[Thank you]

Does my CV look good enough?

No. I doubt they would offer you a job anyway.

[Aaron.Bishop]

Originally Posted by Scott_P

Technically, they are a pass, but don't look terribly good. I got an F in French and P.E and omit them from the GCSE results section on my CV.

Your latest version isn't bad, you need to prioritise your qualifications though, you have too many that look like mickey mouse courses.

No one will care if you did an ACME course in brushing your teeth (even if you got an A in it).

What sort of jobs are you looking for?

So regardless of whether they are a pass in F-G they still don't look good or won't get you anywhere in life although you did achieve them at schooI. I think I'm finally getting the grasp of this now. I understand how the qualifications need editing or prioritising but that's the only issue now of my CV then I won't have anymore problem's to worry about because according to this it just looks as if I never even tried anything at school and like you said just all look like ''mickey mouse courses'' but I did of course considering that I fought hard and strong while working in my English GCSE exams ad among the rest of those subjects too. I am interested in the ICT/Retail sector and this afternoon applied for a 'Shop Assistant' from the Jobcentre Plus website, as my advisor told me to do so to get a kick start in life as my first job so I happened to apply for that one by email and still awaiting an reply many more jobs to apply for yet though so I won't be given up to soon.

Originally Posted by Thank you

Does my CV look good enough?

No. I doubt they would offer you a job anyway.

Quite a rubbish attitude that. I bet you never even read through the whole six pages of the thread.

[smudges dad]

Originally Posted by Aaron.Bishop

As far as I know F-G are passes.

A* to C are good passes which allow you to do further study. I suppose F-G are good for people who aren't academically inclined. Worrying that my CSE grade 3 French would get me an E these days when I can't do languages at all.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General...dary_Education

[Scott_P]

If you're interested in IT, industry qualifications will be very useful, a lot of people I used to work with did apprenticeship schemes with a company called Zenos, I think they're still about but have rebranded, have a look at the Comptia series of exams, A+, ECDL etc, they'll show you have an aptitude for computing and attention to detail...although be warned, they're quite techy.

[1saintly]

Originally Posted by Aaron.Bishop

Education
Stockton Riverside College (September 2011 – present)
• Studying for City & Guilds qualifications in Trowel Occupations: Bricklaying Level 1.
• Contents of training included safe working practices, quantities and communication, building methods and construction technology, basic block laying including laying blocks to line, gauge and level, basic bricklaying from creating brick work structures using different methods of bonding, construction of cavity walls around simple openings, setting out masonry structures for foundation and substructures.

If i was looking at it, i would be asking why you havent set yourself a career path out.
You have Technology qualifications, and yet you are doing a course in bricklaying

Also take out the

GCSE English – F
GCSE Science – G
GCSE Art and Design – F
GCSE D&T: Resistant Materials – F
GCSE D&T: Textiles (Short Course) – F
GCSE Design and Technology (Short Course) – E
from youre CV

Also you dont mention you are CRB registered, and yet you worked with children

[Akane Tendo]

Originally Posted by Scott_P

If you're interested in IT, industry qualifications will be very useful, a lot of people I used to work with did apprenticeship schemes with a company called Zenos, I think they're still about but have rebranded, have a look at the Comptia series of exams, A+, ECDL etc, they'll show you have an aptitude for computing and attention to detail...although be warned, they're quite techy.

You don't need the ECDL for working in IT, it's for office skills. Not what I would call proper IT. Best getting some proper IT qualifications like A+, or doing a diploma. You can self study for the A+, lots of free material floating around if you know where to look.

[laura:)]

The problem is that (even though it's not) it looks like a joke CV, and that's probably why you're not getting many responses.

For the GCSEs I would just mention how many passes you have rather than individual grades, listing F grades doesn't look good. For example, 12 GCSEs including Maths and English. I would also just include only what you feel are important and relevant qualifications for the job, listing lots of Level 1 qualifications isn't necessary.

Also, in your personal statement you need to back up what you are saying with facts. Anyone can say they have a keen eye for detail, you need to give evidence of this.

[Beau_Soir]

Originally Posted by laura:)

The problem is that (even though it's not) it looks like a joke CV, and that's probably why you're not getting many responses.

For the GCSEs I would just mention how many passes you have rather than individual grades, listing F grades doesn't look good. For example, 12 GCSEs including Maths and English. I would also just include only what you feel are important and relevant qualifications for the job, listing lots of Level 1 qualifications isn't necessary.

Also, in your personal statement you need to back up what you are saying with facts. Anyone can say they have a keen eye for detail, you need to give evidence of this.

[davey_wavey]

Originally Posted by Skyclad

I've highlighted in bold the elements that I would be taking notice of if your CV landed on my desk. The rest is skim read and frankly would make my job easier if it didn't exist.

