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CV consultation

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Tacalabala
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CV consultation

Post by Tacalabala »

I've just had a CV review back today, and it was pretty, well, blunt. Basically, I don't sell myself well enough because I go on too much about what I do now, and not enough about what I have to offer a potential new employer.

What intrigued me was that they offered a follow-up service:
thefullercv.com wrote:Looking at yourself objectively can be very difficult, yet is necessary
when writing your CV. We recognise the difficulties faced by individuals
and therefore operate a service whereby a recruiter 'interviews' you by
telephone, then writes a new CV for you. Furthermore, you will glean
valuable insights on how the recruiter shortlists candidates and the best
places to apply for your next dynamic career move.

As described above, this includes a full telephone consultation with an
independent, senior HR professional, plus the construction and design of
your own tailor made CV aimed specifically at the industry sector in which
you are aiming to develop and further your career.

Again, I hope that my assessment was of help to you and that The Fuller CV
can work with you to a positive future. The professional CV writing
service we discussed is priced at £159 plus VAT.
I am considering taking them up on this, but won't until payday. What do we think, is it worth it or are there other avenues I can go down to sharpen up my shite CV?

As an aside, I'm trying to fill in the supporting statement for this post at the Heritage Lottery Fund, sounds very interesting - https://forms.hlf.org.uk/applications/H ... &jobid=186" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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Richt
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Re: CV consultation

Post by Richt »

£159 is far too much for this service!

As an ex recruitment consultant (all of about 6 months), I would be happy to look at it for free.

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blahblah
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Re: CV consultation

Post by blahblah »

They slate your cv to make you feel shit then willing accept £175 of your cash to make you feel better. :wink:

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Tacalabala
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Re: CV consultation

Post by Tacalabala »

blahblah wrote:They slate your cv to make you feel shit then willing accept £175 of your cash to make you feel better. :wink:
I can't help but suspect that was the aim :lol:

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Richt
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Re: CV consultation

Post by Richt »

Possibly one of the biggest cons ever!

Email me your CV and I will sort it for you. (Just take off all of your personal details first) :)

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Tacalabala
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Re: CV consultation

Post by Tacalabala »

Richt wrote:£159 is far too much for this service!

As an ex recruitment consultant (all of about 6 months), I would be happy to look at it for free.
Thanks, that'd be tops :o I'll upload it somewhere and PM you the url.

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Re: CV consultation

Post by bluenosey »

Nice of RichT to look at this for you 8-)

I wonder what would happen if you sold yourself too well ? Would the same people come back to you and say you appeared to full of yourself/boastful and you need to play things down ? All for a fee of X amount ? Like those above, I smell a rat.

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Ave a banana
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Re: CV consultation

Post by Ave a banana »

I see the initial CV review is free…..

It would be interesting if RichT or anyone else with knowledge of a good CV when they see one were to send them a near perfect CV for review and see what their response was.

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Richt
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Re: CV consultation

Post by Richt »

Ave a banana wrote:I see the initial CV review is free…..

It would be interesting if RichT or anyone else with knowledge of a good CV when they see one were to send them a near perfect CV for review and see what their response was.
Excellent idea.

I will send mine off tonight and see what they have to say about it.

I have had many people tell me how good it is (not wishing to blow my own trumpet of course). But will be interesting to see what line they give me!

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Tacalabala
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Re: CV consultation

Post by Tacalabala »

:lol: This will be enlightening

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Patrician
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Re: CV consultation

Post by Patrician »

Interesting to see how RichT is going to do this. If your CV is actually bad, it will not be possible to fix just by having a look over it - he will need more info from you.

What type of job are you applying for?

Here are some tips (I managed recruitment for a global management consultancy for two years, and I have never not got an interview since some kind soul taught me how to write a CV 15 years ago). Before you start, do your research, and write down what you think they are looking for and what would be sufficient evidence to demonstrate you are it. That evidence is the basis of your CV for this specific job.

1) Keep it short and concise. ideally one-page, maximum two. Especially if it is a job which is likely to have a lot of applicants. The person screening the CVs doesn't want to read a 7 page document, trust me. Lots of pages do not make a person think "Wow, this guy has done a lot", they really think "this guy is a long winded bore".

2) Start with a short paragraph which sums up your career and expertise so far. These are hard to write but some CV screeners will stop reading here, so make it good. The trick is to show, don't tell. For example:

Tell statement: "I am an energetic and highly results focussed leader."

Reader's reaction = "let me be the judge of that"

Show statement: "I have led numerous $X-YM projects, working directly for the CEO of [Employer]. The benefits delivered by these projects is an increase revenues / decrease costs by £YYm per year."

Reader's reaction = you sound like an energetic results focussed leader

3) Describe each job / position in three short bullet points, and focus on results, not responsbilities, here is an example.

