I'm think my CV is pretty well polished, but I've never asked for professional feedback on it, so let me know what you think: http://www.puremango.co.uk/2009/08/php-cv/
I'm particularly interested in whether you think the order of sections (education->work->general->personal) works, and whether my copy sells.
Thanks for the offer!
PS: I'm not looking for work at the moment, so please prioritise my request lower than those who are currently seeking.
I've just had a very quick look and my instant opinion would be to change how you clarify your responsibilites.
Whilst the paragraph descriptions are well written my suggestion on your current role for example would be to keep the first paragraph in place and immediately after that I would bullet point a list of your primary responsibilities.
Overall it is a decent CV but I'll have a proper look and send you the feedback directly over the next day or two.
No, I've never done contract work. I won't go into details here, but I feel I have good reasons for leaving C2. They were great to work for, but just weren't quite in line with my career goals.
heh, thanks :) That 3d wallpaper wasn't made by me, I just added it to my collection.
Glad you like line about SEO. I'm not sure I could repeat the success without puremango being an established & well-ranked blog already, but I like to think I'm good at SEO. Geek Wallpapers ranks highly for several keywords too and that's been going less than a year, so I must be doing something right! :)
I would say 95% of every CV I get has swimming and/or reading listed. Even if it is a particular passion (which I suspect it is in this case) just don't mention it :)
(I like the swiss army knife mention though, a bit of "unique" is always good)
really? damn and I thought it made me look sporty! I really do swim a lot though, 1/3 of a mile last night. Hoping to swim my mile within a year (only learned to swim properly 2 years ago).
True. The layout is derived from a time when all I had were qualifications and I haven't re-evaluated since then, just grown and added the commercial experience section.
I think I'm going to leave education at the top though. I think my university has good initial impact on the reader. People raise their eyebrows when they see 'Oxford'. This is a good thing. I do personally believe the commercial experience can be more important for most jobs, but I still want to draw attention to my academic background.
I completely disagree with this one and it's been a bone of contention in the past.
The majority of clients I deal with prefer to see the education & relevant qualifications listed first if the candidate has left University within the last 5 or 6 years.
Once again it's a matter of opinion but I have researched it a bit and this seems to be the general consensus.
Curious, my background is in a fairly similar area to you, I've worked as a developer for investment banks and financial tech firms. Generally I get the feeling that if a candidate is at an associate or higher level then work experience is more important.
From my experience (and I suspect most developers would agree) real world development experience is a much better indicator of performance than university.
Are the candidates you normally field changing sectors ? - in the case that a candidate doesn't have industry experience I can see why a company might want to see educational background first, but it seems strange that a company would care more about educational level than directly relevant experience.
Presumably if you're applying for jobs related to your education that aren't related to your first "proper" job then you'd mention your education first, no?
I'm guessing something along those lines led you to specify this as a generalisation.
Yes. Actually the general rule is put whatever's going to sell you most first. If your education is more relevant than your current job then I agree that you should put that first.
Comments
I'm think my CV is pretty well polished, but I've never asked for professional feedback on it, so let me know what you think: http://www.puremango.co.uk/2009/08/php-cv/
I'm particularly interested in whether you think the order of sections (education->work->general->personal) works, and whether my copy sells.
Thanks for the offer!
PS: I'm not looking for work at the moment, so please prioritise my request lower than those who are currently seeking.
I've just had a very quick look and my instant opinion would be to change how you clarify your responsibilites.
Whilst the paragraph descriptions are well written my suggestion on your current role for example would be to keep the first paragraph in place and immediately after that I would bullet point a list of your primary responsibilities.
Overall it is a decent CV but I'll have a proper look and send you the feedback directly over the next day or two.
One thing I would like to ask about is how my employment history looks - returning to my previous position.
Chronologically (earlier first) it went like this:
Company 1 (1 year)
University (1 year)
Company 2 (3 months)
Company 1 again (nearly 1 year)
Does it raise questions that I left Company 2 after only 3 months, and that I went back to Company 1?
(not listing company names here so it doesn't get into their search results)
Does it raise questions that I left Company 2 after only 3 months, and that I went back to Company 1?
It does and you will be questioned on this.
The fact is, if you have a reasonable, logical, verifiable reason for returning then it won't be an issue.
If the company 2 role was a contract position I would highlight that on the CV.
thankyou.
No, I've never done contract work. I won't go into details here, but I feel I have good reasons for leaving C2. They were great to work for, but just weren't quite in line with my career goals.
Wow, instant feedback! Thanks :) I'll have a think about what my responsibilities actually are!
Be honest and be specific. Leave out flowery points like Liasing with various departments & attending meetings for example.
Excellent SEO ability; this resumé is ranked in the top results for “php CV” and “php programmer CV“.
This totally impressed me.
Also, I love this: http://www.geekwallpapers.com/3d-wallpaper-office-plan/
heh, thanks :) That 3d wallpaper wasn't made by me, I just added it to my collection.
Glad you like line about SEO. I'm not sure I could repeat the success without puremango being an established & well-ranked blog already, but I like to think I'm good at SEO. Geek Wallpapers ranks highly for several keywords too and that's been going less than a year, so I must be doing something right! :)
Ahem. Delist swimming as one of your activities.
I would say 95% of every CV I get has swimming and/or reading listed. Even if it is a particular passion (which I suspect it is in this case) just don't mention it :)
(I like the swiss army knife mention though, a bit of "unique" is always good)
really? damn and I thought it made me look sporty! I really do swim a lot though, 1/3 of a mile last night. Hoping to swim my mile within a year (only learned to swim properly 2 years ago).
Generally you only put education first while you're still in education, after your first proper job you put that first.
True. The layout is derived from a time when all I had were qualifications and I haven't re-evaluated since then, just grown and added the commercial experience section.
I think I'm going to leave education at the top though. I think my university has good initial impact on the reader. People raise their eyebrows when they see 'Oxford'. This is a good thing. I do personally believe the commercial experience can be more important for most jobs, but I still want to draw attention to my academic background.
I completely disagree with this one and it's been a bone of contention in the past.
The majority of clients I deal with prefer to see the education & relevant qualifications listed first if the candidate has left University within the last 5 or 6 years.
Once again it's a matter of opinion but I have researched it a bit and this seems to be the general consensus.
Curious, my background is in a fairly similar area to you, I've worked as a developer for investment banks and financial tech firms. Generally I get the feeling that if a candidate is at an associate or higher level then work experience is more important.
From my experience (and I suspect most developers would agree) real world development experience is a much better indicator of performance than university.
Are the candidates you normally field changing sectors ? - in the case that a candidate doesn't have industry experience I can see why a company might want to see educational background first, but it seems strange that a company would care more about educational level than directly relevant experience.
Presumably if you're applying for jobs related to your education that aren't related to your first "proper" job then you'd mention your education first, no?
I'm guessing something along those lines led you to specify this as a generalisation.
Yes. Actually the general rule is put whatever's going to sell you most first. If your education is more relevant than your current job then I agree that you should put that first.
May want to change this line:
Excellent SEO ability; this resumé is ranked in the top results for “php CV” and “php programmer CV“.
Cus, it aint. Not that you're looking for work, just sayin'
hmm, it is for me. Between number one and three normally. What country are you searching from? Do you have iGoogle or are signed in when searching?