CV

How much work experience should I include on my CV?

November 16th, 2009

Question: How many years past experience is necessary on a CV? If you have multiple industry experience how would you tailor your CV taking into consideration some of it might be years ago?

What do I do about industry jargon on my CV?

November 10th, 2009

Question: I worked for ten years for the same technology company, and following redundancy, I put my CV together and sent it to recruiters. They haven’t seemed very impressed, and I haven’t had much interest. One recruiter says that she can’t work out what I’ve done, and that some of the job titles I’ve had are so technical it’s impossible to see my level of responsibility. I don’t want to tell lies on my CV. What should I do?

Will she agree to be my mentor?

November 6th, 2009

Question: I’m leaving my current organisation to take up a new job, and before I go I want to ask a director I’ve always admired if she will mentor me. I’m hesitant to do so, because I know she’s really busy, although we get on very well. How can I present this as an attractive idea rather than a burden?

Overqualified?

October 30th, 2009

Question: I’ve been unemployed for some time but there are relatively few jobs in my field, so I have started applying for roles that I’m over-qualified for. The general reaction has been suspicion. Employers and agents don’t seem to understand why I would want to apply for a role more junior than I’ve worked at before. How can I overcome this?

The jobs I’m being contacted about are not the kind of job I want!

October 22nd, 2009

Question: I’m getting a lot of interest for my CV, which is posted on a number of job hunting web sites. However, the jobs I’m being contacted about are not the kind of job I want! Why is this happening and how can I attract the kind of work I want to do?

Making your CV stand out

October 6th, 2009

Question: How can I make my CV stand out from the pile?

Unfinished training for career change

September 17th, 2009

Question: I left work to start a degree after 16 years in IT. Unfortunately, personal circumstances meant I did not complete the degree. How should I cover that off in my CV?

Two year ‘gap’ in CV

September 17th, 2009

Question: I’ve been out of the workplace for 2 years and I’m wondering how best to present this fact! I’ve taken some full time courses in education, and filled my spare time with volunteering for a local charity and evening courses in counselling skills. How do I get around this gap on my CV?

Online job searching

September 13th, 2009

Question: I have been registering with job search sites. I load up my CV, but most sites still take me from section to section, asking me to add in things like the job titles I’ve had, my key skills and companies I’ve worked for. Some even ask me to cut and paste the whole of the text of my CV into a text box, as well as uploading my CV as a file. Do I only have to fill these extra boxes in if I don’t upload a CV?

Experience, but no qualifications

September 13th, 2009

Question: Despite having no formal qualifications, I grew with the hotel chain I joined at 17, becoming a sales manager, and eventually an area sales director. Now that we’ve been taken over, I’ve been let go. I have no idea how to start with my CV – if it’s all about what exams I’ve got, it’s going to look rather bare!

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