"I managed an 8 person team to deliver a £2M project, which saved the company £10M per year by reducing waste in the manufacturing process" (again, using show statements)

You can tell them how you did it in the interview

4) Start with the most recent stuff, and be more detailed about your most recent job, decrease detail as get further away from the present
5) Leave out stuff that is not relevant to the job you are applying for - you are not writing a chronical of your life, you are writing a specific document to get this job
6) Do include significant out of work activity (charity work, volunteer work etc) if you think the company would appreciate a well rounded character, but skip your hobbies. Mostly, nobody gives a shit if you like reading, walking and fantasy football.

Good luck

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Richt
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Re: CV consultation

Post by Richt »

I have seen it Patrician, and it's not that bad.

Just needs to be cut down a bit as the intro bit is very "essayish" that's a new word?

I will be taking a closer look tonight and also letting him see an example of mine to give him some extra ideas/

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Richt
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Re: CV consultation

Post by Richt »

Tac

Did you get the following message when asking for a review of your CV? Looks like I can only get a free review if I phone them.
Welcome back Richard

We are pleased to introduce a new service that may just help you get that perfect job!

If you are struggling to find a quiet moment to give us a call for your free CV review or it's not really possible for you to do so, we now offer CV Reviews by email!


•Comprehensive review of your CV via email.
•Our email will not only contain valuable feedback on your CV but some good tips on how to write a good CV.
•You don't have to worry about writing anything down as you can re-read the email over and over.
•Follow the links from our email to our partners who provide excellent free CV distribution services.

Due to the extra time required for us to perform your CV review via email, there is a small fee of £11.99(inc. VAT) associated with this beneficial service.

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Ave a banana
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Re: CV consultation

Post by Ave a banana »

Richt wrote:Tac Did you get the following message when asking for a review of your CV? Looks like I can only get a free review if I phone them.
Image

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Tacalabala
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Re: CV consultation

Post by Tacalabala »

Richt wrote:Tac

Did you get the following message when asking for a review of your CV? Looks like I can only get a free review if I phone them.
Welcome back Richard

We are pleased to introduce a new service that may just help you get that perfect job!

If you are struggling to find a quiet moment to give us a call for your free CV review or it's not really possible for you to do so, we now offer CV Reviews by email!


•Comprehensive review of your CV via email.
•Our email will not only contain valuable feedback on your CV but some good tips on how to write a good CV.
•You don't have to worry about writing anything down as you can re-read the email over and over.
•Follow the links from our email to our partners who provide excellent free CV distribution services.

Due to the extra time required for us to perform your CV review via email, there is a small fee of £11.99(inc. VAT) associated with this beneficial service.
Yeah, and I paid the £11.99, figured I had nowt to lose. They're not Ugandan, as far as I know....

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Tacalabala
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Re: CV consultation

Post by Tacalabala »

Patrician wrote:Interesting to see how RichT is going to do this. If your CV is actually bad, it will not be possible to fix just by having a look over it - he will need more info from you.

What type of job are you applying for?

Here are some tips (I managed recruitment for a global management consultancy for two years, and I have never not got an interview since some kind soul taught me how to write a CV 15 years ago). Before you start, do your research, and write down what you think they are looking for and what would be sufficient evidence to demonstrate you are it. That evidence is the basis of your CV for this specific job.

1) Keep it short and concise. ideally one-page, maximum two. Especially if it is a job which is likely to have a lot of applicants. The person screening the CVs doesn't want to read a 7 page document, trust me. Lots of pages do not make a person think "Wow, this guy has done a lot", they really think "this guy is a long winded bore".

2) Start with a short paragraph which sums up your career and expertise so far. These are hard to write but some CV screeners will stop reading here, so make it good. The trick is to show, don't tell. For example:

Tell statement: "I am an energetic and highly results focussed leader."

Reader's reaction = "let me be the judge of that"

Show statement: "I have led numerous $X-YM projects, working directly for the CEO of [Employer]. The benefits delivered by these projects is an increase revenues / decrease costs by £YYm per year."

Reader's reaction = you sound like an energetic results focussed leader

3) Describe each job / position in three short bullet points, and focus on results, not responsbilities, here is an example.

"I managed an 8 person team to deliver a £2M project, which saved the company £10M per year by reducing waste in the manufacturing process" (again, using show statements)

You can tell them how you did it in the interview

4) Start with the most recent stuff, and be more detailed about your most recent job, decrease detail as get further away from the present
5) Leave out stuff that is not relevant to the job you are applying for - you are not writing a chronical of your life, you are writing a specific document to get this job
6) Do include significant out of work activity (charity work, volunteer work etc) if you think the company would appreciate a well rounded character, but skip your hobbies. Mostly, nobody gives a shit if you like reading, walking and fantasy football.

Good luck
Cheers for that Pat, the show/tell analogy is very good indeed.

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SamD
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CV consultation

Post by SamD »

Agree that advice from Patrician is excellent.

Be aware too of spelling and grammar issues in CV and covering letter. Don't rely solely on a spell-checker.

