Welcome Guest! The IOSH forums are a free resource to both members and non-members. Login or register to use them

Postings made by forum users are personal opinions. IOSH is not responsible for the content or accuracy of any of the information contained in forum postings. Please carefully consider any advice you receive.

Notification

Icon
Error

Options
Go to last post Go to first unread
9Yally  
#1 Posted : 30 September 2013 12:36:08(UTC)
Rank: Forum user
9Yally


Morning,

I am in the process of updating my CV.

My CV entails:

Personal Profile
Key Skills and Attributes
Career History - This includes duties for each role and there are 3 jobs on the CV
Key achievements for each job
Small section on personal details - Only a few lines

The CV is 3 pages long already.

My problem is now that I want to add my current job to this it will make it longer, so after some advice on how to construct a better CV with four job roles on it.

I am now aiming for higher EHS positions, I am currently National EHS Manager so looking at possible head of EHS etc or also looking for work abroad.

Any tips would be greatly appreciated

Thanks
hopeful  
#2 Posted : 30 September 2013 13:08:35(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
hopeful

It is a difficult one but I must confess I didn't bin CV's which were overly long during my last 2 recruitment tasks. Keep the personal profile short and relevant and the same with key skills and attributes - see what you can include in your covering letter - I was more upset with someone who had copied these 2 sections into a covering letter offering nothing new. Depending on how long ago and relevant the job roles were perhaps only focus on the last 2, ensuring that you have covered everything with a few lines for others. It may also be worth while registering with a couple of agencies as they will usually give good feedback on your CV. Hope this helps
stuie  
#3 Posted : 30 September 2013 13:15:23(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
stuie

Mine takes up two pages and as I have progressed have changed the older jobs just to include any relevant info and reduced the size of these sections accordingly; some are now just one line with job title and dates.
HTH
Stuart
JJ Prendergast  
#4 Posted : 30 September 2013 13:31:21(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
JJ Prendergast

Many h&S jobs have very similar core skills - risk assessment, policy development, auditing etc.

You don't have to repeat for every job.

Summarise your h&s skills in its own section

Then just highlight specific experiences for each job e.g. mabe showing wider responsibility, the size/scale of he job, staff supervision
9Yally  
#5 Posted : 30 September 2013 15:34:31(UTC)
Rank: Forum user
9Yally


Thanks all,

So maybe list my jobs as one liners with a short description of the company and then have a section with skills and list the tasks I carried out there in one list ?

NLivesey  
#6 Posted : 30 September 2013 16:45:42(UTC)
Rank: Forum user
NLivesey

I've had a lot of success with my CV's by trawling the internet for some good examples and ideas of CV's/Resume's. If you get creative with your searching you should be able to find some template CV examples that align with the roles you're looking for and then it's just a matter of using your language in a concise way.
stuie  
#7 Posted : 01 October 2013 12:55:30(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
stuie

9yally; why bother with a description of the company - it is your CV - brag about yourself and what you did within - you can always discuss the organisation at interview, plus if you just put the name of the company, odds on the recruiter will do some background reading so they will look at the company anyway.
HTH
Stuart
rob clarke  
#8 Posted : 01 October 2013 15:15:37(UTC)
Rank: Forum user
rob clarke

You could change the company name into a hyperlink.
Saves space and demonstrates your IT skills. If someone wants to know about the company they can just use the link.

If you are using Aerial, you could switch to Verdana and drop a point on the font size. That normally helps me find a litle more space.

If you are putting line spaces between paragraphs, try dropping the line down to around 4pt from 12. It creates a noticeable gap but uses a lot less room on the page.

I assume you have already stretched the margins as far as you can and maybe put your name into the header
David Bannister  
#9 Posted : 01 October 2013 15:24:31(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
David Bannister

2 pages is merely a guide, issued by someone at some time and now taken as gospel by many.

Agencies will largely issue their own version of your CV to employers whilst direct recruiters themselves will be interested in finding the right person not just counting pages.

That said, too many words will often hide the real nuggets of information.

Best advice I was given was get several opinions, ideally from people whose opinions you value.
jontyjohnston  
#10 Posted : 01 October 2013 15:49:04(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
jontyjohnston

9y

PM me with your email and I will forward you a professionally prepared format which you might find useful.

Jonty
SP900308  
#11 Posted : 01 October 2013 16:19:54(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
SP900308

Hi 9yally,
what happened to:

UK Head of HS&E Or Group Head of HS&E? - March 2013 thread - I thought you were already there?

Good to see you're still planning ahead though.

Good luck.

Simon

9Yally  
#12 Posted : 02 October 2013 08:56:42(UTC)
Rank: Forum user
9Yally


Thanks for the replies, some excellent advice.

Jonty - Thank you very much, will be sending over a PM shortly

SP - I am still here but have not updated my CV since starting, I like to keep my CV out there as you do still get phone calls from recruiters, I don't want to miss out on my ideal job :) (or more money!)
SP900308  
#13 Posted : 02 October 2013 13:51:41(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
SP900308

9yally, how far back does your career history go? Your posts suggest that you don't sit still for too long. With all due respect, that may be seen as a weakness on your CV, if you have a number of positions in a limited space of time. Maybe an area to apply the 'smoke 'n' mirrors'.

Finding the ideal job - nothing wrong with that! Although I wonder if there is such a thing and, like meeting one's hero, it quickly becomes a big damp squib!

Back to my Janitorial duties, now where's my brush gone?
9Yally  
#14 Posted : 03 October 2013 11:12:53(UTC)
Rank: Forum user
9Yally


Hi SP,

I have had three roles in my life so far, one as a QS, once as H&S Manager (Both same company for 6 years) another as Divisional EHS Manager (2 years 4 months) and now this on as National EHS Manager (6 months).

So hopefully not to bad. I know what you mean though, the grass will always seem greener on the other side.
SP900308  
#15 Posted : 03 October 2013 11:19:38(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
SP900308

9yally, I jumped to conclusions (I apologise)!
Looks like you're on a good progression path, keep it going!

Simon- Junior Assistant's, Assistant.
Users browsing this topic
Guest (4)
You cannot post new topics in this forum.
You cannot reply to topics in this forum.
You cannot delete your posts in this forum.
You cannot edit your posts in this forum.
You cannot create polls in this forum.
You cannot vote in polls in this forum.