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european vs american cv/resume style

OK, so seeing as I'm moving to the UK in a few months and this is going to be useful to know, can you guys talk through what should go in teh CV, in a bit more detail?

My current model:

* contact details

* work history: reverse chronological: employer/address, job title; bullet-point list of regular duties/special projects. Only includes last three positions, unless earlier ones are especially relevant (e.g. low-level jobs in copyright or in the financial sector might be relevant to a position in those areas)

* Education. I include course names/grades for my Masters degree, because it's the core professional degree for my profession - you basically won't get a job without it. And a lot of my grades were good. I just list my earlier qualifications, no grades.

* Other skills: here's where I list computer skills that aren't necessarily implied by my work experience - basic HTML, Dreamweaver etc, even Office (just to emphasise that they won't have to train me on anything). Short, bullet-point list. Also mention my professional blog.

* Referees available on request. (Most of my employers don't give written references, but I have people who will give verbal ones).

Usually 2-3 pages (no more than 3) - but mostly bulletpoints.

Thoughts? (I'm targeting information/knowledge/library work in law firms or other London corporates, or universities).
 
(pssst, fellow stupid americans...a CV is a "Curriculum vitae (Latin for "course of life"), also known as a Résumé; a summary of academic and professional history and achievements". i had to google it too. you are welcome)
 
captainballs said:
I've come across a funny contrast: My resume is loaded with bullshit and pretense...
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i was just thinking. why don't you post the original, and give us a laugh? obviously take out any identifying stuff first. we can give you marks out of 10 on how awesome you sound. :D
 
Medi57 said:
That brings me to another trick for keeping it below two pages; the phrase "references available by request"
Click to expand...


I do that as well. If I'm actually called in for an interview, I usually bring a typed list of references with me, to save time from having to get back to them and speed things along.
 
i was just thinking. why don't you post the original, and give us a laugh? obviously take out any identifying stuff first. we can give you marks out of 10 on how awesome you sound.
Click to expand...

edit: time sensitive personal material *portion of resume detonates*

There's no way I'm going to post the original without some major changes, but I guarantee it would make you cringe. The above really isn't that embarrassing compared to how I list my "skills."

My new "CV" which I'm using for both European and American applications, is completely minimalist - more appropriate for someone who has hardly gotten his feet wet for more than 3 months at a time in the real world. Colorful adverbs have been replaced with absolute statements that can be quickly read.
 
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Infinite Jest said:
OK, so seeing as I'm moving to the UK in a few months and this is going to be useful to know, can you guys talk through what should go in teh CV, in a bit more detail?

My current model:

* contact details

* work history: reverse chronological: employer/address, job title; bullet-point list of regular duties/special projects. Only includes last three positions, unless earlier ones are especially relevant (e.g. low-level jobs in copyright or in the financial sector might be relevant to a position in those areas)

* Education. I include course names/grades for my Masters degree, because it's the core professional degree for my profession - you basically won't get a job without it. And a lot of my grades were good. I just list my earlier qualifications, no grades.

* Other skills: here's where I list computer skills that aren't necessarily implied by my work experience - basic HTML, Dreamweaver etc, even Office (just to emphasise that they won't have to train me on anything). Short, bullet-point list. Also mention my professional blog.

* Referees available on request. (Most of my employers don't give written references, but I have people who will give verbal ones).

Usually 2-3 pages (no more than 3) - but mostly bulletpoints.

Thoughts? (I'm targeting information/knowledge/library work in law firms or other London corporates, or universities).
Click to expand...


that's how mine was. but then i showed it to a mate who did a three month course on getting re-employed after a long role and he pointed out that the point form format and list of duties don't really accomplish much. i found that i was explaining a lot during interviews, which i don't mind doing, but it indicates that the resume/CV isn't covering as much information as required.

short paragraphs paint a better picture of duties in a smaller space.

then accomplishments can also be briefly summerised.

i seriously don't understand how a CV can be 2 pages or less. maybe i just got involved with a lot of projects and special duties in my last job so i've got a lot to say.

i've now tightened mine more with spacing and structure, and it now ends on the fourth page. it goes:

Page 1:
-contact details
-career summery
-career objective
-demonstrated skills & attributes

Page 2:
-career History:
-- last comapny (short one)
-- previous company (almost six years)
---last role
----achievements

Page 3:
---another role
----achievements
---another role
---another role
--company before that
---role

Page 4:
--company before that
---role
--company before that
---role
-other work experience includes
-references available upon request
Click to expand...

all the roles that i have mentioned specifically indicate the natural progression i've made over the years, and they're all relevant to the roles that i am applying for.

