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    Senior Member AGTDenton's Avatar
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    Advice for a CV rewrite

    I think we can all agree the cost of living is rising in all areas and not by just a little bit.
    The cost of rent today is eye watering. What I used to pay for a 2 bed 10 years ago, now only gets you a room in a shared house


    My current company just doesn't have the opportunities available for me to advance.
    It's always been small, never more than 10 and now we're down to 3.
    While it has it's perks it's also too limiting.


    I dug out my CV and it's clearly going to need a complete rewrite.
    It's scarily been 18 years since I wrote the original in Word 2000


    A few conundrums I'm having are, firstly I've yet to find an example of a layout that suits technical roles.
    Secondly I've yet to find an example of a jack of all trades master of none scenario.
    I've been an IT Analyst, Administrator, Engineer, project planner, documentation writer (how ironic).......
    I'm not quite sure what I should put down or how I should word it.


    If someone knows of where I can find some good modern CV examples with a technical emphasis I'd be very grateful.
    I'm also happy to use a CV writer should anyone have experience with that.

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    Senior Member Kovoet's Avatar
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    Re: Advice for a CV rewrite

    When companies are looking at CV's these days they are not supposed to be those long and winded CV's of the past. Also there are key word's companies look for. My advice is, if you know someone that works in HR ask for advice. I know when I have applications that come through my door I only look at experience. Uni degree's mean nothing to me.
    I'm from the old school which is hard work, not had a day off sick for over 25 years, and more importantly experience in the field that I am in. Also what type of reactor they are low or high.
    Try Linkedin see if you can get something on there.

    https://www.prospects.ac.uk/careers-...-to-write-a-cv
    Last edited by Kovoet; 05-12-2021 at 11:42 AM.
    JABULANI NONKE

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  4. #3
    OwP
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    Re: Advice for a CV rewrite

    I get a fair few CVs sent my way mainly for test technicians, engineers, and assembly operative, so pretty technical. I will always expect a targeted CV if the person is applying for a role, and a general CV if its from a recruitment site. Main things I am looking for are examples of technical competence and experience with named test software and hardware. Education isnt that important, a degree is nice but not necessary, quiet happy with A Levels / B Tech or even good GCSEs if they looked capable. The mob I work for are recruiting at the moment, fancy a move to East Sussex?

    Application Engineer

    Product Manager - Spare Parts

    Materials Handler

    Field Service Engineer-UK/EMEAI

    Senior Embedded Software Engineer

    Senior Electronics Engineer

    Test Technician
    |

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    Missed by us all - RIP old boy spacein_vader's Avatar
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    Re: Advice for a CV rewrite

    I would say that one of the most important things these days is to make it sort of SEO optimised. If its going to a recruiter you before you write the main content for the recruitment agent themselves you need a few bullet points of experience/qualifications for the minimum wage monkey on the front desk to find when they search their database for "X engineer" or whatever. The same will be true if the firm you apply direct to uses some form of recruitment software to manage the process.

    I make the first part either bullet pointed or short sentences with a synopsis if the most relevant qualifications and experience. Then I do the "proper" CV with more depth.

    I also build a Master CV that's fairly generic, that goes to recruiters. If I'm applying for a role direct I use the master as a base then tweak it to the role I'm applying for, emphasising the most relevant skills/experience.

    Although I wasn't in anything like as technical a role as you I'm happy to share my CV if you think it'd be useful. My personal data is of limited use anyway as I'll have snuffed it soon!

    Finally don't underestimate LinkedIn. I hate social media but do use that one. I've been approached for several roles via that platform and taken 2 of them. It also allows you to include more depth than a 2 page CV so if they like your CV and look you up there's more info behind it.

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    Re: Advice for a CV rewrite

    Quote Originally Posted by spacein_vader View Post

    Finally don't underestimate LinkedIn. I hate social media but do use that one. I've been approached for several roles via that platform and taken 2 of them. It also allows you to include more depth than a 2 page CV so if they like your CV and look you up there's more info behind it.
    Build a friends list on this media platform as well and get yourself known out there. It can only help
    JABULANI NONKE

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    Re: Advice for a CV rewrite

    Quote Originally Posted by Kovoet View Post
    When companies are looking at CV's these days they are not supposed to be those long and winded CV's of the past. Also there are key word's companies look for. My advice is, if you know someone that works in HR ask for advice. I know when I have applications that come through my door I only look at experience. Uni degree's mean nothing to me.
    I'm from the old school which is hard work, not had a day off sick for over 25 years, and more importantly experience in the field that I am in. Also what type of reactor they are low or high.
    Try Linkedin see if you can get something on there.

    https://www.prospects.ac.uk/careers-...-to-write-a-cv
    Thanks, yes the requirements are definitely different to when I took my current job 15 years ago.
    Mine is indeed the long winded kind, and reads terribly, amazed I even got the job when I read it!
    I will give LinkedIn a go.



