Transcript Writing a good CV - GRID and Advanced Information Systems
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Administrative Information Services
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General Services Department
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Writing a good CV
Internet Services CERN GS Department CH-1211 Genève 23 Switzerland
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Rostislav Titov, CERN
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Why?
Typical selection process
150
candidates applied
30
candidates selected for testing
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10
candidates interviewed Internet Services CERN GS Department CH-1211 Genève 23 Switzerland
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1 person gets the job
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Conclusions
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• Your CV should really stand out – outstanding CV shows your talent and motivation • It should be tailored to employee’s needs – modify your CV for each employer • Don’t give the recruiter a reason to reject it – funny e mail, weird hobby, spelling mistake… Internet Services CERN GS Department CH-1211 Genève 23 Switzerland
cern.ch/gs-dep Your challenge:
writing a CV that would impress a recruiter in 20 seconds and will be among the 20% of not rejected ones.
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General Principles
• 1-2 (or 3) pages maximum • Nice layout, readable 11pt typeface • Well-structured • Every word and line should be relevant • No spelling or grammar mistakes!
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• Don’t write in the first or third person
I improved the work process …
He improved the work process … Improved the work process …
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Types of CV
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Chronological
– – – what most recruiters would expect focuses on work history best if you have a strong, solid history •
Functional
– – – focuses on skills and experience good if you don’t have a lot of work history good if you change career or have gaps Internet Services CERN GS Department CH-1211 Genève 23 Switzerland
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•
Combination
– – first skills and experience, then work history best if you want to highlight relevant skills while also showing your work history
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Chronological CV
Personnel Information Summary Work history Reverse-chronological, recent jobs first Internet Services CERN GS Department CH-1211 Genève 23 Switzerland
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Skills Other relevant information Education and training Publications
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Functional CV
Personnel Information Summary Skills & Competencies Internet Services CERN GS Department CH-1211 Genève 23 Switzerland
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Work history & Other information Education and training
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Combination CV
Personnel Information Summary Detailed competencies and skills Work history Internet Services CERN GS Department CH-1211 Genève 23 Switzerland
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Education, training, other relevant information
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CONTENTS
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Personal Information Summary Work History Competencies & Skills Education & Training Spoken Languages & other information
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Personal Information
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• Name – make it stand out by using a larger font • Contact details
(make sure they are correct!)
• Age or date of birth – possible but not required • Including photo is
not
– – – recommended
unless really important for job (i.e. model business)
you are judged by ability to work, not by your smile photos in CVs are not allowed in some countries Internet Services CERN GS Department CH-1211 Genève 23 Switzerland
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• Marital status, nationality, height, weight, … – NO (unless needed)! It is not your profile on a dating site – in some countries it is illegal for recruiters to ask
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A funny e-mail address could ruin your CV
• Don’t use your current employer’s mailbox – – you may find yourself in an awkward situation the CV might “fire” after you quit the company • Make sure your contact details
are
correct – not a rare reason of non-inviting good candidates Internet Services • Create a new professionally-looking e-mail – – it just takes 5 minutes try to deriver it from your name/surname CERN GS Department CH-1211 Genève 23 Switzerland
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Summary
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• Not strictly required… but
extremely
important • No more than 3-6 lines • It is the first (and possibly the only!) thing the recruiter will read • Don’t put your objectives, tell who you are (tailored approach vice “wide shot”) Internet Services CERN GS Department CH-1211 Genève 23 Switzerland
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• Don’t use quotations (your CV will be rejected!)
“A regional branch employee looking for a job in the headquarters decided to show his sense of humour and knowledge of Russian classics by starting his CV with : "Милый дедушка Константин Макарыч, сделай божецку милость - забери меня отсюда..." (Dear grandfather, Konstantin Makaritch, for Christ's sake, I beg you, take me away – A. Chekhov).
P.S. Refused. We have too many clowns already.
”
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Clich é You are expected to be…
“A good team player, self-organized and highly motivated, is looking for an interesting well remunerated job”
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Redundant Not perceived well Internet Services CERN GS Department CH-1211 Genève 23 Switzerland
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This summary is a waste of space and is counterproductive
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Good Summary
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Internet Services
“A J2EE developer with over 7 years of experience in writing and supporting large-scale software in multinational teams. Lead architect of a corporate Java based system (16’000+ users).”
