Who knows how to make a great graduate CV?

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6434 posts

Uber Geek

#228240 25-Jun-2009 13:00

Balchy: Spell check, spell check, spell check. I generally through out any CVs with spelling or grammatical errors, these are basics! Their, There, they're rah some people really shouldnt go past high school.

Other than that, I generally wont look past a cv more than two pages long. You should be able to fit your RELEVANT experience into two pages or less.

Like someone else has said, personalise each cv and cover letter to the job you are applying for. I have received cover letters applying for jobs with completely different titles! they go straight to the bottom of the heap.

And as for a photo? only if you are hot lol

Given the content of the post, I found the bolded sections amusing.

Balchy

484 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

#228241 25-Jun-2009 13:04

haha touche! But there is a significant difference between a hastily written non proof read forum post, and a document as important as a CV

For billions of years since the outset of time, every single one of your ancestors survived, every single person on your Mum and Dads side, successfully looked after and passed onto you life. What are the chances of that like?

RickD

280 posts

Ultimate Geek

#228402 25-Jun-2009 22:38

Advice I was given was to put whatever sells you better first in your CV and emphasise that, e.g. education at the top if you are a grad, work experience below. And don't use a word template, use a simple layout.

I would probably laugh at seeing a photo on a CV attached to an IT job application, unless you have a unisex name, or you're female.

Unxious

34 posts

Geek

#229782 1-Jul-2009 08:59

Like most others have already mentioned, brevity is key. Nobody cares about anything in your college days, or any non relevant employement.

Anything more than a few pages risks you being pre-filtered. The CV is only the bit which gets you an interview. It is the interview which gets you the job.

pstar008

362 posts

Ultimate Geek

#230217 2-Jul-2009 11:18

8d52797c436:

The other one is to put in a skills matrix. These are really good at showing clearly and quickly what technical abilities you posses.

Lastly, keep your c.v. short. Mine is about 3 pages without a cover letter and even that is really too big, but I just can't seem to trim it down any more (I took out every single job that doesn't relate to IT, which took 3 or 4 pages out of it).

If you want, I can post a link to my c.v. and cover letter so you can have a look at them, but like I said, they are still not a perfect example of a great c.v.

Skill maxtrix is a neat idea and somebody already suggested I do that. But I never figure out a way to put it in my CV.
Should I include it in my CV, or use it as a supplement for my CV and cover letter?

As recent graduate from CS, I got over a dozen of programming languages I learened from my TechEng degree to CS grad school plus a couple of web development experiences in University(project, summer school, TA etc.). more than half of them are used as ad hoc basis and are learned by myself from some tutorial from internet or from some papers in University and are never touched. So despite all the samely variety of programming languages and skills set, I do have strength and weakness and I am by no means be good at both C#, C language equally well or be good at both dot.net ASP CMS solutions as well as configure and setup linux servers and SAN solutions. But I am just a average grad student with some geek interest. Also I happend to have a few other working experinces the university career advisor said looks interesting and should include in my CV.

Depending on the job I am applying, I have a technical skill set from 4 to 7 paragraphs, and project/Occupational other experience from 3 to 4 items each. As a result I do have a difficult time organize my CV into two pages, and my friend who is doing accounting said look at my CV give she headache. Now I am consider change all my experiences from paragraph to bullet points and probably make it three pages. I tried very hard to stick to two pages, but if I do have some
sort of experiences worth mention, I think 3 pages is still reasonable.

PS: I asked a few people about feedback for my CV and get quite a few different opinions. So think about this way: everyone use his/her CV get some sort of job or even interview have their own idea what a good CV should looks like.
So what I am trying to do is trying as much as I can to put myself in the shoes who is reviewing my CV on the other end,
but even simple rule like this got problems-- What should I do in case of agency?

8d52797c436

264 posts

Ultimate Geek
Inactive user

#230226 2-Jul-2009 11:38

In my c.v. I have an education section (only level 3 or 5 papers in there, with a brief explanation of topics covered), followed by a past job experience (only relevant job experience, I basically took out all my retail and hospo experience but put in a note saying that previous job experiences could be supplied if required, and included company name, company name and company name), and lastly is my skills matrix. This basically is divided into different categorie (languages, OSes, hardware, development environments) with each different type of skill having one line, with the name, the level of ability (be honest with this) and any relevant notes (i.e. used for project). If you have a lot of skills in there start at the ones that are your weak points. If theres a language that you used once for a month for a project but can barely remember now, dont put it in your cv, especially if its something irrelevant and application specific.

pstar008

362 posts

Ultimate Geek

#230244 2-Jul-2009 12:26

En, I think I do have some languages I used only for a month or so, and some other languages I learned in class about 10 years (FORTRAN an Assembly Language), which I never used in really world situation and never write any significant code in them. So is that means it is better idea not include them at all?

Or put lots of language I know a little about for impressiveness(sounds stupid to me now)? In that case, I could find some more language I learn in class and couldn't even recall the name now?

