Anyone in recruitment? CV help, IT specific

B

bulldog5046

Member
I thought it might be worth a shot asking here.

i've been applying to a few jobs recently and i'm finding i get very little response, i've only been for 1 interview in 6-8months i've been looking for a new job, not been looking hard just applying for a couple each week.

i've kinda come to the conclusing that my Cv must just be a bit of a wash in with all the others at the moment so i wondered if anyone knows how to make it stand out? or wouldnt mind having a go at re-jigging mine?

i dont feel they jobs i've applied for are out of my current skill set, they are obviously progression from where i am now but i dont think i'm asking too much to want a bit more?

there just isnt any scope for me to get into a more technical position where i currently work and i'm sick to death of the poor management here now, recently been moved from our head office where all of our servers are based to the building with our callcentre in (we are now on the same floor as 100+ people yapping on the phones all day) and not been provided with any means of transport to get back to the old site, relying on our post room to pick us up if we need to fix anything. being asked to change hours so we can work 7am - 7pm 5 days a week, cover saturdays and not expect anything in return for it. every time i go away on holiday really bad solutions to problems get implimented that usually have to be removed upon return, the IT manager know's NOTHING technical, this morning i had to show him how to make a simple FTP connection?! (seriously!).

Help!
Ry
 
I'm lucky if I get one response in 50 at the moment, and only 2 interviews out of 150 applications.

Both of those I interviewed for I asked to be removed from the candidate list as the job they described was not what they'd advertised for.
Both were advertised/described as document production assistants (with emphasis on InDesign/Powerpoint) but turned out to be PA roles with the majority of the work being typing & minute taking.

Although looking back, I probably should not have ruled anything out and tried to expand the role once I was in it :headbang:

One of the clients I knew personally and I asked them why I hadn't even got an interview for what was a specialist role. Their answer was that they were not getting the applications directly and a 3rd party was contracted to cut 90% of them out before they even saw them, and they still got over 500 through to the 2nd stage (i.e. the client) after the cull. I believe the 3rd party is not even reading them all and simply throwing 90% of them away.
 
It is a problem.....most decent companies usually have a list of agencies that front for them, but theres no reason not to send your CV unsolicited to the HR departments of a few of the bigger companies.....the more mud you throw etc..

Have you used LinkedIn? I used to but had to delete my details for security reasons (I worked in a Defence account).....get as many 'friends' as you can, and of those you know, get them to give you a recommendation - I know people that its worked for and more and more agencies are using it to do what was once flatteringly known as 'head hunting', albeit at a lower level these days.

Keep your CV relatively brief - 2-3 pages max....make sure you have a list of achievements in it, two good ones at the beginning of the list and one good one at the end, the in-between can be more mediocre.

Start it with an 'executive summary', briefly outlining your skills and aspirations, and explaining what specifically would help you to impact the employers bottom line - good client skills, highly logical, innovative...but you need to show examples in your achievements that you can talk to, i.e. not made up :)

Employment history should be concise, honest and address the key points in terms of the jobs you did

At all times keep thinking "how can I demonstrate that I have, or can, add value...?"

Make it clear you are extremely flexible and show where you have gone above and beyond.....

Most recruiters will scan the first half of the first page and probably the beginning and end of the achievements section before binning it....if theres something that gets their attention they will read it more carefully when they review their interview list.

Most of all, don't give up. Its just a matter of time and effort - the more you do the more likely you are to get payback.

Best of luck! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
 
and actually pvr hit the nail on the head. Your best leads should come from other people you know in the IT community which, as I'm sure you already know, is a pretty incestuous place given the rate at which some people move around...

Ask. You have nothing to lose and people like to help.
 
Good advice there, especially as I am guilty of the skimming process as well and only check the first couple of items.

My personal pet hate is the "team player" and self praising in general. I look for responsibilities and achievements only.

Point to note is that I only employ subcontractors (about 20 a year), not permanent jobs.
 
My advice would be the same as every CV making website out there.

- Keep it clear and easy to read. Short paragraphs. Bullet point if necessary. 2 PAGES ONLY
- No grammar mistakes or including words you don't know the meaning of! (We interviewed an Indian lady who wrote she was "Meticulous". We asked her why she felt that was, and she didn’t even know what it meant!!
- No BS!!!

People reviewing CVs and selecting them are just normal people. Not a fat cat with a cigar. Don’t try to be flash and make it sound like you know everything about anything. You just sound annoying!!
 
I always found that going through an agency never got me anywhere. I'm not sure if it was lazy agencies, or just that mine wasn't standing out; but applying directly to companies, I managed to secure interviews for most of them. My advice would therefore be to go direct.

