Please Help with my CV

[MRMAN]

Hello,
I have attached my cv and would really appreciate any help you can give me to improve it.

I have been looking for work for a while but i haven't been able to get a interview so think it must be down to my cv.

Thank you For you time

[bcarl314]

I looked at this and have a few comments. Remember, this is meant to be constructive critism, so please do not take offense....

First, why have your birthdate? I think that's irrelevant information and can lead to age discrimination (either way) before you even get an interview. I'd drop that.

Second, drop the leisure time info. A good rule of thumb on a resume is to only add information that will help you get the job. If you're applying for a webmaster position at Cabelas, Gander Mountain, or some sporting goods / hiking equipment store, then this might be relevant, otherwise, I'd say drop it.

In all your work experience, your far too wordy. Go through this and eliminate any and all articles that you can (the, a, an, etc). Use either the STAR or PARS format. (STAR = Situation / Task you had, Action you took and Result you achieved: PARS = Problem you had, Action you took, Results you received and Skills you applied).

Finally, look into formatting your resume a little better. My suggestion would be to run to a local book store and pick up a book that has resume samples. It will give you lot's of ideas.

Hope this helps.

[VIPStephan]

Originally Posted by bcarl314

First, why have your birthdate? I think that's irrelevant information and can lead to age discrimination (either way) before you even get an interview. I'd drop that.

Well, not that I know it better but you should be aware of the fact that in different countries they may have different customs. In Germany for example they even require a photo of you (in passport format) if you apply for a job, otherwise they won't even look at your CV. (there was tiny start of a discussion whether this should be abolished due to possible discrimination but nothing really happened so far)

But I guess there are a lot of books about how to apply correctly and what the form of a CV should look like so you could do a little research on the internet or in your town's library, MRMAN.

Edit: Oh and look at the other thread in this forum, called "Discouraged, need some career advice". NancyJ seems to be able to tell you something about good CVs and bad CVs.

[bcarl314]

Oh, good point. Sorry about that. My ego-centric US owns the world attitude came though Your absolutly right. But as he never stated WHERE he was applying for the job, I just gave my opinion.

[VIPStephan]

Originally Posted by bcarl314

My ego-centric US owns the world attitude came though

No problem... we all had this kind of attitude at some point in history... And you had some good suggestions too.

[NancyJ]

Date of Birth is generally considered a requirement for CVs in the UK - its one of the first things I look for, it puts the whole CV into perspective.

Although he didnt say where he was applying for a job, given that his location is Preston, lancashire, England its fair to assume he's applying for jobs in the UK
In the Uk it is customary for your CV to be
Name & Contact Details
D.O.B

Personal Statement

Relevant Skills (if applicable)

Education

Work Experience

Hobbies

the order of education and work experience can be switched around depending whether you're a recent graduate or an experienced professional - the general rule of thumb is order the sections by importance.

Overall, its not bad, I would put your portfolio just below your skills though, its one of the most important and relevant things for a web developer.
Ditch the paragraph about your HND, all they need to know is that you've got one, they'll ask the rest at an interview.
Try to be concise (but use proper english), dont write more than 2 paragraphs about each job, get rid of the 'office worker' line, you have more relevant work experience than that and the dates overlap with your education so you dont need to account for that time.
Use bold rather than underline and dont justify your text, makes it harder to read. I know those sound like silly little things but it makes a big difference when you've got lots of CVs to read.
If you're going to leave references blank, dont include it at all. Most people dont these days, it something to worry about when you're offered the job
Keep your skills precise and to the point
eg.
PHP - 3 years experience
Oracle - studied as part of my HND
etc

I would probably suggest that at your age and considering your level of education that your work experience should be before education. Also some of your specific skills should be listed in general - eg. Good Problem Solving Skills.

Most importantly, dont write too much, when I'm reading cvs I've usually got my boss talking in one ear about some insane marketing stunt and a collegue talking in the other ear about some coding problem, so I'm really just looking for keywords that jump out at me to give it a yes or a no and usually only read the thing properly while I'm walking down to the interview room.

[MRMAN]

Thank you. I m going to re-write and then apply for more.
Thanks again

[abrewitt]

If your going for web work then;

Make ur cv pretty, but keep it simple and elegant.
Too much text abour your education and your jobs.
Also a cv should only be one page in length.

Hope that helps, Anthony