I'll leave you to work out what, of the highlighted elements, I would class as positive or negative qualities.

I'll be honest though - currently your CV screams underachiever or special needs. I might be tempted to bring you in for an interview only if my HR advisor had been moaning about me excluding minorities. Otherwise I'm afraid you would be in the bin. If my colleague had got it you probably wouldn't be straight in the bin - she's more likely to send it around for others to have a laugh at.

Harsh maybe, but that's life.

Wow, how lovely

I wish you all the best OP I'm in the middle of changing about my CV too.

[Aaron.Bishop]

Originally Posted by laura:)

The problem is that (even though it's not) it looks like a joke CV, and that's probably why you're not getting many responses.

For the GCSEs I would just mention how many passes you have rather than individual grades, listing F grades doesn't look good. For example, 12 GCSEs including Maths and English. I would also just include only what you feel are important and relevant qualifications for the job, listing lots of Level 1 qualifications isn't necessary.

Also, in your personal statement you need to back up what you are saying with facts. Anyone can say they have a keen eye for detail, you need to give evidence of this.

So basically something that looks a bit like this? I know what people are going to say about it again but it just looks even worse than before with a shortage of qualifications of importance for an ICT job vacancy, as you can see in the box below I haven't listed the grades but if I do get accepted for an interview then I can always give him/her the list of grades for each qualification relating to ICT or something or other, some what I still think the below looks piss poor but I can possibly enhance that by taking on A+ qualifications in an apprenticeship and once at the end of the apprenticeships when I've got the qualification, I can then add it to the list of qualifications I have got to enhance me more of getting a job in ICT.

Abbey Hill School and Technology College (September 2009 – June 2011)
• 6 GCSEs include (English, Science, Art and Design, Resistant Materials, Textiles, and Design and Technology.)
• OCR Nationals units include (National Award In ICT: I had to learn four different modules in ICT Skills for Business, Desktop publishing, Spreadsheets, Web Design and Webpage creation.)
• ASDAN Functional Skills in ICT units include (Information and Communication Technology.)

Abbey Hill School and Technology College (September 2008 – June 2009)
• 7 GCSEs include (English, Mathematics, Science, Information and Communication Technology, Art and Design: Photography, Media Studies and French.)

[1saintly]

Originally Posted by Aaron.Bishop

So basically something that looks a bit like this? I know what people are going to say about it again but it just looks even worse than before with a shortage of qualifications of importance for an ICT job vacancy, as you can see in the box below I haven't listed the grades but if I do get accepted for an interview then I can always give him/her the list of grades for each qualification relating to ICT or something or other, some what I still think the below looks piss poor but I can possibly enhance that by taking on A+ qualifications in an apprenticeship and once at the end of the apprenticeships when I've got the qualification, I can then add it to the list of qualifications I have got to enhance me more of getting a job in ICT.

So why are you wasting youre time doing a bricklaying course?

[Aaron.Bishop]

Originally Posted by 1saintly

So why are you wasting youre time doing a bricklaying course?

Just to remind you last week (Wednesday 13th June 2012) was my last day of bricklaying then I'll be moving onto an FdSc Computing course in September 2012 of this year at college, but meanwhile I can still study for an ICT apprenticeship as a summer job. But If you're wondering why I had chosen bricklaying as my first choice then I honestly do not know, I had an little interest in trowel occupations when I was small and wished to be a bricklayer but my interest has suddenly now changed to ICT.

[pta1902]

[EDIT] Just seen you're looking to work in IT and not as a bricklayer. You can substitute the word bricklayer for IT professional though. The same general theory applies. [/EDIT]

Aaron

Here's some advice - it's unconventional and will require you to put yourself out there. It's also much easier said than done and will take a lot of practice, trial and error and rejections but I think it might help you to get better results and land a job that you want.

CVs certainly have their place - but what careers advisers and well-meaning friends and family do not tell you is that many positions are not filled through people submitting CVs. They're filled through referrals, recommendations or past experience working with people. Yes, you need a CV but don't spend all your time on it. Instead, think about what kind of work you want to do and go direct to the source.

You're studying for a diploma in bricklaying so I'm going to assume you're looking for work as a bricklayer. Who might be able to get you hired? Someone who works in bricklaying already. How would you find a bricklayer? Open the Yellow Pages or goto yell.com. Some bricklayers may even use websites like LinkedIn.com. You then have phone numbers or email addresses. Contact the bricklayers, tell them you found them in the Yellow Pages or whatever and that you're currently studying for your diploma and are just starting out in the industry. You're going to offer to work for them for free in order to get experience and make contacts that will help you get paid work in the near future, but as they don't know you and you're just some guy over the phone you need to minimise the risk to them of taking you on board. Say that you'd like to help them out on their next job, whenever that is. Make clear that you will not be a burden to them and that you just want to lend them a helping hand. If they find you're getting in the way after the first day then you'll completely understand.

