Clan Fortune

Hi all
I have been told that in oz your c.v. needs to be different when applying for a job than it does in the uk, has any one any knowledge of this and if so can anyone offer a clue as to the format this c.v. would have to take?????
Thanks Derek

framac

C.V was the one from UK and foreman in work said he was most impressed with my "resume". What aspect, I don't know but my game is engineering so I would think it depends on field. Better answers will follow. Good luck

Wendy

It doesn't really have to be "that" different. The thing I found helpful was to put a few sentences after companies names to tell the Australian employer about who they were. Don't assume that an Aussie will have any idea about a company that operates in the UK, so if they employ 500+ staff and have branches throughout the UK then put it down.

Keep it to the point, use bulletpoints rather than long sentences, and importantly make sure you use spellcheck.

I don't see any need to list your hobbies (unless you want to fill up space), don't put your date of birth or anything like that. Make sure you put down your visa status, if you have a driving licence etc.

wongstonn

Hi

You will get conflicting stories pertaining to your query. There are some that have quickly got jobs using UK style CVs - i.e crisp, to the point and short.

As part of my job I do recruitment and therefore have to deal with CVs. Aussies tend to write much longer CVs - 5-7 pages being typical. They often span their entire working history, as opposed to recentish history.

Are they any good? Well, I prefer the UK ones as they are more to the point, however, when in Rome....

Neil

Hels Bells

Also being in recruitment, both in Australia and the UK, I believe it to be more industry driven and no real strict rules.

A resume/CV is a document designed to sell yourself enough to get an interview, end of.

If for your industry you require alot of technical knowledge or qualifications to make you competative, then put as much as you think is necessary.

My main suggestion is consider the Employer, think about how many applications they might get for a job and would he WANT to sit and read your resume? Make it easy to read, not too daunting in the length and dont bind it or put it in plastic sleeves. You could use another paper colour other than white though. Nothing to drastic, but enough that your CV stands out in a pile.

Also, depending on what Industry you are in, you may have to apply to jobs addressing a selection criteria. In which case you may need to alter your resume/CV for each job to reflect the experience/skills you have put in your application.

Hope some of this helps.

Hels

Vash the Stampede

I wasn't aware that there were any differences.

Came to the UK in January 2004; been using my Aussie CV the whole time, and never had any trouble - so they must be pretty much the same.

Wendy

I have no idea where the myth came from At the end of the day if your skills match the job you are applying for then you have a good chance of getting it.

The thing with CV's/Resume's is making sure that each one you send off is fitting for the position you are applying for. Have a basic one ready and add to it specific skills you have to fit the job you are applying for. You need to make whoever is reading it say 'that's what we are looking for'

A CV gets you an interview, what you say/do in the interview gets you the job (or not!)

I've written loads of CV's in my time and also recruited 100's of staff in my working life, the ones that are easy to read and relevant to the job advertised always come out tops