CV - photos ?

[Dolby]

Thanks for the replies.

Another 2 questions on CV's -

1) Do you require an introduction?
2) I'd have thought a Word document be the ideal format - is a PDF better? Do they not need to copy/paste?

[Voicy]

Thanks for the replies.

Another 2 questions on CV's -

1) Do you require an introduction?
2) I'd have thought a Word document be the ideal format - is a PDF better? Do they not need to copy/paste?

Whenever a recruiter requested my document in Word format, I always attach a PDF copy as well. This is simply because not everyone runs the same version office and borders/fonts may become distorted and make your portfolio look unprofessional. The PDF would depict the correct layout.

what do you mean by introduction? Generally you'd add a covering letter.

[Dolby]

what do you mean by introduction? Generally you'd add a covering letter.

I've noticed on a few there's a cover letter within the CV ... so between the title CV and the start of the information, there's an introduction and very brief description

[hawker]

While on the topic, if contacting people by email for positions, should the cover letter be the body of the email, or attached along with the CV?

What would one write in the body of the email if you are to attach the cover letter?

[Dolby]

Another question from me

When listing duties - is it imperative they're listed in bullet points?

Surely a small paragraph stating what the company does and what you're responsible for is alright too?

[Hamster]

To those that say they'd bin a cv with a photo, why?

How is a photo bad?

Would you attach a photo of yourself when you apply for ain ADSL line or a rental contract?

A CV is an official document. It is not your Facebook profile or scrapbook. Your CV should contain bullet points on your skills and experience so that I can quickly see whether or not I want to get you in for an interview. Adding a photo, to me, feels like you are not taking the application process seriously.

[gboy]

Makes you look like an estate agent.

[Hamster]

Another question from me

When listing duties - is it imperative they're listed in bullet points?

Surely a small paragraph stating what the company does and what you're responsible for is alright too?

As long as it is easy to scan through and get the highlights. Anything to make someone want to take a second look.

CV's are often given an initial scan/look later in the day after all the meetings and problems have been attended to. No one wants to get irritated by reading trivial stuff about your life and how much being a prefect in high school meant to you. All you really want is:

Speaks this language,
Is married,
Studied here,
Worked here,
.....did this
.....and this
.....for so long


My 2c anyway.

I've read articles where this woman said that when she does an interview and the applicant does not send a follow up letter the next day "thanking them for the opportunity and letting them know they look forward to hearing from them" that it counts against you.

Now, different strokes for different folks but I wouldn't want to work for a needy biaatch like that. She'll probably LOVE IT if you send her your photo :/

[chrisc4290]

I must have interviewed about 100 people while I was running two businesses and always viewed CVs with skepticism. Not only were there often spelling mistakes and poor grammar, sometimes the periods of employment did not correspond, ie the person appeared to have been working for 2 employers at the same time.

I generally would look through it quickly to ascertain that the person applying for the job of a electronics equipment installer had not just been a sweet salesman, but rather relied on answers to questions at the interview. Quite a boring job interviewing people, but you can usually weed out the bul****ters from genuine people rapidly. One simple question was "what is the difference between AC and DC current". A blank stare resulted in him immediately leaving. Even if I got a half-decent answer meant that the person had some knowledge.

On the other hand, if the CV showed that the person had been working for someone I knew, I would call him up and ask him what the fellow's work was like, was he reliable, etc.

A photo would neither enhance or detract from the CV. What would annoy me was a multiple photocopied document, often badly aligned.

I once had one youngster work for me for 3 months during his university vacation. He never wore shoes to work but was by far the most productive person I ever had. He went on to be a Molecular Biologist. When I chatted to him before he started, I asked him about his bare feet and he said he went to school in Christiana in the Free State and they never wore shoes to school, so didn't see the necessiity of starting now.

[Picard]

When I chatted to him before he started, I asked him about his bare feet and he said he went to school in Christiana in the Free State and they never wore shoes to school, so didn't see the necessiity of starting now.

BS!

In the winter it's so ****ing cold over there in the mornings, his feet would have been gangrenous stumps by the end of the winter.

[chrisc4290]

That's what I thought. It must just have been summer. Although I once went to stay with some Afrikaans people in Bethlehem in wintertime and all the youngsters went around barefoot by choice, not due to lack of money. Most of the girls at the high school too.

[Hamster]

Speak of the devil, one of my friends just sent me her CV to comment on it and it has her photo top right . It's a client facing job, so maybe it's important in that sector (still irritates the CRAP out of me). But I can let that slide, the worst part is the personal description/motivation part. All her sentences start with "I".

I am motivated...
I can perform under pressure...
I am a team player...
I can deliver....

[chrisc4290]

Can she offer any "extra services" too, or is that assumed... Those sentences are all cliches and if I saw that, I would bin it.

[blunomore]

All her sentences start with "I".

I am motivated...
I can perform under pressure...
I am a team player...
I can deliver....

That is a bit hard to circumvent in a CV.

[Hamster]

Can she offer any "extra services" too, or is that assumed... Those sentences are all cliches and if I saw that, I would bin it.

Her experience looks good, but to get to that part you have to get through the above "motivation" part and the highschool and tertiary education part. Every single module of her tertiary education is listed. It's almost a full page of modules. So you've got to get through 2 whole pages before we get to experience.


But she is a bit of a hottie so the photo might help if the employer is a man