This will get your foot in the door. From there, it's up to you to try and convert this into a paid job. So be reliable, turn up on time, put in the graft and ask relevant questions. Make it about them as much as possible. Ask them how they got started, what jobs they've worked on before, what jobs they're working on in the future. Mention that you'll continue to work for free for another week or two or whatever, but if they like you then you'd like to discuss pay. Crucial to this is building up the rapport with the bricklayer and making them a potential employer.

Just a suggestion but give it a go.

Good luck.

[1saintly]

Also mentioning you had CRB clearance when working with children, would provide you with access to more places, you did have it?

[jo.bee]

If you haven't got much work experience it is worth considering a 'skills based' CV.

This means that instead of more traditional headings you have skills as each heading and then show examples for each one. For instance:

COMMUNICATION SKILLS
-Liased with customers to ensure Betterware catalogue orders were correctly placed to continue the high customer satisfaction levels expected by the company
-Supervised play activities with young children at Cleverclogs Daycare
-pick another example

TEAM WORK
-Worked with other members of X Badminton club to arrange matches/socials etc
-Coordinated project as part of X qualification
etc etc, using examples from school/work/college - pick out the best (and don't forget to exaggerate anything that can't be substantiated! )

This way you can show the employer examples of all the qualities they are looking for. It's how I have my CV laid out and it's been very successful. I list my last couple of jobs and educational history in the last third of my CV. If your academic qualifications aren't as good employers are going to read all your examples/experiences first so will probably have judged you before they get to the grades. That is to say, if they've already decided they've liked you so far they'll take a chance on you and not reject you outright if you haven't got the right grades (as an aside I'm another person who would definitely take out the actual GCSE grades - they take up too much space and don't really add much, sorry).

Obviously if you adapted this it would involve a massive re-doing of what you already have but it's something to think about - it won't be so obvious that a lot of your work experience is short-term work and I find it much easier to sell yourself.

[bart4858]

Originally Posted by Aaron.Bishop

Abbey Hill School and Technology College (September 2009 – June 2011)
• 6 GCSEs include (English, Science, Art and Design, Resistant Materials, Textiles, and Design and Technology.)

Abbey Hill School and Technology College (September 2008 – June 2009)
• 7 GCSEs include (English, Mathematics, Science, Information and Communication Technology, Art and Design: Photography, Media Studies and French.)

You have two GCSEs in English? Or counting the same one twice? And possibly in Art and Design too?

I haven't read the whole thread, but didn't you have 5 at the beginning, then it went up to 19, now it's a dubious 13! The number of exam passes should be one of those things on a CV requiring the least creativity (after your name, address and date-of-birth).

[Aaron.Bishop]

Originally Posted by bart4858

You have two GCSEs in English? Or counting the same one twice? And possibly in Art and Design too?

I haven't read the whole thread, but didn't you have 5 at the beginning, then it went up to 19, now it's a dubious 13! The number of exam passes should be one of those things on a CV requiring the least creativity (after your name, address and date-of-birth).

No, the top one where I received 6 GCSEs () is from Abbey Hill School, and we had a Technology College all built on one site so that's why I listed them both twice on the bottom one with complete different qualifications than the first. So basically they where all separate GCSEs.

[Stunty]

Originally Posted by peon

an important milestone for most people i should think, first use of that bus pass.

Surely there should be a or a at the end of that post?

Using a bus pass it a pretty simple day to day experience, it really is no achievement.

I had a school bus pass when I was aged 11 to go to and from school on public transport, it was never on my CV!!

[smudges dad]

Originally Posted by Stunty

Surely there should be a or a in that post?

Using a bus pass it a pretty simple day to day experience, it really is no achievement.

I had a school bus pass when I was aged 11 to go to and from school on public transport, it was never on my CV!!

I've never had a bus pass

My CV is pointless

[Stunty]

CV's should be a concise resume of your qualifications, aptitude and experience. Short and sharp with the mantra of 'what you did, how you did it, what was the result'.

Daycare Supervisor, Clever Clogs Daycare (2011 – 2011)
• Responsible for looking after children in the daycare centre who need support.
• Listening to their problems and assess how I can help them and improve their situation.
• Help by reading out books out loud during lesson times.
• Provide an extra pair of hands to help children cope with everyday classroom issues.
• Provide with help at hand from looking after individuals' in the playground.

Distributor, Betterware (2012 – 2012)
• Responsible by posting catalogs from door to door for earning extra income.
• Being aware by collecting the catalogs, then I total up the amount of orders in cash.
• This was part-time work so it would make it easier to fit around my college studies.

The above is quite bland, tells nothing of how you did it, or the end result, it is just a long list of your duties. It looks more like a job description.

I would leave out the bit about 'earning extra cash' in the Betterware job, or if you have to put it in say that it was an income to help fund your studies.

