Job Discussion Forums

vre · Joined: 17 Mar 2004 Posts: 371

My two-penneth.

I agree with the OP that an unfavourable CV is one with all the unnecessary jobs from years ago and I'm sure it must be quite frustrating for those receiving countless applications. I also feel sorry for the person who probable feels like shat after seeing it being trashed here. Nevertheless, he won't do it again, will he? Or others for that matter.

It brought it all back to me too!

my 1st TEFL job cv was the same - food and beverage assistant, bar tender, pizza assistant etc Embarassed

my 2nd TEFL job cv was edited considerably. Rolling Eyes

Only 8 years on (just started 3rd job) can I say that I am really happy with my CV Laughing

and that it is substantial enough and to the point. I don't add photos or passport details, although I have never been asked to.

My original CV was full of nonsense but if I had edited it all out, it would have been virtually blank.

My point is that for the first job, I think it is necessary to show your ability to actually stay in a job etc etc (although not to the extent of the OP's find) and second time round it is easy to include relevant details about curriculum work, classroom management, materials development, conferences attended etc bla bla. Only after some more years can you keep it more concise and specific to your specialist areas that you have been involved in in depth in your job(s)

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

Ben Round de Bloc · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 1946

Personally, I find many of the comments and opinions in this thread to be helpful, and I appreciate people taking the time to share this information. I may need to write a CV again some day, and it's been a long time since I've written one. I think the last time I submitted a CV in an attempt to get a job was in the early 1980s. Since then I've been fortunate in that with every teaching job I've accepted, my CV/resume has been an after-the-fact formality. It isn't always just newbies who need advice about writing a CV.

Kent F. Kruhoeffer · Joined: 22 Jan 2003 Posts: 2129 Location: 中国

Hello people:

While we're on the subject, here's a website with some excellent tips:

http://www.rockportinstitute.com/resumes.html (Rockport Institute / How to Write a Masterpiece of a Resume)

Besides, I was stuck on post #666 and my head was spinning around so I needed to post something. Mr. Green

deezy · Posted: Sun Dec 12, 2004 11:09 am Post subject:

Well, you all seem to get a bit hot under the collar over this subject!

I spent 8 years in HR, two of which were solid recruitment only. One of those was before the internet was used, and it was wonderful holding a resume in my hands and reading it carefully. The other year (4 years ago) was purely computer based, the resumes arrived, they didn't hit my computer until they'd been through a software program which extracted the relevant qualifications etc., and then I got to read the essential information ON THE FIRST PAGE of the resume - if I thought the candidate might be okay I got to see the next pages. No nicely presented resumes with front sheets anymore. If you can't put the important facts on the first page, you miss out on having your resume even looked at! And it's always such a rush now. Pre-internet days, recruiters could take their time pondering the suitability of a candidate.

Please, even if you've had 30 years of employment behind you (like me!), don't write 'War and Peace'. Generally, I, as an HR person, would only be interested in the last 7 years. Of course....tailor your resume to suit the job...(my husband has 5 different resumes all emphasising different skills, some of his resumes also play down his abilities!). Keep it simple, keep it short. Don't use matrixes/tables/boxes as that messes up when downloaded. Oh...and I used to ignore resumes that had fancy fonts, flashing text, etc. We never looked at resumes on websites...(took too long!), and never looked at any that were more than 4 pages long. ASK the recruiter if they would like a photo, don't put it on the resume. You don't need to give your age.

It's tough enough to get a job, without messing up because you've written a poor resume. Think about it...the resume is usually the first contact therefore the first impression the recruiter gets. You don't get a second chance. And a good, but short(ish) covering letter/email also works wonders...I've even recruited just from the covering letter.

Trust me, if you write a good resume, you are WELL AHEAD of MOST candidates, and I'm not just talking about newbies; some of the worst resumes I've seen have come from highly qualified, highly experienced men. I can only surmise that this may be because these (generally older) men have possibly never had to write a resume before.

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

deezy,
Finally! A real HR person responds! Thanks for everything you wrote.

Just a couple of questions, if you don't mind...

What field were you an HR person in?
What is your opinion of the type of comments merlin has made concerning the extremist minimalization of resumes, merlin-style?

P.S. I've been around since before the Internet, too, and I do my best not to fall into that category you mentioned about "highly qualified, highly experienced men." Smile

rogan · Joined: 03 Mar 2003 Posts: 416 Location: at home, in France

First a confession - I'm one of those old teachers - yes, 50+ and still breathing.

Some things I've noticed over the years:-

Most people advertising TEFL jobs are not HR pros

Often the standard reply is "you have a job, when can you get here?" -Eastern European advertisers use this phrase with everyone.

China seems to need anyone who is mobile and an "English Native Speaker"

Western European Recruiters, with large Companies expect you to be 'in country' and to provide a CV that they can understand (usually in their language with qualifications and experience that they can understand.)

TEFL and the majority of language "schools", whatever you consider it to be, is NOT run by HR professionals.

However there are growing numbers of people who are starting to appreciate that there are far too many 'cuckoos' available.

And that growing number of enlightened people are starting to expect some 'meat' on a CV -
decent qualifications,
decent experience,
decent presentation that is easy to read and to understand.

My guess is that the CV debate depends on
who you are,
where you want to work,
who you want to work for
how good a job you expect to do/are expected to do.

If you're new - just say you are looking for your first job.
Say you grandparents came from XXXXX country and you want to discover your roots.
Whatever
You have enthusiasm, maybe too many dreams, but you are available and willing and you'll probably accept many things that I won't even consider.

Tailor the CV to the job - don't have a standard CV that you think will cover everything - tell McDo that you have years in 'customer service' if you must - tell the language school that you can be there next Monday.

marblez · Joined: 24 Oct 2004 Posts: 248 Location: Canada

Here's a question! On that website, it says only include GPA if it is 3.4 or above. Others have said 3.0 or above. Which is better?

Mine is 3.14

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

merlin · Posted: Mon Dec 13, 2004 7:23 am Post subject:

Nauczyciel · Posted: Mon Dec 13, 2004 9:29 am Post subject:

For the past days I've been watching the thread developing just the way it should. From time to time it seemed to run aground, but there was always somebody to get it back on course. I thought my intentions and motives for posting extracts of the CV on this forum were finally recognized and endorsed, so I ignored the posters hurling abuses at me. However, in his last post Merlin wrote:

merlin · Posted: Mon Dec 13, 2004 11:19 am Post subject:

Nauczyciel · Posted: Mon Dec 13, 2004 11:23 am Post subject:

Unbelievable. He did it again.

merlin · Posted: Mon Dec 13, 2004 11:25 am Post subject:

man, are you just hanging on my every word or what?

Nauczyciel · Posted: Mon Dec 13, 2004 11:42 am Post subject:

You may be mocking and sneering, Merlin. It just makes my point clearer. If you think I posted the CV to take the piss out of the guy, you may think so. I don�t care. I guess the majority will know the reasons. And these were to stir up the discussion. Remember the first sentence of my post?