Career Services from Measurability

CV Format – What is a chronological CV?

CV format is an important aspect of CV writing which is often overlooked by jobseekers. There are a number of CV formats that jobseekers can consider but the most popular CV format is chronological CV. Basically Chronological means that your work experience is arranged so that the most recent work project is first. The chronological CV is currently the most popular CV format with employers in Ireland.

CV Format – Advantages of the Chronological CV

There are a number of advantages of the chronological CV. It is a familiar format, recruiters in Ireland expect this format and they are comfortable reading this CV format. It is also very easy to read and highlights the recent work experience and education.

CV Format – The Disadvantages of the Chronological CV

There are a number of disadvantages of the chronological CV. It focuses on facts and dates and has little emphasis on abilities and competencies. It limits the jobseeker particularly if your most recent work experience is not relevant to employer. It also highlights gaps in employment or frequent changes in jobs.
 
CV Format – When to use a chronological CV.

A chronological CV is fine when your recent work experience and recent qualifications are relevant to the post you are applying for. It is an appropriate choice if you have no gaps in the CV or have not regularly switched jobs

You should avoid a chronological CV is you have switched jobs often or if you have a few gaps in the career history. You might also avoid this format if you are re-entering the workforce after a long period out of work. Finally avoid this CV if your most recent jobs are not relevant to the post you are applying for.

If you are struggling to write a CV perhaps we can help. Measurability designs CV for professionals across Ireland – Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway, Waterford & Sligo. We are CV experts with a professional approach and vast experience in the Irish job market. Read more about our CV service.

Most jobseekers do not realise that 99% of CV design is completed by phone and email. You do not actually have to meet the CV expert. In fact I will only meet clients for Career Assessment, Career Coaching or Interview Coaching. I find that meeting with individuals only adds time to the process – and time adds to the cost. I work with clients all over the country including Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford.

I design CV’s for all levels of the organisation and all business functions. I design CV’s for Executives, Professional and Graduates. I have designed CV’s for sales, IT, production, engineering, materials, finance and management.

What does my CV look like?

I have worked in careers, HR and recruitment for 14 years. I have seen everything when it comes to CV’s and CV design – the good, the bad and the ugly. I am a career doctor with The Irish Independent and The Sunday Tribune and regularly write CV articles for a number of online sites including RecruitIreland. If you need an impact CV whay not check out my profile or read what other individuals had to say about my work.

Need more information?

I would be more than happy to provide more information about my CV service or my other services career coaching, career assessment and interview coaching. Feel free to contact me or visit my website for more information.

Most jobseekers take a reactive approach to job hunting. What I mean is that they send a CV to a few recruitment agencies or set up job posts with an online job board and sit back and wait for the interviews to roll in. This is great if it is working for you but what if you are not getting the results you want. There are 3 responses you can take;

1. Keep doing what you are doing – don’t be surprised when you keep getting the same results though!!
2. Change your approach when dealing with agencies or search the job boards differently.
3. Try a more proactive approach to job hunting.

Proactive job search strategies can help.

There are two popular strategies networking and speculative CV’s.

Speculative CV’s can take up a lot of time and seem a thankless task BUT when you do strike gold it can erase all these feelings and memories. A few tips about sending speculative CV’s include;

Targeted Approach – try to focus and not just approach this sporadically. Target a geography region or an industry sector. Ideally a preferred region or sector. Also record all your activity and responses.

Avoid HR Departments – Sending speculative CV’s to HR can be a waste of time. Although most recruitment will go through the department quite often there is an information time lag between them and the function you want to join. For example the Marketing Manager may know that an executive has just given notice or that it has been agreed with the MD to increase headcount and not have passed this information to HR yet.

Focused cover letter – A general letter with not title will lose impact. Find out the name of the department manager and address it to him/her directly.

Follow Up – Try following up with the manager you have targeted with a call. Have short sales pitch prepared.

Measurability offer expert career coaching services including career assessment, career direction, cv writing and interview coaching,

I have been working with jobseekers for years as an employer, a recruitment specialist, HR consultant and a career coach – profile. I guess I know as much as anyone in the market (if not more) about CV’s, Interviews and careers. In my time I have seen the good, the bad and the ugly but particularly when it comes to CV’s. I offer specialist advice to Irish jobseeker helping them achieve career goals through career planning and direction, CV writing and interview preparation.

CV Writing Service

I work with individuals from Graduate to Executive across a variety of skill sets and industry sectors. The ultimate goal being to help improve application to interview ratio with an impact CV. I design Cover Letters and offer expert advice on job search strategies in the Irish Market.

Typical CV Writing Process -How it works?

