08-08-2002 20:56									#151
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Rich,

Downloaded your CV. A quick glance showed it needed reworking.

	08-08-2002 20:56									#152
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How about this for How Not to Get a Job. True story. Happened today.

A woman works as a secretary for the IT section of a large corporation and then quit last year. Now she's applying for a translator job with the financial division of the same corporation, but on her resume she claims was a copywriter for the online division.

She gets called in for an interview and the manager, my girlfriend, says "So you worked as a copywriter for the online division until May 2001?"

The woman goes "Yes."

"Well that's funny," my girlfriend says. "I was the copywriter for the online division last year and I don't remember you."

Now at this point, you would think that the woman would realize the gig is up and she might as well leave, but instead she says: "Well, I used to just help out from time to time."

My girlfriend was a little stunned by that response, but finally said: "Let me get this right, you claim you worked as a copywriter, even though you didn't and now you're trying to say you occassionally did my work even though I know you never helped me?"

No response.

Needless to say, the interview ended at that point.

	08-08-2002 20:58									#153
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Why did your girlfriend bother to call her in?

	08-08-2002 21:03									#154
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quote: Originally posted by Urban Ranger Why did your girlfriend bother to call her in?

A bit of office politics, but mainly to see what the person would do. She's got a bit of a cruel streak.

I'd do the same thing just to see who would be stupid enough to tell that kind of lie on a resume and to see how the person would react.

	08-08-2002 21:11									#155
	Got spare money?

I suspected that.

	08-08-2002 21:20									#156
	Inflate your Upload Space

Times are tough here, but that's no excuse for such stupidity.

	08-08-2002 21:33									#157
	Enter the AD-FREE zone

Yeah, that woman's stupid, but also unlucky.

Some people have gotten away with bigger lies than that. No, not me, but there's one person I know did.

	08-08-2002 23:56									#158
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Well I have tried to rewrite it but it seems there is no pleasing you lot...

	09-08-2002 00:08									#159
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There you go being negative again.

The first rewrite was better than the original and you'd get better interview ratio from it.

The better your CV is the more chance you have of getting a job and it's something you can really do something about. You're getting some really good free advice here, you can either dive in and learn as much as you can and get a great CV and loads of interviews or get pissed off, have an adequate CV and maybe stay unemployed and miserable for longer.

I rewrote mine at least 5 or 6 times as people suggested improvements.

	09-08-2002 00:45									#160
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http://editorial.careers.msn.com/articles/resumedonts/

	09-08-2002 00:46									#161
	Increase Your PM Length

I have a pet peeve against multiple page resumés. It may just be a cultural thing, but if I get a two or three pager it better be from someone with twenty years of experience. You may want to try to create a version that really boils it down to a few bullet points that sound powerful.


While not in your field at all, I think you have a pretty good background and if I didn't know you better, I would think you would make a good employee. Keep the chin up, and maybe do some short-term stuff to fill the time.

	09-08-2002 01:45									#162
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quote: Originally posted by Sten Sture ...if I didn't know you better, I would think you would make a good employee.

	09-08-2002 19:46									#163
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Rich,

You are a complete bum. You should keep rewriting your resume until people fall over it. It won't take you more than a couple of hours per day.

I rewrote your CV quickly for you. Several points:

1. I tried to simplify it. Most of the time your CV is first read by a HR flunkie, so it doesn't pay to kill that person by including massive amounts of medical terms and jargon. Keep it simple.

2. Make a more comprehensive resume after you got through HR - for the techies.

3. I included a bunch of comments in it in italics

4. The formatting is entirely my subjective choice. YMMV.

You should try simplying your resume until you can't do it anymore. Omit the less important details and information. Use bullet points whenever you can.

If you don't like it, tough

Attachment: cv.doc
This has been downloaded 19 time(s).

	09-08-2002 19:52									#164
	Remove this text

Its also a good idea to try and keep your resume down to 1 page if possible.

	09-08-2002 20:31									#165
	Got spare money?

I like Ranger's layout and the way he's simplified things.

	09-08-2002 20:31									#166
	Browse Apolyton AD-FREE

I completely agree with those that have mentioned keeping it to one page. A second page should be reserved for references and only be provided upon specific request. Personally I don't bother looking at multi page one. I figure the person doesn't have the skill to be concise or has too big of an ego. But that's just me. (after looking at thousands of resumes, you get into a routine to subset them to the ones you're going to actually look at)

	09-08-2002 20:51									#167
	Inflate your Upload Space

UR - in vitro may be Latin, but it's a recognised term for microbiological work, and no sane employer would find anything negative about its inclusion (as I'm sure PH would have said).