Tailor your CV to the job/employer you are applying to, pay particular attention to what skills they require and try to tell them in your CV how your experiences would be a benefit to them.

Writing a CV is difficult at times, but always read it back and imagine yourself in the potential employers position, who is casting an eye over many CV's. Does it stand out and make them want to read more than the first sentence?

I am a confident, hard working person who enjoys communicating with others and helping whenever possible. I can work equally as effective alone or within a team. I am very reliable and very willing to learn. I am a conscientious person who approaches my work with enthusiasm, have an excellent eye for detail. I also work well under pressure to meet deadlines with a calm logical approach and enjoy meeting new challenges.

Most of the above is bog standard fodder for employers, everybody puts a paragraph like that on their CV, it sounds like you are telling them everything they want to hear, irrespective whether it is true or not.

[johnny_t]

I think we're probably in danger of confusing the OP now, as we're into the 'matters of opinions' part of the discussion....

OP - Your CV is fine to get sending off, I'd have thought. Yes, you can always tweak it some more, and I would recommend tailoring it slightly to each application, but it is functional as it is and doesn't include any real howlers.

With regards to the 'Bus Pass' then yes, I guess it is an important thing to learn in life, but not sure whether it is worthy of including in a CV. If I got a CV with that on then it would certainly bring a wry smile to my lips, but I don't think it would sway me one way or the other.

[Stunty]

Originally Posted by johnny_t

I think we're probably in danger of confusing the OP now, as we're into the 'matters of opinions' part of the discussion....

OP - Your CV is fine to get sending off, I'd have thought. Yes, you can always tweak it some more, and I would recommend tailoring it slightly to each application, but it is functional as it is and doesn't include any real howlers.

With regards to the 'Bus Pass' then yes, I guess it is an important thing to learn in life, but not sure whether it is worthy of including in a CV. If I got a CV with that on then it would certainly bring a wry smile to my lips, but I don't think it would sway me one way or the other.

It is all a 'matter of opinion' though!.

There are many good points on this thread, it is now up to the OP which he favours and to alter the CV accordingly.

As it stands, it is all too long winded without telling an awful lot about how the achievements have directly affected the outcome. It is mainly what has been done and how a person perceives themselves, without any explanations of how the task has been completed or the end result.

I assume the OP is fairly young, hence the inclusion of the 'bus pass', which is the equivalent of saying that they have learnt to ride a bike or eat with a knife and fork. If that is an 'achievement' then perhaps the employer would not expect a great deal when employed.

It all contradicts the opening paragraph where the OP comes across as confident and be very able, then add that showing a bus pass to the driver rather than exchange money is somehow earth shattering! Come on, employers are really not interested in that and together with the wry smile they would probably chuck the CV in the bin. Harsh I know, but true.

[Kiko H Fan]

Key achievements
• Successfully started my first driving lesson on 30th October, 2011 with my driving instructor who taught me to learn the basics of driving on the road.
• Recieved two of my records of achievement books which both include grades for GCSEs, AQAs, OCRs and ASDAN tests all throughout my college and school years.
• Used my bus pass by going on independent transport through public transport from getting to and from college for the first time.


Two things.

I'd hope a driving instructor would teach you to drive on the road, rather than the pavement, the beach or the sea.

'i' before 'e' except after 'c'. There's a spelling mistake in your 2nd achievement. Spelling mistakes are a no-no on a CV.

[bart4858]

Originally Posted by Kiko H Fan

Key achievements
• Successfully started my first driving lesson on 30th ...
• Recieved two of my records of achievement books...
• Used my bus pass by going on independent transport ...

Two things.

I'd hope a driving instructor would teach you to drive on the road, rather than the pavement, the beach or the sea.

'i' before 'e' except after 'c'. There's a spelling mistake in your 2nd achievement. Spelling mistakes are a no-no on a CV.

You're missing the fact that these 'achievements' are nonsensical. Correct spelling won't help, in fact the bad spelling might help divert attention from them.

As it was, the CV would either get thrown in the bin, or they would recognise the OP was an obvious comedian, and would get invited for interview.

[kikifi]

Originally Posted by skp20040

If you don't mind a little constructive criticism , I personally would not include using my bus pass to get to college as an achievement. In fact I might scrap the achievements section completely.

Also with GCSE's , I would leave the grades out as you state F and above , if they are a mix leave the grades and just say GCSE's you can always answer that later and some employers might think " grade F , no thanks" , without even meeting you and judging you on that meeting .

For Betterware can I suggest changing it to

Distributor, Betterware (2012 – 2012)
• Casual employment to earn extra cash whilst studying
• Duties include the door to door distribution and collection of catalogues, collecting , collating and placing orders on behalf of customers

Agree with this, I would also put the Months as well as years for the employment history.