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8d52797c436

264 posts

Ultimate Geek
Inactive user

#230249 2-Jul-2009 12:38

If there was a language that you barely know and you are looking to trim the fat from your cv (remember that most people say 2-3 pages) then get rid of the ones that you dont really know. For example, I studied Fortran for a semester back in my first year of university (so about 5 years ago), I would never include this in a cv as I wouldnt have a clue how to program in it. I have 3 levels of ability in my c.v. Beginner - programmed in for a while, can make programs fairly easily as long as they arent complicated, Intermediate - know quite a bit about the language, including some more advanced features, and Advanced - know a lot about the language, can do almost anything in it without using too many resources. As a point of reference, after 5 years of university, I have only one language that I have put as Advanced, and thats a discrete even simulation language that only has about 30 different statements.

pstar008

362 posts

Ultimate Geek

#230254 2-Jul-2009 12:48

Sam as Assembly language to me, the idea is quite simple, but I've never did real programming in it except following examples during class in lab session, and that is pretty hard to debug as I recalled. But hey, I can barely programming in C as well back then.

patatrat

261 posts

Ultimate Geek

#230256 2-Jul-2009 12:55

When it comes to including languages and what not, do not include anything that you wouldn't want to be doing full time. Yeah, you know some Fortran, but do you want be coding it full time? If not, remove it.

ash3rr

55 posts

Master Geek

#230420 2-Jul-2009 20:44

Just a few things I thought of.

Never include your birth date, sex, race; and that's why I also think that including a photo is a bad idea.

One thing I find hard is the skills matrix idea.

It's like I expect my employers to know what I've learnt in my 4+ years at university based on my major, etc, but I guess this is incorrect.

NonprayingMantis

6434 posts

Uber Geek

#230514 2-Jul-2009 23:08

pstar008: do is trying as much as I can to put myself in the shoes who is reviewing my CV on the other end,
but even simple rule like this got problems-- What should I do in case of agency?

for agencies the thing to remember is they know virtually nothing about the job, and even less about the technical knowledge needed. When they interview you and/or read your CV for a specific role they will have a checklist of things you are required to have before they put you forward to the emplyer. Use the job ad itself towork out what this might be.

For example, if the job ad says must have advanced Visual Basic for Applications, then put that on your CV ahead of other things you know. (oh, and don't put 'VBA' - always use the same wording as the ad. The recruitment agent might not know that VBA = Visual Basic for Applications. )

Marmion

59 posts

Master Geek

#230823 3-Jul-2009 18:48

This may be a semi-usefull:
http://www.pwc.com/Extweb/career.nsf/docid/56C05F16F69E7B3DCA25755E0073CAFC
Click on CV tips.
I essentially followed this format for my CVs when I applied for intern positions last year and got interviews with three firms and offers from two (and subsequently a grad offer

).
If you've got a GPA above B (5.0) then you should note this.
If you have previous work experience (even if unrelated), mention the skills that could be transferred (eg customer service, working to deadlines) as this could be a differentiating characteristic.
Depending on the company, you may need your academic transcript. If you include this, don't bother listing out your subjects, except for any specifically transferrable subjects relevant to the job, which should be brought to their attention in the skills section, not academic section.
Include leadership roles/team roles in your achievements section, and any examples of high achievement (such as university awards, sports awards etc).
Inter-personal skills are important, you won't be working by yourself, you'll be reporting to others & working with others as well as asking lots of questions when you start! Being able to explain things clearly springs to mind.
Communication skills - indespensible in any job! Highlight anything you can to bring this to their attention - like really high marks in an essay that you may have written at university (heck I included a B+ for management!)
Mention extra-curricular activities and interests - give yourself a well-rounded appearance, not just a total nerd/geek etc!
Provide phone references for a couple of old jobs, any community involvement you may have had, and perhaps a personal referee as well (not your mum or dad but a family friend (adult)).
My CV was 3 pages + reference contact details.
Your cover letter should highlight and 'bring out' certain sections of your CV. Show interest in your potential employer. Why do you want to work for them? What can you bring to them? Why should they employ you?
Thank them for the opportunity to apply.
If you don't have a person's name to address it to, then "Dear Human Capital Manager" or similar will do.
Good luck!

pstar008

362 posts

Ultimate Geek

#230904 3-Jul-2009 23:48

Here is my question, for average about B, and the most important and useful papers range from C+ to Bs, should
I include a section for key papers with grades or simply list the papers I related to the job I applying for?

Marmion

59 posts

Master Geek

#230930 4-Jul-2009 09:08

Don't list your C grades, this will put off the employer. You may want to mention relevant papers in your skills section, and provide a brief description on how it applies to the job (what you learned and how you can apply it). More than likely at the grad level they will ask for your academic transcript, but I would guess it depends on the agency/size of employer, so don't list all of your papers or grades unless you have As in high level papers (stage 1 doesn't count!).
e.g. If I was to apply for an accounting firm in audit, I would mention that I got an A- for the audit paper and briefly mention that it gave me an overview of the issues surrounding auditing, including independence and governance of audit firms, and how important it is to be 'perceived' as independent, or something to that effect.
If I were to apply for a tax position, I would mention I've taken the advanced tax paper and that it has allowed me to find my way around the legislation with confidence and interpret the legislation, as well as an overview of areas such as international tax and trusts.

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