CV Content
Ensure your CV has the right stuff
A professionally presented CV, containing concise and pertinent
information on your technical skills and commercial experience will
play a vital part in securing you an all-important face-to-face
meeting with a client. While it is impossible to define what
constitutes the perfect CV, we would recommend that you bear the
following points in mind when compiling your CV.
Personal Details:
- Head the CV with your full name, address, home and work
telephone, fax numbers and email address, and date of birth.
Keep them
relevant (height, weight etc. not necessary!).
- Make sure you
can be contacted on your contact phone numbers. Leave out your
work number if you don't want to be contacted there.
- Giving an e-mail
address may make you look more technology focused but you have
to make sure that you check your email regularly.
Personal Summary:
- As employers spend minimal time scanning
your CV for information, include a summary of your key
skills, core expertise, experience and career goals in a short
paragraph.
Qualifications:
- Itemise any relevant qualifications or professional
memberships (e.g. ACS).
- If you are limited on work experience
consider listing your academic qualifications first. Reverse
chronological order enables the employer to see what you have
been up to recently.
- Graduates — if you are scrabbling for things to write
about, try glorifying you dissertation — think about what
skills were involved in producing that.
Employment History:
- List your employment history in reverse chronological order,
together with a comprehensive listing of the hardware/software
skills and applications used for each job. For non-IT positions
emphasise interpersonal and commercial skills that you acquired.
Experience:
- Detail key achievements and special projects.
- Employers often mention they are looking for
evidence of business acumen or street credibility within the
business world. Highlight any relevant work experience and
emphasis the skills that you gained from it that will be useful
in the position you are applying for. Make it easy for the
employer to see you would be good for the job.
- Emphasise interpersonal skills and examples of team work:
these areas are becoming increasingly important in IT and can
help you stand out from other prospective candidates.
- Try not to detail minutiae that would be of no interest to the
reader, or anyone outside the particular environment.
CV Length:
There are two schools of thought on this:
- Short 2 to 4 Pages — Many people suggest you try to
restrict your CV to two to four pages, including minimal detail
for IT experience over five years old. Contractors should
highlight experience gained whilst on placement.
We find this is typically a good approach when your CV is
hitting the desk of someone who sees a lot of CVs. For example,
recruitment consultants and the HR people at employer
organisations.
- Hamburger With the Lot — The other view is that the
person who will hire you is likely to see only a few CVs and
they will prefer to see as much detail as possible. We find this
is especially valid in the IT industry, as the managers making
the hiring decisions usually have a technical background. It's
often their inherent nature to want a lot more information than
many others would desire.
We would recommend you consider having at least two types of CVs
prepared. A short format one to get you in the door and a longer
format one to win you the job.
From a psychological view point…
Often the quality and the
tone of the CV will depend on the mental image you have of the
person who is going to read it. Make sure that you are thinking
positively about that person. Imagine them to be friendly and
open-minded. That way you won’t come across as defensive of what
you have done, or arrogant and pompous.
Once you have written your CV,
read it back to get an idea of what kind of impression you are
giving out. If you are happy that your personality is shining
through, send it off and wait for the offers to come flooding
through… well maybe…
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Finding the Right Position
Things to keep in mind when looking for your next position
learn more...
Interview Techniques
Use these tips to make sure your next interview is successful
learn more...
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