# Writing a CV.



## Sutty 90 (Aug 24, 2014)

Hey guys!

I have just found out that I'm soon to be made redundant from my job! Great, and to make matters worse we have a baby on the way! Can't beat good timing eh! 

Can anyone help point me in the right direction of a good website to help me write my new CV? Or even just any good tips? This is not somthing ive had to do for a while and I'm absolutely rubbish at putting myself forward on paper so any help will be appreciated!

Thanks in advance,

Sutty.


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## MDC250 (Jan 4, 2014)

Have you looked into recruitment agencies? Lots will help with things live CVs etc. Would still look for direct applications as well but if you get a leg up on the CV front along the way can't be a bad thing?


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## GleemSpray (Jan 26, 2014)

The person / agency you are dealing with will have a huge stack of CV's to deal with. The starting point for them will always be to reduce the pile by rejecting any clearly unsuitable candidates AND ALSO any CV's which are confusing / long winded.

So..more than anything else.. make your CV immediately clear and to the point.

Name, address , contact phone / email

Then a brief description of what you have done previously which is of relevance to what you are looking for along with brief details of any relevant training or qualifications, finishing with the type of work you are looking for. Keep all this to 2 or 3 paragraphs.

Then you can leave a few lines of space or insert a line - then fully detail your experience, starting with most recent and working backwards as far as you think relevant. Don't leave any mysterious time-line gaps - if you were out of work for a period, then say so.

This all helps the reader make a quick decision as to whether to reject you or keep you for the interview pile and read later. If the first page of your CV is clear and to the point with quick details of what you have to offer and what you want, you are far more likely to avoid round 1 of the bin.

Good Luck !! ...and always remember that employers want to find the right person just as much as you want to find the right job.


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## SBM (Jul 4, 2013)

Sorry to hear this Sutty 90. Been there before so know how you feel.
With your CV the key things are:

First thing at the top is to have a box with your contact details bold and clear (Name, email address, location and contact number)

Next is a career highlights summary box which should contain what your role is, key qualifications and achievements and what you are looking for. So for example say, you are a maths teacher, have a 1st class degree in maths, been teaching GCSE maths in secondary schools for 5 years, exemplary record, 80% students you teach pass C grade or higher first time, run after school sports club etc.
The key thing with this box is to keep is consise and short. This way anyone reading your CV in 30 seconds should get the gist of what you do and how you fit the job you are applying for. For this last point you should tailor this box to each job you apply for. so if they do a key word search it should match the key things they are looking for. It also means you only really have to tailor this box for your CV to match an application rather than amend all of it:thumb:

Lastly complete the full details of your CV as normal. List each role you have had, from when to when, and for who. List all you key tasks/responsibilities and their outcome. On this last point its very important to make the details meaningful. For example rather than just put "manage relationship with 3rd party support provider and the budget for this". its much more effective to put "negotiations with support provider led to a 25% reduction in support costs to our business". Obviously everything must be accurate and true!
In short where possible don't just list tasks you do, give examples of how what you do benefits your employer especially if the outcome, reduces costs, environmental impact, creates new opportunities, increases business or profit.

Hope the above helps :thumb: and good luck!


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## Sutty 90 (Aug 24, 2014)

MDC250 said:


> Have you looked into recruitment agencies? Lots will help with things live CVs etc. Would still look for direct applications as well but if you get a leg up on the CV front along the way can't be a bad thing?


I have started writing my new CV and plan to apply for jobs both direct and through agencies if it's the right one for me. Ideally I want to go direct as much as possible.

Sutty


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## Sutty 90 (Aug 24, 2014)

GleemSpray said:


> The person / agency you are dealing with will have a huge stack of CV's to deal with. The starting point for them will always be to reduce the pile by rejecting any clearly unsuitable candidates AND ALSO any CV's which are confusing / long winded.
> 
> So..more than anything else.. make your CV immediately clear and to the point.
> 
> ...


Thank you for your advice mate I've taken it on board!

Sutty


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## Sutty 90 (Aug 24, 2014)

SBM said:


> Sorry to hear this Sutty 90. Been there before so know how you feel.
> With your CV the key things are:
> 
> First thing at the top is to have a box with your contact details bold and clear (Name, email address, location and contact number)
> ...


Than you for the advice it's helped me a lot, hopefully I'll be able to successfully put it into practice!

Sutty


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## Alfieharley1 (Jun 8, 2014)

Ditty if you want me to send my CV to you I am more than happy to you. I went on a CV workshop with work.
We tried and tested a lot of CVs.

Mine is very different but it will make you stand out. My wife has the same one. She wet to a Interview and the managers said how different and fantastic it was.


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## MDC250 (Jan 4, 2014)

Sutty 90 said:


> I have started writing my new CV and plan to apply for jobs both direct and through agencies if it's the right one for me. Ideally I want to go direct as much as possible.
> 
> Sutty


Good plan 

Direct is going to be attractive to an employer as they save a truck load of fees to a recruitment agency.

Flip side an agency can open doors and will know the market. Trick is picking which agency or agencies have the good stuff on their books.

Wish you all the very best with your search, easy for me to say but stay positive.


