CV's --- Anywhere (FREE) online that does them?

[Steven_McL]

Hi

I'm wanting to hand out about 5 CV's to several small computer shops throughout Glasgow , but the problem being i've never had to make one up before.

I'm sure on the millions of sites on the WWW there must a good CV designer that will allow me to enter my information , experience and qualifications into boxes with a finished result of a professional looking CV....for free ofcourse

Thanks all in advance, Steven.

[Nick]

iirc, Word has a fair few CV templates built in... used em myself for my CVs.

Easy to use, just fill in the boxes.

[luap.h]

I dont think many sites will offer a free CV writing service, you're more likely to get templates, or examples. Just google for them, check out student/graduate sites, or go to local dole office, they'd have people on hand there to help out.

Also, don't forget about a cover letter, which should tailored for the job you're applying for. I have a link, but it's at home, and i'm in work - I'll dig it out if you want, it's what I used

[dgr]

use examples, use tutorials, sure, but never try to get a tool to write your CV. If you do so, you won't have a good idea of why you are writing it, what you should actually be putting in, what should go in your cover letter, what you should say at interview.

In fact, I would have said you are far more likely to fail at getting a job.

[Steven_McL]

cheers for the replies

I couldnt find any templates on MS Word at all, So I ended up making it up as I went along

here is the first draft

I'll get my dad to look over it and maybe remind me of things ive forgotten over the years. If anyones got any advice on changing/editing it then please say

[Alex]

I have to admit, Im a little confused about the qualifications... what are national units and standard grades? Sorry, I'm a little clueless on these things!

I would say that if you could get it onto 1 page and still keep it tidy and organised that would be a plus, but it's not strictly necessary. Just makes it easier to look at/skim through for a potential employer.

[Steven_McL]

hmm cheers for the advice

the national units are what i gained from my NC Qualification , The standard grades are what i acheived at school (as you can tell i hated school )

but keeping it on one page seems less professional to me , since handing someone a single sheet of paper might look a bit amateur , whilst handing them something several pages and a staple through it seems more professional, but thats just my opinion

cheers for the advice

[spikegifted]

Writing a good CV is not easy... Trust me, I've done it enough times. The approach I used when I started my first one was to use a few blank pieces of A4 and made three columns on each sheet. The first column was 'Job/Activity'; second 'Work involved' and third 'Skills learnt/Experience gained'.

Job/Activity is the easiest part - simply the job title. If you've held more than one position in any given organization, write them all out. Work involved was a pretty much anything you did in the job - and I really mean everything. Finally, you need to put down something you gained in doing whatever in the last column, even the most irrelevant skills... If you need help here, you need a good friend who's share the same experience as you've, for between the two of you, you can probably 'remember' more things.

After you've done that for every activity/job you've done, you need to condense them. Use bullet points; make sure everything thing you describe is some kind of action - 'Achieved abc', 'Facilitate xyz', 'Built ijk', etc...

See what I've done to your CV... Here's my CV for comparison (well, that's the web version).

[G4Z]

Steven, your CV should be no more than 2 pages, employers do not want to read through a tome of waffle. Just get to the point, tell them where you have worked and what you know. I also find that its worth keeping everything you write for your CV, any cover letters or personal statements allways keep a saved copy because when your filling out aplplications it can be handy to go through and cut/paste bits and pices and also give you ideas on what to write.

[G4Z]

and also, wtf happened to GCSE's? i only left school in 97 and already my qualifications are obselete...

[steve threlfall]

and also, wtf happened to GCSE's? i only left school in 97 and already my qualifications are obselete...

Hes in scotland so has highers and standards instead of gcse's. It should be another year or so at least before they do away with gcse's

The cv's in word (on mine at least are called resume's) the American name.

[Saracen]

Moved to GD, where there will likely be a better responsae than in Question Time which, despite the forum name, is not for asking this type of question

[Iain]

Feel free to take mine and use it as a template. It's not strictly up to date but it should give you an idea

http://www.iainmcwhirter.co.uk/file_..._sanitised.doc

[TomWilko]

My advice on writing a successful C.V would be to start with your strongest characteristics first and then work back. In my case, being a UNI Student...my strongest characteristics are my grades, followed by my work experience...and then a list of 'interests.'

If i was you i would try and add in more specific hobbies instead of just general sweeps at 'Socialising' and 'Music.' Be more specific, as these will probably be present on most C.V's a company receives.

Also what may be beneficial is looking at the kind of job you will be doing in these shops you wish to work for and almost tailoring your Covering Letter or C.V to suit. E.g if the work you are doing possibly involves teamwork, add a few comments in there that show you work well in a group or have experience in a group. Another example would be if you are dealing direct with customers. Try and reflect on how important the customer is, what an example of 'good or excellent' customer service is. Try and get examples in their of you doing this if you can.

Enjoy

[Honoop]

In my opinion a good CV should obviously start with your name, a few personal details ie. address, sex, DOB, etc - then lead on to your qualifications, work experience and putting less important things like interests right at the end before your refs.
I recently sent my CV to an agency and they recommended that you make your CV as easy to read as possible. You have to remember that anyone reading it has had to trowl through tonnes of em so you need to make yours stand out.
Bullet-point as much as you can and DONT be vague. Put in as much as you possibly can about what you have done, comments like "ad-hoc duties" are not good as it could mean anything.
No offence but I read your first one and got bored in about 2 seconds. Change the font, use bold and italics, colour and definitely bullet-points! Remembering not to go too OTT and keep it professional.
You have to remember that your CV is the first thing any prospective employers will see and you need to get as much of yourself across in it as possible, be individual and STAND OUT! There is nothing more boring in this world than reading through a load of CV's that are dull!

Good Luck!