Vacancy:
“An international company is looking for a J2EE developer for maintaining and developing a corporate recruitment system”.
• Tailored to the employee’s needs • Immediately tells you have the right profile CERN GS Department CH-1211 Genève 23 Switzerland
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Work History
•
Chronological, recent jobs first
• No unexplainable gaps − include reasonable explanations −
do not cheat
• Explain in which sector/area the company works if it is not obvious
(what is Beeline?)
• List your key responsibilities/achievements Internet Services CERN GS Department CH-1211 Genève 23 Switzerland
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• Use action “resume words”!
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Power Words
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Including power resume words increases chance of getting hired by 80%!
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accelerated accomplished achieved addressed administered advanced advised applied arranged assessed assisted assured audited awarded built changed chaired clarified classified collected compared completed conducted conceptualized considered consolidated constructed controlled converted coordinated corrected created defined delivered demonstrated described diagnosed directed distributed documented doubled designed developed devised drafted earned edited endorsed enlarged ensured extended financed established estimated evaluated examined expanded explained explored formulated found gathered generated guided handled helped identified implemented improved invented invested incorporated investigated increased innovated launched led made installed interviewed introduced maintained managed measured modified moved negotiated opened organized participated performed presented processed procured promoted proposed persuaded planned prepared provided published purchased questioned raised realized received recommended recruited redesigned reduced reorganized repaired replaced reported researched resolved restored revamped reviewed revised saved selected set up simplified sold solved specified staffed streamlined strengthened structured studied submitted succeeded suggested summarized supervised surveyed utilized systematized tackled tested traced troubleshoot turned tutored uncovered unified trained transformed translated treated tripled unraveled updated upgraded verbalized verified visited widened worked wrote … used
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Work History: example
Best Insulation, Ltd., May 2009 - Now
Vice-Director GS
more accurate bids.
Crazy Constructions, April 2006
– May 2009
Manager
techniques that have reduced material waste by 20% and labour hours by 43%.
Internet Services “Russian House” Construction company, April 2001 – April 2006
Work superintendant
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Dealing with gaps in the career
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• Don‘t list the month for “over a year” positions − e.g. say 2008-2012 • Freelance, consulting, volunteering count as a job!
− − list them as you would list other jobs (job title, dates, etc.) If you were on training, list it in the “Education” • − − For big gaps, put the explanation in the history consider everything you were doing (e.g. travel, family) try to present them so they're relevant to your job objective Internet Services CERN GS Department CH-1211 Genève 23 Switzerland
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• Explain irrelevant gaps honestly and with dignity − don‘t refer to illness or unemployment, write instead about something you were doing during that time, even if it’s not related to your job objective.
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Dealing with gaps in the career (2)
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Internet Services • Here are some “job titles” to cover gaps: Full-time Student Independent Study Full-time Parent Family Management (or Home Management) Family Financial Management Adventure Travel (or Travels to …) Personal Travel • Call the section “History” instead of “Work History” if it includes “gap descriptions” •
Be prepared to explain gaps at the interview
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Competencies & Skills
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• Start with the most relevant skills • Indicate your level of proficiency – how many years of experience?
– – when have you used it last time?
have you used it in real projects or just for fun?
• Give examples – use action words Internet Services • Don’t waste much space on irrelevant skills – will Lisp skills help you to get a Java coder’s job?
