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lethargic_manI had my CV evaluated by a company who were offering that for free; they basically said my CV was rubbish.* Now of course, they're wanting to sell me their services, though they offered plenty of advice for free (and at up to three-figure sums, I think they can take a running jump). What they don't know is that the last time I applied for jobs, my CV as it stands (minus only of course the details of my last job) got me interviews for both positions I applied for. OTOH, then I was applying within a very small field, of which very few people had my level of experience. So I will take the company's advice, but I still think they're using scare tactics.
Interestingly, they also said "93% of all Hiring Managers use a CV scanning software to filter candidates from the application pool" (that certainly wasn't the case when I helped my boss to plough through hundreds of CVs seven or so years ago) and "it is likely that hiring managers will be confused by the file type and simply dismiss it. You might want to consider converting your document to a Microsoft Word file." Come on, you're saying hiring managers in a high-tech company won't recognise HTML!?† Though amongst the things their Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) failed to pick up were contact details; this is because the email address on the online version is output by JavaScript, meaning it's legible to human readers, but not to web spiders, to stop it being harvested for use in spamming me. This is a bad thing, as obviously I do want to be contactable; but OTOH their ATS also identified my most recent employer as the BBC, which employer I left six and a half years ago.
(This amuses me somewhat, as it's the same misidentification I get from lots of people, for whom the name BBC is memorable but the small company I worked for afterwards instantly forgettable.)
* Details: "I found your design to be visually uneven and cluttered. The appearance is not polished, and it doesn’t say 'high potential' as your experience suggests." "From the way the CV is worded, you come across as a 'doer,' as opposed to an 'achiever.' Too many of your job descriptions are task-based rather than results-based. This means that they tell what you did rather than what you achieved. This is a common mistake for non-professional CV writers" (their emphasis).
† I've been, where possible, pointing people at the online version of my CV as a web page. (Sometimes I use a version without the site-wide background.)
Interestingly, they also said "93% of all Hiring Managers use a CV scanning software to filter candidates from the application pool" (that certainly wasn't the case when I helped my boss to plough through hundreds of CVs seven or so years ago) and "it is likely that hiring managers will be confused by the file type and simply dismiss it. You might want to consider converting your document to a Microsoft Word file." Come on, you're saying hiring managers in a high-tech company won't recognise HTML!?† Though amongst the things their Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) failed to pick up were contact details; this is because the email address on the online version is output by JavaScript, meaning it's legible to human readers, but not to web spiders, to stop it being harvested for use in spamming me. This is a bad thing, as obviously I do want to be contactable; but OTOH their ATS also identified my most recent employer as the BBC, which employer I left six and a half years ago.
(This amuses me somewhat, as it's the same misidentification I get from lots of people, for whom the name BBC is memorable but the small company I worked for afterwards instantly forgettable.)
* Details: "I found your design to be visually uneven and cluttered. The appearance is not polished, and it doesn’t say 'high potential' as your experience suggests." "From the way the CV is worded, you come across as a 'doer,' as opposed to an 'achiever.' Too many of your job descriptions are task-based rather than results-based. This means that they tell what you did rather than what you achieved. This is a common mistake for non-professional CV writers" (their emphasis).
† I've been, where possible, pointing people at the online version of my CV as a web page. (Sometimes I use a version without the site-wide background.)
no subject
Date: 2015-11-19 09:13 pm (UTC)From my experience with CVs:
'achievements' means 'wrote software that turned my company into a world leader' and 'saved $$$ by doing x' in business speak.
I'd reorder the top section so that Strategy and Technology Ltd (write it out, first mention) comes first - this could be the source of the confusion.
If you are applying in your field, you probably don't need to say much beyond 'senior/principal engineer at leaders in the field'. If you're looking beyond that, you might need to spell out how your experience/skillset will translate.
And because of where you're going, I'd be looking at American CV writing advice (I have no idea what their specs are, only that they seem to be bragging more and going for the 'stand out from the Crowd' thing more?) and German CVs (definitely not bragging more; some years back it was still common to attach a photo, which is a big no in Britain). You probably can't do all of these in one CV...
I've had the best advice from an agency recruiter who used to hire people in my field. General CV advice is often aimed to get people with few or no qualifications into low-paying work and should be viewed with caution...
no subject
Date: 2017-09-08 09:55 am (UTC)I got the same message from them
Date: 2016-11-02 07:00 pm (UTC)