Help! How do I write my CV?

[IdaTheFossil]

I have been working freelance for many years. Due to a change in circumstances (one major contract finished, another one finishing soon, being an empty-nester) I am thinking of going back to full time employment.

Most of my work has come from contacts and recommendations so I am out of touch and out of date on applying for jobs. If I was applying directly to an employer then I would tweak my CV to make it more specific and relevant to them. So, for example, I could emphasise that I have worked in manufacturing or in the service sector; that I have worked in companies with 200 employees or with only 10; that I have done a specialised role or a roll-your-sleeves-up-and-do-everything role.

My problem is that I don't know how to apply for jobs in the internet age. If I have to apply through an Agency then do they use the same CV for every job? Once it is on their database, can you go back and re-write the CV for subsequent applications? It is tempting to throw everything into the CV but I risk making the whole thing (all 35 years of it) too long & unreadable; I will bore employers with bits that aren't relevant to them.

How do I do this?
There is a job that I fancy at the moment on Monster, if anyone has particular experience with them.

The advice I was given was to try and keep it to 2 pages to prevent the reader losing interest.

Mine is tailored to the industry I work in (but am applying for a similar job).

Hi,

I used to work as a recruiter.

Best thing to do is think about what sort of job you want to do. Then write down the key achievements you've had in this area and the experiences you've had.

Best to keep it concise so 2-3 pages ok, but there is no hard and fast rule about this.

Most jobs are recruited via agencies now. You can tailor your CV for the job, but if you have a good CV to begin with this may not be required.

Happy to help if you need advice. PM me.

Good luck!

Thanks justcakes. I've thought about this during the day and I am thinking that I could do the usual start to a CV - name, address, education, etc - but not do the usual second part - listing jobs in chronological order.

I am an Accountant looking for an Accountant's job. I can't see that it will do me much good to list my career: Job A for 3 years, being the Accountant; Job B for 6 years, being the Accountant; Job C for 10 years, being the Accountant; and so on.
It seems to me that it would make more sense to group the points I want to make (your 'key achievements and experiences') into subheadings eg computer programme that I have installed and learned, management responsibilities that I have had, projects that I have run, what Continuous Professional Development I have undertaken, etc.

Does it make sense to list achievements like this? Does it look as if I am trying to hide something if I don't do the chronological list?

Hi,

That's a good start. You can then go back over it and reorganise after 1st draft.

I'd suggest also having a short summary of your keys skills, attributes and experience...like a little blurb about yourself at the top of your cv. It could say something along the lines of: Qualified Accountant with x years of experience working in a variety of roles within corporate finance departments etc....

Then you can add your work history, but if it's a really long history, put more detail in your most recent and just list the others in chronological order with brief info like dates and job title and company.

If you have any achievements, you can list the top few at the top after your summary for example. Achievements could be a key project you may have worked on as an example, but if you list achievements you should ideally be able to demonstrate the positive impact. It's not essential to list achievements separately, but always a good way to start thinking about all the good things you did in those jobs eg...like redesigning a business process.

Recruiters don't have a lot time and will often skim through CVs so put your best foot forward at the beginning of CV. You can also try tailoring your CV to the job ad by reorganising the content so the most relevant info is highlighted and prioritise based on the requirements in the job ad. That way when they look at your CV they can see the match straight away.

Hope this helps.

You can also try tailoring your CV to the job ad by reorganising the content so the most relevant info is highlighted and prioritise based on the requirements in the job ad.

This gets me back to my first question. If I send in my CV for this job, emphasising my experience in the agricultural sector and using Sage50 (for example) will that CV be forever on Monster's database.
If I see a job next week that is in the mining industry and uses Pegasus (let's pretend I also have experience in this), will I be able to re-write the CV to make it more relevant to the new position. Do online agencies have this facility?

If it's the CV that's stored on Monster website (other other job sites), then you should be able to have a few versions and select the version which you want to use (don't quote me on this, but I seem to remember this functionality from years ago)...or at least be able to modify the version of your CV as and when you need to.

If it's direct to agency, then the only way you can usually update it is if you send them an updated CV.