CV (I know there are a lot of these posts already made)

[saltydog]

Hello all! I know there are already a lot of posts regarding CV's etc but I was wondering if some of you/or someone to give me a personal evaluation of mine. Any information would be VERY much appreciated!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1IqpSPhrq9Hxc96rLPBX6pOsLSoC_ACtej-XWq6gwSTQ/edit

(It is actually only on 2 pages but google has made it longer!)

Hope you all had a nice Christmas and I wish you all the very best for 2013.

Saltydog

[saltydog]

Also, If people could also post the "perfect CV" layout/content then that will also be very beneficial to others + what people look for

Saltydog

[jackdb1996]

What you have acchieved is pretty good - something that the recruitment officer for princess told me last year at Warsash, is the one thing that interest people when they read is a story as such - personality. He said rather than only identify acchievements, tell them what you like to do on weekends and things like that.

I have sent mine off this morning!

Who are you applying to?

?Buena suerte!

[saltydog]

Would you say that what I have achieved etc would be what they are looking for? I know competition is tough and I feel like an under achiever to be honest!

I have applied to Clyde Marine Training and a few others. What about yourself?

?Igualmente!

[jackdb1996]

I guess so, I mean the only way to find out is to send it and see.
But the volunteering, DofE, responsiblity and things are great and i'm sure they'll go for that, as they show different skills e.g. teamwork, dedication etc.
I have applied to Clyde too, as well as Carnival UK, Ship Safe Training Group, and Princess.
What position are you applying for, Deck?

[saltydog]

I guess so when you put it like that but you already have an advantage over me mate! You got a B in Maths (or above) and I only got a C which is going to be difficult. SSTG, Carnival etc just say no to a C. I have applied to all companies that say C but they are only going to take the best! It's only logical! But yes I do aspire to be a deck cadet. Do you know Ny current cadets.

[Clanky]

OK.....

The first thing that I noticed is that it's too wordy,

I am a good team player and an individual who can work well in a team

You have just said the same thing twice, remember that the people reviewing your cv will have eleventeen million of these to look at, it's not an English essay that you are writing.

I also think that you should look at the order in which you present stuff, personally I think you should go with

Personal Statement

Education

Employment History

Work experience

Extra carricular stuff like the ATC

Everything else.

With all the paragraphs, try to make them quite succinct and less narrative. The special constable thing is brilliant and will really catch recruiters attention, but I would suggest that you summarise as:

Special Constable (Voluntary)
******** Constabulary (2012 present)

- Protecting life and property
- Enforcing the law
- Ensuring public safety

This role requires a thorough knowledge of the law as well as good communication and inter-personal skills. Acting as a special constable has helped to develop my self-confidence and a keen sense of responsibility

I would look at all of the sections and try and make them a little more like this, I know it's difficult when you have had English teachers at school trying to encourage you to be verbose and eloquent in your writing for the past 13 years, but with cv's less can be more.

Hope this helps
Paul.

[saltydog]

Hi Paul,

Thank you for your advice, when I finish helping my parents change the prop on the boat I will edit it.

Best regards,

Ed

[ETwhat?]

Having had a look at it, it certainly puts across that you have done things and seem to be out going, that you have used the time between college and now to do something. But the actual text is poorly written, theres a huge amount of repetition i.e. when your talking about the police
"it to protect people and property.
• Protecting life and property"

really do you need to say the exact same thing twice right below the first one?

"Also having access to the schools security systems is also a privilege."

i would combine the security bit into the first scentence, you say work effectively as a team, you mean work effectively in a team or with a team. The bit about the balloon, its got state of the art gps, why what was your involvement (mention navigation etc as that links it into the deck thing). I wouldnt list the BTEC in aviation three times so as its not a GCSE leave it only in the other achievements, and as your going to be applying on the strength of the GCSE's i wouldnt list the grades for the A levels, just list three A'levels in the subjects (however read over what the requirements are for each company if they arent going to care about the grade then dont show them you got a D.