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•
Don’t put things you are not easy with
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Competencies & Skills: Example
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Internet Services CERN GS Department CH-1211 Genève 23 Switzerland
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Human Resources (8 years of experience, last used in 2012) Established a pro-active career monitoring process (2012) Designed and implemented a modern recruitment and staffing policy (2010) Improved staff selection process by introducing a new software tool (2007) Comprehensive understanding of Russian employment law legislation Leadership & Project Management (4 years of experience, last used in 2012) Designed, staffed and lead an award winning new recruitment unit Introduced Key Performance Indicators in HR selection process Directly supervised 18 persons
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Competencies & Skills: Example 2
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Internet Services CERN GS Department CH-1211 Genève 23 Switzerland
cern.ch/gs-dep Java –
over 7 years of experience (J2EE/Spring/GWT/Hibernate) Lead developer of a large corporate Java-based system Designed robust and scalable web applications (16’000+ users) Developed a billing application (1500 users) using Spring/GWT Improved system maintainability by rewriting it with Hibernate
C++ –
4 years of experience (last used in 2010) Created an expert system for Government of Ukraine Maintained and enhanced 7 mission-critical C++ applications
Web technologies –
5 years of experience Redesigned web interface of a big corporate system with AJAX Created a corporate web site with HTML5/CSS3/JQuery
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Education
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• Most recent and most relevant first • Give qualification details, place and date – you can include incomplete qualifications but make it clear that you have not completed them yet • Do not include irrelevant qualifications • Include relevant training (e.g. courses) and other facts (e.g. prizes in school competitions) Internet Services • Experienced job seekers: include basic facts CERN GS Department CH-1211 Genève 23 Switzerland
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Other Information
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• Languages – With some details (oral skills, reading skills, etc.) • List of publications / presentations • Don’t put
“references available upon request”
– You are expected to provide them if needed anyhow Internet Services • Hobbies?
Don’t mention them, unless you are sure they will help to get the job!
– They take precious space – – Employers don’t have to care Weird or inappropriate hobbies could lead to a fail CERN GS Department CH-1211 Genève 23 Switzerland
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“Hobbies: computer games, hacking web sites”
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COMPOSITION
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Internet Services CERN GS Department CH-1211 Genève 23 Switzerland
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Don’t use too many fonts and colors Main font size 10-12pt A bit of colour might improve the CV
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Structuring
This is how recruiters look at your CV
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Internet Services CERN GS Department CH-1211 Genève 23 Switzerland
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Structuring
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Java. Over 7 years of experience (J2EE/Spring/GWT/Hibernate). Lead developer of a large corporate Java-based system. Designed robust, durable and scalable web applications used by thousands of persons worldwide and available on 24/7 basis. Developed a billing application (1500 users) using Spring/GWT architecture. Improved system maintainability by rewriting it with Hibernate.
Internet Services CERN GS Department CH-1211 Genève 23 Switzerland
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♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
Java –
over 7 years of experience (J2EE/Spring/GWT/Hibernate) Lead developer of a large corporate Java-based system Designed robust and scalable web applications (16’000+ users) Developed a billing application (1500 users) using Spring/GWT Improved system maintainability by rewriting it with Hibernate
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Spelling and grammar
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• No errors allowed!!!
– they indicate you are uneducated, lazy, careless or not professional • No red highlighting ≠ no errors – e.g. than ≠ then • Show your CV to a friend • Have it checked by a native speaker
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Distribution
Paper version
• Use the best possible paper and printer • Don’t fold unnecessarily
Electronic version
• PDF or Word format • No ZIP, RAR, JPEG, TIFF,...
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Internet Services CERN GS Department CH-1211 Genève 23 Switzerland
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No one called… Perhaps I shouldn’t have sent my CV in CorelDraw format?
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SOCIAL NETWORKS
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Great tools for job hunting Online profile might be more up to date than the CV They don’t substitute the need for CV
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Social Networks Usage
• • • •
Very powerful professional network Get references and endorsements You could use it for company search Gives you a list of jobs you are interested in • •
Don’t afraid to network on Facebook Friends who know you could help you Internet Services CERN GS Department CH-1211 Genève 23 Switzerland
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• •
Let people know you are looking Tell people what you are looking for
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Social Networks Dangers
“Your first impression isn't made with a firm handshake – it's with a Google search”
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Internet Services • Survey: 70% of candidates refused based of what was found about them online • Remove complaints about your job, any confidential work information, photos of yourself acting in an inappropriate way, … • Make your Facebook profile private CERN GS Department CH-1211 Genève 23 Switzerland
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Questions?
[email protected]
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Internet Services CERN GS Department CH-1211 Genève 23 Switzerland
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