CV format and looking for work
 

Can anyone give me any pointers on reformatting my CV for the Australian market? I'm in IT, specifically telecoms and have been pretty successful with the format of CV that I have right now outlining my skillset then going into my industrial experience.

Also, what is the best way to go about looking for work - send out CV's and covering letters on spec to employers or use the agencies?

Re: CV format and looking for work
 

Can I just leap in first here for once and say ignore all the so called 'experts' on this forum who will tell you need to 'australianize' your CV, and make it more upfront and show-offy.

Its all nonsense. I eventually went to a professional agency in Oz to re-arrange my CV (I'm in IT as well). They moved some of the paragraphs around, that was about it. Australianized... :rolleyes: my arse.

Thats my rant over.

I assume you know about the websites. Careerone.com.au, seek.com.au, and also the government jobs site www.qld.jobs.gov.au (or substitute your destination state in)

Bear in mind some jobs, especially the government ones, want you to write answers to 5 or 6 selection criteria bfore they'll even look at your CV. Look over the government website to get an idea of the selection criteria for the kind of jobs you are interested in,

Cheers,
JTL

Re: CV format and looking for work
 

A relative of ours actually told us that their CV's are terrible. Their spelling is even worse and they wonder why they don't get the job.

If you have a good one at the moment.......stick with it.

I am in IT (well.....was in IT) and currently looking for work. I have sent mine off to a few agencies and have had really good feedback about it. I always tell them I am going to make some changes to it and a couple of them actually said 'leave it' as its fine as it is. Good to know really as more often than not they want to charge you to make changes etc.

R.

Re: CV format and looking for work
 

Folks, me too from IT.
I have uploaded my resume. And it has been validated from many people.
If you want to have a look, please have a look:
http://www.bestjobsau.com/resumes/pandyam
I have tried to trim it from 6 pages bible to 3 pages pocketbook :)

Re: CV format and looking for work
 

Steve&Clare the link that I sent also has the covering letter, you can imitate it. Hope it helps...

Hey I am wonding your base line: I came, I...., I slept..
Any hints as to why you slept in the end :)

Re: CV format and looking for work
 

No, don't. Your cover letter is completely specific to you. Why would he want to, or how could he, 'imitate' it?

JTL

Re: CV format and looking for work
 

hey wait.. I never ment literally...
If he does I cant help it....!

Re: CV format and looking for work
 

Thanks for the heads up. Just thinking about my CV or Resume today. Will keep it as it is, and just tweak a few things, that the Aus market may not understand.

chris

Re: CV format and looking for work
 

Yeah, thats all I did. Change the language a little bit, tried to make it more international. But the last few threads I've seen on this topic have tried to give the idea that there is a 'australianisation' process to make your CV readable here.

Complete BS.

The major difference you'll find here is for some jobs they will additionally want you to complete a selection criteria, which is basically a list of 5 or 6 criteria they have laid out for the job that you have to answer, giving examples of experience and how you fulfill that criteria. It can be quite time consuming, 4 or 5 pages in the end. Which makes me laugh when I hear these experts here saying keep your CV to 2 pages.

They ask you to write 5 pages to show your experience before they'll even read your CV!! I don't think they'll give a damn if your CV is 3 or even 4 pages long. :rolleyes:

Just my opinion,

Cheers,
JTL

Re: CV format and looking for work
 

I was wondering about CVs too.
My English one is mainly all bullet points but I hear they like a more paragraph-based approach in Aus.
Is this correct?

Re: CV format and looking for work
 

They are used to paragraph based ones. But that does't mean they can't read and appreciate bullet point style.

If you think it adds value, convert it to paragraph style. But its the words they look at, not the format.

And if they don't... they're not worth working for :D

Cheers,
JTL

Re: CV format and looking for work
 

ok thanks for that. think I may leave it as it is and try and get some feedback when over there.

Re: CV format and looking for work
 

so what's the most effective form of job hunting then? Over here I just use gojobsite, monster and totaljobs. I know there are several jobsites like Seek but what are the best for IT work and is it worth sending out spec letters to employers or agencies?

Re: CV format and looking for work
 

I must have missed that bit as I can't see that written anywhere! :rolleyes:

Re: CV format and looking for work
 

Just thought I’d throw my and Mr GG’s experience in here, as we’re applying for jobs in Sydney at the moment (or avoiding it, as the case tends to be!).

Patrick is a Process/Product Engineer, whilst in my last role in the UK I worked as a Project Manager for a medical communications company. I mention this, because whilst Mr GG’s occupation is fairly specialised, my CV (as I tend to have it) emphasises the admin side of things, so is a bit more general.

Patrick has found most of the roles he’s applying for are advertised through agencies. He’s spent most of his time here going in to recruitment consultants’ offices and meeting people there. I’ve been much better off applying for roles directly – either through searching the websites previously mentioned or as found in the Sydney Morning Herald of a weekend (although I have also registered with a couple of agencies). Both approaches seem to be yielding results, as we’ve both had a number of interviews. So I guess it’s horses for courses.

Only thing I would say is that the recruitment process seems quite lengthy over here – Patrick has just been invited to attend an interview for a role that he applied for before he even left the UK (and that was about 7 weeks ago now!). I too am finding the same thing, so I think this applies regardless of industry? Has anyone else had similar experiences?

Regarding the CV – we both updated our UK ones, rather than adapting or Australianising them at all. They do follow a paragraph format, but that’s how they were, we’ve not changed that. Feedback from recruitment consultants has been positive – none have advised either Mr GG or I to revamp our CVs at all.

With regards to selection criteria – again I think this depends on the industry and the type of role that you’re applying for. Patrick’s done none, I seem to have done hundreds! Keep e-copies of all the ones that you complete and then you can just cut and paste bits from different ones to suit a new application you want to send in. They do tend to be about four pages long, but I can now whip them off in about 30 minutes! It’s worth investing the time getting the first couple right and then you can adapt as suits best.

Hope that helps,
Nichola