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## M8ttB (May 22, 2016)

I'm a Uni student so have had quite a bit of inputs for CV. I've always been told to format it so it reads clearly and concisely. A brief summary/statement at the top of the page about you then subheadings for:

Previous jobs

Qualifications etc 

Hobbies/interests

I think the direct gov site has a section on employment and a free CV builder will be good

Hope this helps 

Sent from my Lenovo P2a42 using Tapatalk


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## Will_G (Jan 23, 2012)

I'd echo MDC250 regarding direct employment rather than through agencies depending on what line of employment you're in. My line of work is quite specialised and we can be subject to fees of 20% of annual salary to agencies.

We've also ran into issues where people engage with agencies not fully aware of the terms and conditions they are restricted by


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## Sutty 90 (Aug 24, 2014)

Alfieharley1 said:


> Ditty if you want me to send my CV to you I am more than happy to you. I went on a CV workshop with work.
> We tried and tested a lot of CVs.
> 
> Mine is very different but it will make you stand out. My wife has the same one. She wet to a Interview and the managers said how different and fantastic it was.


Yeah please mate if you don't mind? Any suggestions are very welcome. I've made a start tonight and I'm pretty happy with it so far but will be revising it!

Sutty


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## Sutty 90 (Aug 24, 2014)

M8ttB said:


> I'm a Uni student so have had quite a bit of inputs for CV. I've always been told to format it so it reads clearly and concisely. A brief summary/statement at the top of the page about you then subheadings for:
> 
> Previous jobs
> 
> ...


Cheers mate, I have one but I'm looking for somthing that will make it stand out and be that bit different. In my opinion it's just a bit boring and bland, I need that little somthing to get me to an interview where I can hopefully shine!

Sutty


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## Alfieharley1 (Jun 8, 2014)

Sutty 90 said:


> Yeah please mate if you don't mind? Any suggestions are very welcome. I've made a start tonight and I'm pretty happy with it so far but will be revising it!
> 
> Sutty


Nps at all mate - PM me your email address and I'll send mine & the wife's. You will see they are not in a bland format  everything will be still written mate so you can pick bits out


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## Sutty 90 (Aug 24, 2014)

Will_G said:


> I'd echo MDC250 regarding direct employment rather than through agencies depending on what line of employment you're in. My line of work is quite specialised and we can be subject to fees of 20% of annual salary to agencies.
> 
> We've also ran into issues where people engage with agencies not fully aware of the terms and conditions they are restricted by


Yeah I'm in a specialised job myself at the minute, I'm a paint sprayer for an engineering company that specialises in coating stuff for the oil & nuclear industry. The price of oil over the last year has killed the company. Hopefully I'll find somthing similar!

Sutty


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## Sutty 90 (Aug 24, 2014)

A little update!

Cheers for all your help and advice guys! I have got a new job which I start Monday! Oddly enough I didn't even have to apply for it, I just popped into the company by chance as I was passing and asked about any vacancies. They were impressed with me and my CV enough that they have taken me on for an upcoming contract! I've also had a decent amount of interest from jobs I actually applied for. 

Once again thanks for your help, I doubt I could have done it without all your contributions! This is just another reason that I love this community that detailing world is!

Sutty


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## Alfieharley1 (Jun 8, 2014)

Congrats mate and well done!!! Im sure it is one less thing to worry about.

Did you ever receive my CVs bud?


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## SBM (Jul 4, 2013)

Well done and good luck on the new contract buddy :thumb:


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## Sutty 90 (Aug 24, 2014)

Big shout out to dchapman88 too, he sent me a copy of his CV which gave me a good few ideas on how to structure mine! 

Sutty


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## Sutty 90 (Aug 24, 2014)

Alfieharley1 said:


> Congrats mate and well done!!! Im sure it is one less thing to worry about.
> 
> Did you ever receive my CVs bud?


Cheers mate! No I didn't receive them first some reason, but thank you anyway!

Sutty


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## dchapman88 (Mar 17, 2016)

Sutty 90 said:


> Big shout out to dchapman88 too, he sent me a copy of his CV which gave me a good few ideas on how to structure mine!
> 
> Sutty


Much love


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## Andy from Sandy (May 6, 2011)

Depending on your age it may only be necessary to go back 10 years of work history.

On my last CV I left off my school education and it wasn't questioned. I kept it short to about 2 1/2 to 3 pages. My contact details at the top then job history from current in reverse order. Major achievements. Training courses attended.

If you read this forum and social media look at all the grammar and spelling mistakes. People say it doesn't matter but I say it is constant practice for when you have to produce a formal document like an application form or a CV. Make absolutely sure your CV is spot on as that is the first reason it goes straight in the bin.

EDIT: Good luck with the new job.


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## Sutty 90 (Aug 24, 2014)

Andy from Sandy said:


> Depending on your age it may only be necessary to go back 10 years of work history.
> 
> On my last CV I left off my school education and it wasn't questioned. I kept it short to about 2 1/2 to 3 pages. My contact details at the top then job history from current in reverse order. Major achievements. Training courses attended.
> 
> ...


Sound advice my friend, thank you!

Sutty


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