Although this may not seem important to some, it is a reflection of the writer's communication skills. An analogy: have you switched off, at least mentally, when confronted with a poorly-voiced TV or radio programme, or a confusing post on Fiso? So might the recruiter.

Good luck, Tacalabala.

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Tacalabala
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Re: CV consultation

Post by Tacalabala »

Must say it has been really great to see so many FISOers so keen to offer advice :)

Have exchanged emails with Richt and he's really helped to guide me in the right direction with my CV - who'd have thought stating a interest in rusty gear sticks was the secret to a great CV :P :lol: :wink: In all seriousness, Richt's CV really is top of the class.

I'm really happy with what I have now, but will be constantly on the look-out for improvements while bearing in mind all the advice, and obviously slightly changing it to fit the job I'm applying for.

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Richt
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Re: CV consultation

Post by Richt »

Update...

I have just had a telephone call from Fuller.

Had about 5 minutes of the woman talking at me, saying that my CV had fundamental problems. and that for just £199 I could have a telephone appointment with one of their HR specialists, to delve into my history and put together the perfect CV. Then she spouted off some cracking statistics as to how many people get a job quickly after using their services.

I fobbed her off saying that I had a number of other people offering me advice and that I would contact her if I was going to go forward with her.

She asked me what I thought, and I told her exactly! That I used to work in recuitment and that I knew very well what would happen on the phone call with her.

There you go Taca, my CV is shite too :lol:

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Patrician
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Re: CV consultation

Post by Patrician »

:lol:

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Re: CV consultation

Post by Achiles74 »

Richt wrote:Update...

I have just had a telephone call from Fuller.

Had about 5 minutes of the woman talking at me, saying that my CV had fundamental problems. and that for just £199 I could have a telephone appointment with one of their HR specialists, to delve into my history and put together the perfect CV. Then she spouted off some cracking statistics as to how many people get a job quickly after using their services.

I fobbed her off saying that I had a number of other people offering me advice and that I would contact her if I was going to go forward with her.

She asked me what I thought, and I told her exactly! That I used to work in recuitment and that I knew very well what would happen on the phone call with her.

There you go Taca, my CV is shite too :lol:

Would you like me to check your CV.
Free of charge of course,

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Ave a banana
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Re: CV consultation

Post by Ave a banana »

Richt wrote:There you go Taca, my CV is shite too :lol:
Richt wrote:........and that for just £199 I could have a telephone appointment with one of their HR specialists, to delve into my history and put together the perfect CV.
They only wanted £159 off Taca....... Yours is worse!! :mrgreen:

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blahblah
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Re: CV consultation

Post by blahblah »

plus vat :lol:

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Tacalabala
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Re: CV consultation

Post by Tacalabala »

Update

Had an interview this week and.... didn't get the job. BUT, they said that had it not been for the fact that the successful candidate had more technical experience than me, they would have selected me (so I was basically in the final two). In fact, they said I had the best CV and performed the best in interview!

So there you have it, Richt is the eff nuts at CV's, officially :D :D

I suppose I could be all angry and pissed off, but actually I'm now even more motivated. I feel it's a matter of time trather han luck, and that is a good feeling. Thanks to everyone, and of course, Richt especially.

Will let you know any more developments, hopefully there won't be many more if you get my drift.

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Re: CV consultation

Post by Five long bones »

This may not work in all cases, but when I send a CV for a job I feel I may be under qualified for, but would do well at, I e-mail a CV with a trivial error, an incorrect date or a new mobile number. I make an apologetic phone call and get to speak to HR or the person arranging interviews, getting to speak to these people gets me to the interview stage more often than not, I have done this 3 times, two interviews and one job, confidence cannot be portrayed on a CV, a phone call is Gold.

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Richt
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Re: CV consultation

Post by Richt »

Five long bones wrote:This may not work in all cases, but when I send a CV for a job I feel I may be under qualified for, but would do well at, I e-mail a CV with a trivial error, an incorrect date or a new mobile number. I make an apologetic phone call and get to speak to HR or the person arranging interviews, getting to speak to these people gets me to the interview stage more often than not, I have done this 3 times, two interviews and one job, confidence cannot be portrayed on a CV, a phone call is Gold.
I think phoning up to amend your mobile number is a legit reason. But phoning up to say that you have stated an incorrect date just makes you look sloppy / unproffesional / lack of attention to detail etc. IMHO.

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Five long bones
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Re: CV consultation

Post by Five long bones »

Very true Richt, probably better not to misspell unprofessional while I`m focusing on attention to detail :wink:

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Richt
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Re: CV consultation

Post by Richt »

or indeed treat posts on a fantasy football forum as if they are a letter to a potential employer :lol:

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Five long bones
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Re: CV consultation

Post by Five long bones »

Indeed, but who could let that slip past without comment :D

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Richt
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Re: CV consultation

Post by Richt »

Oh of course, it was to be expected :)

But well done on not pointing out that on my last post I started a sentence with a lower case letter.......

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