- Email a copy of current CV and job specification.
- CV reviewed and phone confirmation of price and time
- Initial reformat of CV and review
- Phone conversation to discuss work history and content.
- Initial draft received
- Discussion, review and amendment.
- Final Draft
- Other services – full CV design, cover letters & expert advice on job search strategies

Benefits & Cost

You will have a CV that will improve your interview ratio BUT more importantly through the process you will gain an important understanding of CV design to enable future amendments and changes when required. The COST will depend on a number of factors BUT you will get an exact price before any work commences.

As you can see from the CV writing process you will be very involved and you will have many opportunities for review before the final document. You may also note that we do not need to meet and most of my clients are from around the country. I can provide references if required and I do have some on my website. Please note that other services I provide include career direction and interview preparation.

Once upon a time in CV advice … 

When asked this question I reflect back to one of my earliest experiences in the field of recruitment and careers. I was working as a recruitment consultant. I had a vacancy for a Quality Engineer advertised and I received an application by post which was a 14 page CV. I would like to advice readers that this was a time before email and technology. The role was quite urgent so I told the jobseeker that we would use the current CV BUT it was too long and we would have to amend it for future roles. After 1 hour at the fax the last page went of the employer. Anyway the jobseeker was called for interview and he completed the interview. I phoned him for feedback shortly after. He told me that the interview went great and made a point of telling me that the employer had commented on how good his CV was.

CV with no more that 3 pages 

I guess the point of this story is that people read CV’s and each person has a different taste. This is why it is difficult to give a 100% confident answer about how long a CV should be. My advice is anywhere between 2 and 3 pages but 1 page summary CV’s are common.

CV with important information on page 1

Let’s move away from the length for a minute. A more important point is that whatever the length of your CV it is essential that any relevant information can be accessed on the first page of the document. Many hiring managers don’t take the time to read a CV in full and often make interview decisions in as little as 30 seconds. Do not leave it to chance that a client will read your CV in full.

Measurability offers a full CV and Cover Letter writing service and expert information on job search strategies. We are experts in the field offering positive results to jobseekers in Ireland.

CV’s can fail for many reasons. If the CV doesn’t do the job then you can kiss goodbye to precious interviews. There are a number of key mistakes made on CV’s and I have outlined these below.

Ignoring the target audience– This is the most popular. If you do not consider the target audience when writing a CV – forget about it!! Any good salesman will tell you that you have to understand the customer and target your pitch accordingly. Well this is the same when writing a CV. Identify What they want and pitch your CV accordingly.

Lack of accuracy – A polite way of telling lies. If you lie on your CV the likelihood is that you will be caught out. If you get caught out – no job. Skilled interviewers will know where potential porkies can be found on a CV. They will certainly shine the spotlight in these areas.

Poor presentation – Content is the most important aspect of a CV BUT it must also look good on the eye. Small font, poor formatting and other layout issues can turn the reader off. It is important to have a flowing CV with good margins and ample white space. Ensure that you have clear headers so the reader can find information quickly. Fancy designs – well that is up to you – personally I prefer to keep it simple.

Poor attention to detail – Poor spelling and Grammar can be a show stopper. We all have spell checks on the PC – so please use the tool. I would also advise that you get someone to proof read the CV also just to be safe.

If you want help to produce a professional CV that will make an impact and generate interview contact Measurability – Irish CV experts.

I met with a client today to discuss job search strategies and interview preparation. During our discussion she produced a CV and a cover letter that she had paid a “Professional” to produce.

Ok it was not the worst CV I have ever seen but there were glaring mistakes. It made me think – hey you do a good job Paul BUT also you do not charge enough!!

Here are some of the mistakes ….

CV Mistakes

Career Objective – Employers do not care what you want. They only care about themselves and the simple fact can you solve their problem. Replace career objectives with value statements – this will focus on the employer and not you.

Small Font – I have good eyesight so when I have to squint to read the CV the font is too small. This professional sacrificed readability in the bid to make a one page CV. If the employer cannot read the CV then they cannot get the information.

Solicitor Language – Some professionals over complicate language. To be honest I did not understand the meaning of half of the words. Keep it simple!!

An last but not least the biggest mistake – The CV was designed with a “one CV fits all jobs” philosophy – This will not work and you will miss out on key interviews. A CV should be tweaked for every job you apply for. When I produce a CV I will educate the client about future applications and their CV.

Cover Letter Mistakes

The cover letter highlighted why I never read them. It was pure jibber. There were big words and sentences that tell you absolutely nothing about the individual. There was a one word used that I am afraid of writing just incase the creator reads this post. A cover letter is an opportunity to let you put your personality across – don’t waste the opportunity.

There are some great people out there who write CV’s for a living and there are some cowboys. Choosing a service provider is like anything else. Shop around BUT do not just focus on the lowest price. If you need help with your CV check out our site.