I also have a cover letter to go with it, but not all online employment applications accept cover letters.


oh and i just remembered, a very brief summery on each company also.
 
^ i think a summary of each company is totally redundant on a resume. they want to know what you've done. if they want to know what the company you did it for does, they can open their browser.

captainballs, i think phrases like Worked extensively with Microsoft Excel and Researched tax law are pretty vague to an employer.

what task were you performing? focus on the task and the results you achieved, not the tools you just happened to use. if it's a job which requires specific computer skills, you can list them in a 'skills' section if necessary.

alasdair
 
^
Thank you for your input!

I have previously deleted the Excel line from that job description and placed it in a separate skills section. But until your post I didn't realize the vagueness of the "researched tax law" line. I will cut it and paste it into the first point about tax-saving opportunities!
 
even then, researched tax law is vague. that could just mean you read a tax book. i can read a tax book.

what was the result of that research? if it was, say a cost saving to your company, then something like i saved the company $24000 a year by identifying additional tax deductions (or whatever) carries a lot more weight.

if the tax research had no specific result, leave it out.

alasdair
 
I was thinking, "Researched tax law and analyzed accounting data to find tax-savings opportunities" (i.e. just adding it to the first line about accounting data).

There are no specific monetary results that could be measured as some of these projects had been going on for years and were still in no way ready to face the eye of an auditor (and I was just an intern, which is probably a more important fact than that even).

Thoughts?

lol, i'm not even sure how kosher it is to be posting this stuff outside of PM's. Right now I feel like the only naked guy at the party.
 
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my resume - both chronological and functional - is on my website if you want to check it out: alasdairmanson.org. note that the chronological one is not something i would send to an employer unedited - it's just a reference (it's 4 pages long).

if you want to give some feedback, that's cool.

alasdair
 
DarthMom said:
(pssst, fellow stupid americans...a CV is a "Curriculum vitae (Latin for "course of life"), also known as a Résumé; a summary of academic and professional history and achievements". i had to google it too. you are welcome)
Click to expand...

don't you learn that kind of thing in school??
 
^Off topic, but I do kind of wish we were required to learn Latin here. I at least think it would be beneficial to students to be required to learn one foreign language during school. I know some schools do make it a requirement, but mine didn't unless the student wanted to continue their education after high school and then most of the time it is required for them to have learned a language other than English.

I could definitely see the benefits of learning Latin though. It wasn't even one of the languages offered in my school unfortunately. :(
 
^Off topic, but I agree. Any language taught well would be nice, but Latin (if taught effectively) would be an awesome way to start a lifetime of multi-lingual goodness.
 
captainballs said:

edit: time sensitive personal material *portion of resume detonates*

There's no way I'm going to post the original without some major changes, but I guarantee it would make you cringe. The above really isn't that embarrassing compared to how I list my "skills."
Click to expand...
awwww! :(

i'm gutted that i missed it, considering it was me that asked you!

i like to cringe. ;)
 
i learned latin and french at school and i'm glad i did. i learned more about the mechanics of english from learning these - especially latin - than i did in english class.

now, conjugate the verb "to post"

:)

alasdair
 
The_Idler said:
don't you learn that kind of thing in school??
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like already said....no, latin is a dead language, remember :| though even without it, course for life is an obvious translation for anyone with a modicum of a sense, but i was intrigued with the title and wanted to see if it was really the perfunctory phrase for a resume, it just seemed so formal not hearing it before. hence the facetious post. no need to be snide, smartypants.

you europeans and your fancy pants words.

:D
 
DarthMom said:
like already said....no, latin is a dead language, remember :| though even without it, course for life is an obvious translation for anyone with a modicum of a sense, but i was intrigued with the title and wanted to see if it was really the perfunctory phrase for a resume, it just seemed so formal not hearing it before. hence the facetious post. no need to be snide, smartypants.

you europeans and your fancy pants words.

:D
Click to expand...
Latin isn't all that dead, its like your beauty, everlasting. It still sees a lot of use in science and medicine and law.
 
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