For your IT/Web company i would change Collegue to friend as its when your 17-19, its also worth saying what happened to it, was it a viable business that you have stopped to become a cadet or did it just run out of steam. And finally the personal statement needs a few changes, get someone to read through it and correct the spelling and grammar (im horribly dyslexic and even i can see the mistakes).

You ask for Layout / content, I will say again that i think the content is very good, you have packed a fair amount into the time and have reasonable grades and a pretty diverse range of activities other than school. Layout is pretty much spot on, make sure that in your formatt that nothing is clipped from the bottom of the first page and placed on the second, can be worth playing with the margins a bit to make sure that happens.

Its not the worst CV but by using better english it will come across better, as it will read easier rather than having to take a moment to ponder what your actually saying,

[ETwhat?]

Oh and you should never complete things to the best of your ability, this is a job and you dont get credit for effort, in school you get 80% right and you think its all good in work if you get 20% wrong all the time you get fired, so you complete things to a very high standard, becasue obviously your far more able than the tasks your doing.


EDIT: sorry Clanky's post just got in there before me, but well you can see the generaly view,

[Clanky]

I also think that you should look at the order in which you present stuff, personally I think you should go with

Personal Statement

Education

Employment History

Work experience

Extra carricular stuff like the ATC

Everything else.

Just as a general note on cv's....

When you have qualified and completed a trip to sea then the priorities change, at the minute the most important thing that potential sponsors want to know is whether or not you have the academic potential to complete the course, everything else is secondary. Once you have been to sea for a while however it is your employment history which becomes important and that should go first on your cv, I don't even bother with my A-levels and GCSE's on there any more.

Try to think about what matters to your prospective employer and present the information in the order that they are looking for it. So if you are applying for a cadetship then I would suggest the order above, if you are applying for a job as a junior officer then your school qualifications are still relevant, IMHO, as soon as you get your first higher certificate of competence (mates or second engineer) then the school stuff no longer matters, potential employers will want to know where you have worked and on what kind of ship, everything else is secondary.

[timmillea]

What wise advise - listen to Clanky!

My only addition would be to say that most application processes these days require filling in an online form. I would absolutely stick to Clanky's formula above as far as you can, despite the form. That, is give priority to the list above regardless.

I may be an 'aspiring cadet' but I have dealt with many thousands of job applications in the past. As an employer, the number of applications one receives can be overwhelming. First, I had to dismiss all those that don't meet the minimum advertised criteria - and this is the majority of applicants. After that, it becomes very difficult to select people for interview. I didn't want to disappoint an unnecessary number of candidates but I had to make sure that I had the best there to chose from. Clear CVs are a huge help but certainly not everything. Selection should always be on merit, despite a bad CV! So, I would say a good CV is an aid to the selector but a bad CV won't lose you the job to a good selector.

Tim.

[saltydog]

Hello All,

Thank you SO much for all your advice. I know its a pain going through someone's CV but hay! So once again THANK YOU.

I am still not happy with it and I am still taking on board all your advice and editing. Here is another draft:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1IqpSPhrq9Hxc96rLPBX6pOsLSoC_ACtej-XWq6gwSTQ/edit

I know its not the best CV but there is always going to be someone better!

Best regards,

Ed

[Liisjak]

Hello,

I'm also currently trying to write my very 1st CV.
Should I include the title and a brief description of the thesis with which I got my Uni. degree?
The thesis is about Water mist systems aboard vessels, with simulations on how fire spreads through compartments which I performed/and extinguishing of said fires.
So basically, would it be interesting for the employer to read about such things?

Best regards.

[saltydog]

Hello Liisjak,

Well I am not a deck cadet (yet) and I genuinely have no idea what they are looking for. I know my CV is not the best but take a look, I posted the link in my last post. The thing most people keep saying is keep it short, snappy and just filled with relevant information. Take a look,

Good luck!