CV writing advice?

[sportscar]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Showing a 10pages resume doesnt prove anything. I can write a 20page resume too. But I bet the employer will not have time to read thru your resume.

Short and simple, and explained them during interview.

Definitely true! I've learned this from my husband as well. I'm never really fond of putting a lot in my CV, just the real score. And with the kind of technology nowadays, creating visual CV's are mostly getting much of the attention.

Originally Posted by Husky

1) Dishonest ones. One guy claimed to be a senior manager at 25, makes me wonder why the hell is he applying for a job with me. He should be headhunted everywhere he goes.

2) Teen Model Search ones. One lady posed in a kawaii manner complete with costume. I was recruting a sales rep not cosplay restaurant waitress.

3) The dunno what it's trying to say ones. One resume I received was 11 pages long. I actually glanced thru it briefly out of curiousity and couldn't make any sense of what the applicant was trying to tell me cos the whole thing had no organisation and sections at all!

1) There is nothing wrong with being a Senior Manager at 25. It could be that his previous company has inflated titles, that doesn't mean he's lying. In a lot of companies these days we have people 27/28 already Vice President.

2) Agreed, but this is what I call common sense. There are of course some obvious stupid things one shouldn't do in CV, but I don't think TS was asking for a list of stupid things not to do in CV, rather he was asking for more concrete guidelines like length of CV, how much to describe each job, in what way should he describe his previous job and also detailed format etc. so this does not refute what I said earlier.

3) Yes, maybe the example you cited had poor clarity & was writing rubbish, but how does your example help in answering TS and others' queries on some broad principles in how to write a good CV? We have all seen bad CVs from 1 page to 30 pages, so what exactly is the lesson to be derived from your example? That we must write coherently? Again, I don't think this is what TS and others are asking.

I will reiterate again, there are obvious stupid things one shouldn't do in a CV, but beyond that, there is no such thing as concrete principles and guidelines on what constitutes a good CV. Every employer views such things differently.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

1) There is nothing wrong with being a Senior Manager at 25. It could be that his previous company has inflated titles, that doesn't mean he's lying. In a lot of companies these days we have people 27/28 already Vice President.

2) Agreed, but this is what I call common sense. There are of course some obvious stupid things one shouldn't do in CV, but I don't think TS was asking for a list of stupid things not to do in CV, rather he was asking for more concrete guidelines like length of CV, how much to describe each job, in what way should he describe his previous job and also detailed format etc. so this does not refute what I said earlier.

3) Yes, maybe the example you cited had poor clarity & was writing rubbish, but how does your example help in answering TS and others' queries on some broad principles in how to write a good CV? We have all seen bad CVs from 1 page to 30 pages, so what exactly is the lesson to be derived from your example? That we must write coherently? Again, I don't think this is what TS and others are asking.

I will reiterate again, there are obvious stupid things one shouldn't do in a CV, but beyond that, there is no such thing as concrete principles and guidelines on what constitutes a good CV. Every employer views such things differently.

Don't know anything just shut your trap and don't try to act like HR expert. Nobody can be a Senior Manager at age of 25 no matter how high flying you are, don't take us as idiots please.

Any experienced recruiter will tell you CV should be 4 pages max and you should always write achievements instead of what you do daily. You obviously never do recruitment before and now trying talk like an expert.

[Husky]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Don't know anything just shut your trap and don't try to act like HR expert. Nobody can be a Senior Manager at age of 25 no matter how high flying you are, don't take us as idiots please.

Any experienced recruiter will tell you CV should be 4 pages max and you should always write achievements instead of what you do daily. You obviously never do recruitment before and now trying talk like an expert.

Notice I didn't even bother to reply him/her directly.

Sigh, I was just trying to be helpful and he/she had to shoot down my points one by one. But I guess there are people in life whose hobby is to put down other people. I pity his colleagues.

[miwashi]

I am also interested in knowing, in your cv, do you state your education first, or your work experience first?

My situation is like this - I've been stuck in this job for 5 years already, and after speaking to some people they feel that I'm not being called for interviews because of this - the impression of stagnation in one place and not learning anything new for 5 years.

I'm doing a masters degree part time now, and some of them recommended placing this first in the cv, retitling it 'recent education', to show that there is some self-improvement actively taking place now.


Any comments on this? Should I do it?

since you have worked for 5Y, then the general rule of thumb is work experience first if you are applying for jobs in the same industry/field. if you are applying to a different field, and then master degree is relevant, then education can come first.

relevance is the general rule on what to put first.

Originally Posted by Husky

Notice I didn't even bother to reply him/her directly.

Sigh, I was just trying to be helpful and he/she had to shoot down my points one by one. But I guess there are people in life whose hobby is to put down other people. I pity his colleagues.

I guess you just can't handle the truth. Unable to refute my points, you resort to personal attacks and speculating my personal hobby and give useless comments like you pity my colleagues.

If you don't know anything about recruitment then don't talk nonsense please. You yourself admit you no HR experience & only do a bit recruitment in small company here & there, you best learn to be humble before trying to be "helpful".

Originally Posted by Unregistered

since you have worked for 5Y, then the general rule of thumb is work experience first if you are applying for jobs in the same industry/field. if you are applying to a different field, and then master degree is relevant, then education can come first.

relevance is the general rule on what to put first.

No, the general rule is should always put experience first no matter what if you are a mid career with working experience.

Trying to put your academic certs up first is usually a red flag for hirers because many people with a problematic career path (eg. job hopping, demotion etc.) always like to put their certs up first.

Maybe not fair to genuine people who have a good academic cert, but this is hiring reality.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

No, the general rule is should always put experience first no matter what if you are a mid career with working experience.

Trying to put your academic certs up first is usually a red flag for hirers because many people with a problematic career path (eg. job hopping, demotion etc.) always like to put their certs up first.

Maybe not fair to genuine people who have a good academic cert, but this is hiring reality.

Not true. Putting education first is the typical norm for MBA candidates with similar work experience. the person who asks the question is also doing a master, and if relevant, should put its education first.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

No, the general rule is should always put experience first no matter what if you are a mid career with working experience.

Trying to put your academic certs up first is usually a red flag for hirers because many people with a problematic career path (eg. job hopping, demotion etc.) always like to put their certs up first.

Maybe not fair to genuine people who have a good academic cert, but this is hiring reality.

5Y is hardly "mid-career"