Some very good advice above, and certainly as you climb the ranks, it's definitely a good idea to get some networking going on to help you in later life. You never know who may call on you with an opportunity. So build those relationships now, and you may find a few months down the line you have someone knocking at your door, rather than the other way around.
 
Tired said:
Don’t try to be flash and make it sound like you know everything about anything. You just sound annoying!!
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Oh yes ... that is the quickest way for me to throw the CV in the recycle bin.
 
I have been both interviewer and interviewee. One thing I hated was the sameness of applications I had to vet. Me, me, me, I, I, me, me, I. The one's that whacked me between the eyes and made me want to meet the applicants was something unusual thrown into the mix (blond, nice figure.........only joking) to show they were more than one dimensional.

I adopted this approach myself and it has always stood me in good stead, i.e I am an avid radio 4 listener and leave it on at night until the shipping forecast comes on. I was once arrested by a cop in the 70's for climbing a statue in Trafalgar Square to hang an anti war placard (anti Vietnam war demo), I was knocked off my bike by a vicar who was done for without due care. At court, and both of us having sworn on the bible, the beaks believed me and not him! I married my sister-in-law (now that is one they cannot resist......but it has to be true of course!), had a heart attack on Dartmoor and was attended to by fireman who shoved an aspirin under my tongue. By the way, the last 2 got me the interview for my current job. One of the panel had also had a heart attack but none of them could envisage marrying their sister in law under any circumstances, so wondered why I would marry mine.

Cover the points they want you to cover, but make them think they would like to meet you because you have something interesting to say, other than "I think I should have the job because blah de blah de blah"

Oh, and check, double check and triple check spelling and grammar, then ask someone else to do the same. If you make a glaring error in your application they will think you can't even be bothered to get that right. If you are slap dash about your own future, they won't want you doing the same with theirs!
 
Petach, you are hilarious. On a separate thread, could you enlighten us with the details please of all what you said above :)
 
Thanks for the mass of information, alot of people have stated the obvious things and i abide by those rules, there is no BS in my Cv thats for sure.

i wonder if it may be a little long though? it runs onto a 4th page with my references....

as for applying directly to companys, i like the idea but have no idea who i would apply to?

if anyone is looking for an experienced technical resource in the south west, contact me :P

Ry
 
bulldog5046

I'll not repeat much of the advise above as Lacroupade got it spot on.

As for length. 4 pages is way way too much. Frankly I'd bin it out of boredom. It has to be 2 to 3 tops. That 3 means tops and should have nice white space and layout, so start to be rutheless in the verbiage - can it be writtten shorter, does it really add value.

PM me an email and I'll take a look at it if you want.
 
bulldog5046 said:
Thanks for the mass of information, alot of people have stated the obvious things and i abide by those rules, there is no BS in my Cv thats for sure.

i wonder if it may be a little long though? it runs onto a 4th page with my references....

as for applying directly to companys, i like the idea but have no idea who i would apply to?

if anyone is looking for an experienced technical resource in the south west, contact me :P

Ry
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1 page, max! They will fall asleep after 4. Imagine being faced with 500 4 page cv's? If you can say all you need to in 1 page, they will be impressed enough to want to see you.
 
cj10jeeper said:
As for length. 4 pages is way way too much. Frankly I'd bin it out of boredom. It has to be 2 to 3 tops. That 3 means tops and should have nice white space and layout, so start to be rutheless in the verbiage - can it be writtten shorter, does it really add value.
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Jeez - my last CV was 8 pages long! They obviously look for different things in medical interviews...
 
I beg to differ on 1 page with the exception of a young person, new to work, litle experience, etc. 2 is the real zone for a senior person with a lot of relevant detail to cover.

At early 50's in pretty senior stuff I run a standard one to 2.5 pages. Well spaced out and 'clean'. Easy to read. Summary, reverse chrono of roles and achievemnets, leading back to academia, personal and all that tail end stuff.
 
I always think it's worthwhile getting a couple of people to read it over - it's amazing what you think makes sense but actually doesn't! Other people can often shorten rather verbose statements down to more succinct sentences for you as well.
 
JimmyPop said:
I always think it's worthwhile getting a couple of people to read it over - it's amazing what you think makes sense but actually doesn't! Other people can often shorten rather verbose statements down to more succinct sentences for you as well.
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Yes, the old "I understood what I thought you said, but not what I thought you meant" syndrome.
 
I always keep my CV to 2 pages. It's a nice compromise between giving all the detail and just giving something extremely short. I think 1 page is too short, personally, unless you are in the field where your exec summary can provide the largest insight into your experience and achievements that your career history is not as important.

Ry, I'm happy to take a look over it if you'd like me to. You should have my email address from when you sent over the photo of my car.

Again, some sensible advice on here, but I know you won't have put any BS in there! :thumbsup:
 
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