    Quote Originally Posted by OwP View Post
    I get a fair few CVs sent my way mainly for test technicians, engineers, and assembly operative, so pretty technical. I will always expect a targeted CV if the person is applying for a role, and a general CV if its from a recruitment site. Main things I am looking for are examples of technical competence and experience with named test software and hardware. Education isnt that important, a degree is nice but not necessary, quiet happy with A Levels / B Tech or even good GCSEs if they looked capable. The mob I work for are recruiting at the moment, fancy a move to East Sussex?

    Application Engineer

    Product Manager - Spare Parts

    Materials Handler

    Field Service Engineer-UK/EMEAI

    Senior Embedded Software Engineer

    Senior Electronics Engineer

    Test Technician
    |
    Thanks, would you see targeted CVs as a replacement for covering letters or is that still the course of action?

    Thank you for the offers, East Sussex would actually be within the area I need to stick to when I move.
    However, I'm initially aiming for a WFH job based on a recent health episode, which will potentially limit my choices.
    Realistically I'm looking at Feb/March the earliest before I could change.



    Quote Originally Posted by spacein_vader View Post
    I would say that one of the most important things these days is to make it sort of SEO optimised. If its going to a recruiter you before you write the main content for the recruitment agent themselves you need a few bullet points of experience/qualifications for the minimum wage monkey on the front desk to find when they search their database for "X engineer" or whatever. The same will be true if the firm you apply direct to uses some form of recruitment software to manage the process.

    I make the first part either bullet pointed or short sentences with a synopsis if the most relevant qualifications and experience. Then I do the "proper" CV with more depth.

    I also build a Master CV that's fairly generic, that goes to recruiters. If I'm applying for a role direct I use the master as a base then tweak it to the role I'm applying for, emphasising the most relevant skills/experience.

    Although I wasn't in anything like as technical a role as you I'm happy to share my CV if you think it'd be useful. My personal data is of limited use anyway as I'll have snuffed it soon!

    Finally don't underestimate LinkedIn. I hate social media but do use that one. I've been approached for several roles via that platform and taken 2 of them. It also allows you to include more depth than a 2 page CV so if they like your CV and look you up there's more info behind it.
    Thanks, the Master CV method clearly backs up OwP and demonstrates how much things have changed & how out of touch I am.
    A Word document on a floppy disk is no more.

    If you're happy sending your CV it would be very appreciated any head start would be useful.

    Definitely time to explore LinkedIn - I've only ever seen it as something for Directors and Business owners



    Thanks everyone so far, this has been a real eye opener to modern job seeking.

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    Re: Advice for a CV rewrite

    I hire for technical roles regularly - and when I get a CV in my typical approach is to quickly scan the candidates key skills (this is often split into it's own section so is easy to check), and then i'll briefly scan their work experience to get an idea of the sort of work they have done/sort of companies they worked for - and decide whether I want to read more or move on at that point. 2-3 minutes per CV in general, less if the CV is sparse or has a red flag.

    99% of the CVs I get are reformatted by an agency - which actually really helps me as I know where to find the information I need each time So don't worry about making your CV too pretty unless you are going directly - good agencies will reformat for you.

    So for me, an ideal CV is set out as:

    1) Name & role title (always nice to see how a candidate describes their role...it's not always the same as their job title!)
    2) Brief personal statement - 2-3 sentences at most. 95% of people will include the same stuff about honest/good time keeping/hard working etc but the things that jump out are any unique interests or ways of phrasing this. It's important to have this even if its the same on most CVs.
    3) Skills section - I personally like to see a simple list of your key skills here - e.g. for developers, the key languages, platforms, technologies and tools in use
    4) Career history - split by company not project. You really don't want to write much here and that's really hard - but honestly, if I get a whole sheet of A4 for a single role with 10 different projects, I just won't read it in 99% of cases. 1-2 paragraphs per company is normally enough imo, you can always expand on this in an interview
    5) education history - I almost never read this as experience counts a heck of a lot more, but you need to include for reference checks, or if its a junior role
    6) Personal interests - this is getting rarer to see, but I find it useful as a last check and I do tend to read all of these on a CV!