PH might also want to include some statistical packages in the IT section so that any potential employer knows that you can and you have the ability for your work. In my interview that was an important factor, at least.

	09-08-2002 20:58									#168
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quote: Originally posted by MikeH I like Ranger's layout and the way he's simplified things.

I agree.

Also, if there is anyway at all to hint that you intend to finish your studies, that you are continuing them etc... you have to put that in. Even if you don't plan to.

	09-08-2002 21:41									#169
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Gibsie,

Sure, but you have to remember that the CV will be first read by somebody from HR, so you have to assume that they don't have they specific vocabulary to handle special terms and such.

	09-08-2002 21:45									#170
	Old Boys Network Put an end to popups!

It just struck me that why didn't you tap into the Old Boys Network? You graduated from Oxford afterall.

Go down to the alumni office and look up all the alumni who's working in biochem companies and such. Proceed from there.

* Urban Ranger smacks himself for being thick

	10-08-2002 00:23									#171
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Well as I only graduated a few years ago there is no one in a position like that, and besides, most of my friends went on to PhD positions or more medically related stuff (those who were doing biochemistry).

And no, I do not have any professional memberships, experience in any particular statistical packages (excluding Excel - I was supposed to go on an SPSS course but the department kept putting it off all the time, so I never got that one ).

	10-08-2002 00:32									#172
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SPSS booooo. But our clients use it more.
SAS rocks. There's always lots of jobs for SAS programmers or statisticians that can use SAS.

Rich

	10-08-2002 00:33									#173
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Well they had SPSS in the department so that is the course I would go on, don't know about SAS though mind you.

	10-08-2002 00:37									#174
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SPSS is more for the Programming challanged people.

SAS is a full robust programming language with excellent statistical procedures.

All of my employees are SAS programmers and about half of them know enough SPSS to help our account groups and clients.

Rich
Knowing SAS would be an excelent resume stuffer.

If you had a copy of SPSS, you could probably teach yourself how to use it in a matter of days. It's reasonably intueitive.

	10-08-2002 00:42									#175
	Remove this text

Yeah, I reckon I could, but alas, I don't have a copy. If only I had 'borrowed' it from the department overnight in the past

	10-08-2002 01:00									#176
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Yes, that would have helped. I think a single copy of SPSS base runs for about $1,300 US. hmmmm, wonder if I could find a copy.

	10-08-2002 17:00									#177
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quote: Originally posted by Provost Harrison Well as I only graduated a few years ago there is no one in a position like that, and besides, most of my friends went on to PhD positions or more medically related stuff (those who were doing biochemistry).

No, no, no, not the people from your class. Graduates who are in their forties and fifties.

	10-08-2002 20:20									#178
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CV's really are in the eye of the beholder - although there are national variations...

Imagine my horror when I got to Australia and found out that I stood more of a chance getting a job if I 'bulked' it up from a reasonably svelte 2 pages to a humungous 4 pages!!!

I was so shocked I needed a 2nd and 3rd opinion, but apparently that's how they do it here...

As for the one page thing - I have done more noteworthy jobs in my time that even if I just put my name, contact details and just two lines for each relevant job I would STILL need two pages!!!

There was a time I had a one pager, but it was so devoid of any real substance that it didn't seem to be as successful as my two page London special and covering letter combo...

Anyway, to Rich...

Kill that email address!

Format your CV to look professional, you say you use Word - prove it! Mine uses Headers and Footers, Justified Text, Indents, Borders, Bullets etc... And it still manages to look clean with the relevant headings etc still able to jump out and be seen by that searching eye...

For instance, all my address and contact details take up only two lines as make use of the column feature coupled with aligning to the outside of the page.

For your PhD I'd 'double entry' it as work experience and education, obviously not duplicating it word for word. Work Exp before Edu IMO.

Also your refs can go as UR has done - waste of space, bring them with you to your I/V...

Cut the waffle. Why use three words when only one is required.

Cut out any 'negativity' such as the reason for leaving. I/V room stuff.

Seed you CV with 'keywords', use the technical term when possible as they usually stand out a mile and also reduce your word use.

As I said before I'm not saying mine is the Holy Grail, but as Hunter says... "I works for me!"

I have PM'ed you.

	10-08-2002 21:26									#179
	Full PM-box? Change here!

I have posted the file cv2.doc which is a more recent revision posted on here (although I have done more with it since but I will post it at some point later, I have changed it considerably since the first cv.doc I posted...as I say, I will post another one later when I have had the chance to do some looking at others

	13-08-2002 16:16									#180
	Put an end to popups!

So let's see your completed, updated version.