead of giving employer contact details.


I have developed my practice in this area by looking at my original documents and applying what I have learnt from my research to enhance my CV, the key to the dream job.

I have looked at performing CV and developed it to include my spotlight number and a skills section.  From looking at other performing CV's I can see that I am not doing enough to advertise myself and my work.  Many people have links to show reels or voice recordings and this is something I do not have.  My phobia of technologies and little understanding of its tools could be holding me back from getting seen by the right person.  With so many people applying for each and every job I can understand why having the tools to share my work will enhance my practice and be desirable to potential employers.  Luke Bohanna mentioned on his blog that he gained a job by sending a show reel and this shows the power of this tool.  I am therefore in the process of making a show reel of my work.  I also hope to create my own website and provide links to these new tools on my CV.  This is my new and improved CV:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lWQmW2F_7ULmAg3zx6BsznoYEytw9G4UDqlwS7IWE3Y/edit

I have looked at my CV that I use for teaching and developed this with my new found knowledge and attention.  The main thing that stood out to me was the need for a good profile at the beginning of my document, this will make the employer read on or not.  So I have spent some time on this to try and get it right.  It is something I will change to suit each job I apply for as highlighted by my friend in recruitment.  I also took inspiration from Ahmet Ahmet to create a clear one page CV that highlights my teaching work and mentions my performing experience.  See what you think:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oyd_ipQ1Zj36_trP7llXaRmw09p21xrNQP0njdumuPk/edit

I also have a personal statement for teaching roles but after reading it a few times I am currently happy with it.  I worked on it a lot to apply for this course actually.  As with all my CV's mentioned I will definately be adapting them for every job I apply which I can sit back and say I was a little lazy with before.  I have spent a lot of time on this task but for me I feel it was something I needed to address.  My work highlighted the importance of a CV to others having received comments from Afi and Simone.  I hope it helped in some small way! It definately helped me, through critical reflection I have made changes and developments that I am happy with!
Hollie x