    This is just what i like to see though as a technical recruiter in the software world - it will be different for each recruiter and company, so you will want to try and tailor your CV to the company and role you are applying for. A good recruitment agent will help you with this as they will have worked with their clients for many years - take advantage of this! e.g. a project management role will require less in the way of a skills section but a lot more about project experience, so think about the role you are going for and the company.

    Definitely get on board with a few agencies though - most of the medium-large companies will recruit mostly via them these day as the pre-screening is just too useful and it saves a lot of time - this also means you won't need cover letters for many roles and should make your life a little easier!

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    Re: Advice for a CV rewrite

    Just some quick points as someone from the software dev side...

    Just don't put a photo on it! I'm reviewing hundreds of CVs for a new dev team out in India and it seems to be something 1 in 20 do and its awful. I want to know:
    Skills (bullet pointed is fine - I'm scanning and rejecting anything without key words - I'll find out if you have the skills you say in the interview)
    Experience (list of projects/positions)
    Maybe some light fluff - UK driving license, UK citizen, one or two lines on hobbies (can be a good thing for interview)

    That's it. One to two pages max. The CV is just to see it you have skills we need - nothing more. Once you get the interview is where you sell yourself (nerves are fine, cockiness is not).

    Other advice for interviews (i've given loads but not been interviewed myself in 15 odd years!) - be honest (its better to say I don't know but will find out that try and BS your way), try and avoid one word answers (we're trying to get a feel for you as a candidate) and always have a question to ask (look up firms website and learn about it so you can ask what you will be working on - shows you are interested and self motivated).

    Hope that helps you (or anyone else who finds this page!)
    Trust

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    Re: Advice for a CV rewrite

    Quote Originally Posted by AGTDenton View Post
    Thanks, yes the requirements are definitely different to when I took my current job 15 years ago.
    Mine is indeed the long winded kind, and reads terribly, amazed I even got the job when I read it!
    I will give LinkedIn a go.


    Thanks, would you see targeted CVs as a replacement for covering letters or is that still the course of action?
    While for most jobs you want to keep CVs down to a couple of sides, I don't think that works well for technical CVs. You just have to work around the potential pitfalls of a long CV. My CV starts with a "Profile" section, which has two short paragraphs which describe the sort of work I do, and a sentence saying what I do in my spare time.

    I have an "Education and Qualifications" section next, which mostly lists courses that companies sent me on. Most of those are very company specific, but it shows that a company thought you were worth investing in so I list those, along with my IEEE membership, and finally a line saying I have a B.Eng and a line saying I have 4 A levels but don't bother listing grades. The choice of subjects is quite interesting, but no-one seems to care about grades.

    The idea is to grab the reader's attention. I'm a real-time embedded software engineer, so my CV is 5 sides. The reader can read as much or as little of that as they think is relevant, with each job having a heading with dates worked and oddly people do ask in interview about the things I did in the 1980's despite it being of little relevance to anything these days. But they will start at the top, get an idea of who I am, and then hopefully be hooked enough that another 4 sides of job detail is worth reading. The hobbies bit also helps. I've had plenty of conversations along the lines of "what about Alan", "which one was he?". But if you can say "The karate guy" or "the one with the 3D printer and the cats" then that really helps. Avoids you being forgettable in the crowd of applicants!

    Short CVs can be nice as well, but there is a tendency with omitting detail to end up with the reader thinking "so they were on a team that did that interesting project, but what did *they* specifically do, make the tea?"

    Most job applications are online these days, so a cover letter isn't always an option. My start profile section kind of covers those, and I do sometimes customise that depending on who's attention I'm trying to grab.

    Another vote for Linked in as well. A lot of recruiters these days seem to just do a keyword search on the online CV on there and then send people message requests. I get a few a week even though I haven't touched linked-in for a couple of years now. If you are actively looking, then make small changes to your linked in profile every couple of weeks, recent activity seems to boost where you turn up in searches.

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