Upgrading my cv

[Mellijelli]

Well Christmas and new year are a thing of the past once again, and iv decided that my CV needs some polishing up, just have a feeling that some new opportunities are going to be up for grabs in this new year, so i want to be well prepared, now iv looked around for some good CV writing (http://www.cvwritingcentre.co.uk/?c=caai) applications or places that can help me sort out or better my CV as im not altogether sure how to go about doing it professionally myself, but i want to explore all my options so if anyone has some ideas id be grateful if you could pass it along :D thx guys.

[m8internet]

During my first few years of employment I had to update my CV almost every three to six months

I then had two companies look at it, advising it was too long with very little personalisation!
The main criticism was that I had retained my complete record of employment
I was advised to summarise the period from leaving school up to three years ago
The most recent three years should be more detailed

For some jobs I agree, such as part-time or non-career
However for some jobs I am looking for details where experience matters

Equally, I disagree that a CV should be personalised
Yes, I am interested in what the candidates interests and aspirations are, but I prefer to find out about this at interview
I much prefer a CV that contains the primary information; education and relevant qualifications, complete work history, detailed relevant work experience

Nexty, is the length of a CV
I have always kept my CV to three pages
I was shocked to be advised that was too long!
Having now seen many CVs, my three pages appears to be the average, as I have seen many that are longer
As above, it only needs to be a summary, that way at interview you can add more detailed information

Finally, learn your CV
During interview if you get ANY information incorrect this will put doubt in the interviewer
Obviously nerves at interview may cause some slight errors, but I have seen some people make clear errors that make it quite obvious the CV does not reflect the actual level of qualification, experience or work history

[SallyA]

That is some very good advice m8internet - I definitely agree with keeping it to the point and saving the details for the interview! Oh and definitely learn your CV - Hehe the amount of people that get things mixed up and wrong are amazing! But it always casts doubt if you overdo the mistakes so make sure you know what you have said and can back it up!

There are a whole load of sites on the net where you can free templates and advice - I typed FREE CV TEMPLATE into Google and here are some of them for reference;

CV Tips (http://www.cvtips.com/resumes-and-cvs/templates.html)

Monster (http://content.monster.co.uk/section4664.asp)

There are loads more and also different search terms you can try?

Also I would recommend getting someone to read through it for you and offering advice etc... You can't see yourself like others do so it is the hardest thing to sell yourself I think.

Hope this helps :D

[HRinthebuild]

I think a great practice is having someone read the CV and see if they know enough to "buy" you. If there isn't anything there showing your personality and ability, then it is not effective. This is the place where they get a glimpse of how you go about achieving the objectives set forth before you. There are many options for help, but I think you should definitely be prepared for some tough feedback when you are first starting or starting over. Human resource management (http://www.paycor.com/) will immediately recognize the changes that you make and recognize that they want to interview you. This can be a long process, but keep your head up. Good things will happen for you!