Question for employers......what do you look for in a cv?

[thefroggy]

I hardly ever get a response, never an interview.

I'm more than qualified for the jobs I apply for and have plenty of experience.

I'm thinking my cv must be crap.

Ideas?

Not an employer but I used to work for a recruitment firm and I've rejigged several people's CVs successfully.

Do you have:
basic contact info?
qualifications clearly laid out?
continuous work history with gaps explained?

Are you describing your jobs concisely and reworking your CV for each position to foreground the most relevant aspect if pas roles?

Actually I lie, I am technically an employer but not the kind you're thinking off.

I did a thread the other day for cv help. Got loads of tips . Can't link ATM but was in chat if you search me

Basic contact: yep
Quals: yep
Work history: yep, college in between redundancy

I write a covering letter for every application highlighting anything relevant to the position.

I employ and i hardly even look at CVs. I ask for an application in handwriting. The first ones that go in the bin are the printed ones. The applications that are short listed are the ones with the passion for the product and real desire for the job, and i'm looking for someone for whom the job is right. I have hardly any staff turnover.

Weevil, all the positions i've found seem to want emailed cv, they rarely give an address.

weevils - if someone wanted to apply for a job with you, but has buggered hands and can't handwrite, what would you suggest they do to avoid their application being chucked on receipt?

Do you include phone/email details in your ads so someone could ask you?

This is my situation and quite a few places I'll be looking to apply to in the next year require handwritten letters, and I don't have many unemployed friends I can bribe to do the letters for me any more!

It's not just the CV, it's the whole application. Covering letter critical. Most of all I want to see an application that responds to the instructions and criteria stated in the advertisement. If it says 'a one page letter', for god's sake send a one page letter!

I always write in the advertisement, please respond with your CV and a covering letter explaining why you would be suitable for the position. I then expect to see a letter laid out as follows:

Dear X

First paragraph: I am writing to apply for the position of X and believe I would be ideally suited to this position. As you will see from my attached CV, my background and experience are an excellent match for your stated criteria.

Second paragraph: A brief summary of my relevant skills and experience is:

• Bullet point 1 addressing job advertisement criteria
• Bullet point 2 addressing job advertisement criteria

- etc

Third paragraph: I am very excited about this opportunity, and I and look forward to meeting with you at interview to discuss this role further.

etc

Apologies if you are already doing this, but I hope it's useful. Good luck!

weevil surely what industry are you in. It sounds seriously 20 years ago! I'm a software developer. I'm sure if anyone sent a written CV to my work, people will think he's having a laugh. The whole application process is via email btw, like thefroggy says. And I know my current boss googled me before the interview.

Hmm, seems i'm doing pretty much what is expected then. The covering letter is sometimes pretty general though as a lot of the ads are. I'm seeing more and more through agencies so its impossible to google the company and see what they do. Just have to keep trying I guess.

thefroggy it's a really tough job market out there atm. When my DH was looking a few years ago, he got a lot of help from recruitment agency tweaking his CV. They met with him in person, etc etc. But in this climate, I think they have more candidates than jobs!

I'm not sure if there're any CV writing help the job centre or a local charity can provide. It'll be really good if someone can have a look at it for you. Hang in there.

Thanks, I know i'm on the books with a couple of agencies but they cant find any problem with my cv, that's why I asked. I know a huge problem may be that i've been out of work for two years but there's little I can do about it. I've been looking and applying, that's one gap I cant explain.

Its so frustrating.

I'd be happy to look at it for you, minus any personal info you don't want shared. I've done this for a couple of MNers/DHs

You need to find a job for which your particular qualities make you an unusually good match. What were you doing between jobs - including in your spare time?

Oh and to state the bleeding obvious, any cv will probably go straight in the bin if it has any typos or grammatical infelicities, so do make sure that someone you trust has checked it letter by letter, including any covering letter (I don't know whether your apostrophe issue is an ongoing thing or just caused by typing on the phone)

That's a lovely offer but i'm not very comfortable sharing with strangers. No offence intended

Apostrophe issue? Spill!

When I used to employ staff (self employed now) I used to look for evidence of what they contributed to previous organisation - not reciting their past JD but their personal achievements in that role. Anyone can recite the responsibilities of a previous job - but that tells you about the previous role - not whether they succeeded in them.

So not 'responsible for xx sales' but 'achieved £xxx sales, exceeding targets annually and managing a portfolio of xx clients, all of whom stayed loyal to the company'.

A good statement at top of cv should also highlight that this job is exactly the sort of challenge you want.

Not sure if that helps

Cant should be can't and its should be it's - twice in each case.

No worries, I understand! Do get someone to look it over though - often they will pick up on how you're portraying yourself in a way that you can't.

I found one of each lulu. But i'm asking for help on a website, not writing a cv. I have checked my cv over and over. Not the same as having a rushed post on here.

Notcitrus, i also said that its important to have the right job for the person, not just the right person for the job. Someone who couldnt right a letter wouldnt be able to do the work in my company because each employee works alone doing a hands on task.

Write a letter you mean

See, it's very easy to make a typo.

It's the cover letter that sells it for me. Quick scan of the cv to see if there are relevant skills, then a close read of the cover letter to check the applicant

• has read the advert and really wants this job, not just any job
• can write English that flows and is grammatically correct etc

We just had sex applicants for a recent advert, and only one met these criteria :( Most didn't even include a cover letter.

sex? six! FFS

Yes OP - that's why I said I didn't know whether it was a speed/phone typing thing or an Issue - you then asked for details so I gave them. Always needs saying though - agencies should check, but they're not always perfect, and only perfect is good enough.