June 09, 2012

Illustration - Creating a More Effective CV (Part 3)

Saturday is here again. How was your week?

As it's yet another weekend, I thought to do one more illustration to show how to create a more effective CV.

Effective CV=Effective Job Hunting

The CV used today aims to illustrate that it is possible to have an Effective 1 Page CV (as long as it can CLEARLY convey relevant information to recruiters). Changes have been made to personal information on this CV for privacy reasons.

The following is an image of the Original CV that was sent in for Review.
PHOTO: Original CV (Before Review)

I chose to use this particular CV for 2 main reasons:
1. To deal with the issue of number of pages of a CV
2. To highlight the importance of planning your career.

If you look at the CV in this illustration. you will notice that the original CV sent to me was a 2-page document. However look closely at the content of this CV.

The owner of this CV appears to have a Career Path in finance. The most important items of this CV are:
1. Degree in Management and Accounting (finance related)
2. Industrial Training (IT) Work experience in an Accounting firm (relevant work experience)
3. Ability to work with an accounting software (Peachtree) plus knowledge of data analysis tools like Excel etc (very key for the finance field)


And now on to the Reviewed CV...
PHOTO: Reviewed CV, by My CV Clinic
If you look through a job advert to fill an entry level accounting/finance related position, you can tell the the owner of this CV has met the typical requirements as stated in 1 - 3 above.
It is very clear from this illustration that a single page CV is achievable. However, focus on the content of your CV.

 I deleted every other bit of the CV which just seemed to fall into the category of unnecessary information (junk). I may have considered leaving the skills section if the Industrial Training work experience was not directly related to the career path of this individual. That said, always ensure that you write your activities (duties/responsibilities) in stated work experience to incorporate the core skills for a role in your chosen career path.

(I highlighted the Career Objective in red because there is a lot of room for improvement there. Again, I am not a fan of this section of CVs but it seems to be popular. If you must include it, please ensure it is sending a message)

Finally, I advise you plan your career properly. Do not give the excuse that you are still at University. I believe that the Industrial Training Scheme was created for the purpose of giving you the opportunity to learn more about your chosen career. Don't have the single focus of getting into the big firms and companies that will pay you a lot during your Industrial Training period. At the early stage of your career, what really counts is that you have the necessary skills that make you employable.

The owner of this CV gained vital work experience while at university. I have come across a few CVs from individuals that have taken the steps to plan their careers appropriately (this appears to be more common with those in the Information Technology field).

Please make the effort to learn and acquire skills; it gives you an edge over others and also is an avenue to explore your Career choices.

Cheers


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