Re: NZ FORMAT CV
 

Hi

With regards to teaching CV's I paid to have mine done professionally and 2 years later still no interview!

We were shown some examples at uni - I've never seen anything like it ! Full of photos, twee little qoutes from children, one even had a little hand weaved basket on the front! We were told that these were all successful so maybe I should make some paper flowers and out some glitter on it!:confused:

Re: NZ FORMAT CV
 

I'm a professional CV writer and we don't get training in the vagaries of teacher CV's. Fortunately my mum is Principal of a primary school in Auckland so I went through a bunch she got and discussed with her what she was looking for.

Photos: ok if they show the results of your work. Pretty children are not relevant.

Teaching philosophy: put a short para or two. Make sure it matches the general guidelines for the approved approach to teaching in NZ.

Mention extra curricular activities and interests. Heads like ones that could enhance the extra curricular and school programme.

Mention qualifications and skills in specialist areas like literacy, numeracy and ESOL. Cultural sensitivity etc.

The basket is probably a flax kit and very culturally appropriate so don't mock it. I probably wouldn't recommend you using it though.

My mum received one with a chocolate and a sachet of coffee wrapped in a bow on the front. The person wasn't shortlisted but it did catch her eye and she read it.

Photos of you: not generally accepted in NZ, but in teaching it is common to provide one. My mum asks for one.

Bear in mind for CVs, so long as they are easy to follow, well written and free of mistakes you are half way there. Details like whether or not you provide a list of personal interests are much argued about but probably not a big issue when it comes to shortlisting.

My main tip is, try to imagine the sort of person who is going to shortlist and write it for them.

Hope that helps

Jo

Edited to add: UK teachers have a reputation for 'teaching to the test'. Bear this in mind when you phrase your achievements. You need to show that you can teach the wider curriculum.

Re: NZ FORMAT CV
 

What profession you are applying for ???

Re: NZ FORMAT CV
 

Rordering and kiwifying your cv s well worth it. oH applied for same job in same place on two different occasions. The first time, with a UK CV, no interview. The second time, a restructud KIWI style CV: interview, offered job, full time permanent.

Re: NZ FORMAT CV
 

Old thread I know but this is tricky. I'm going to be updating my CV over the holidays and I may well be applying for jobs while still employed in the UK. What I'd be hiding by not listing referee contact details is the fact my current employer isn't too friendly towards staff who show an interest in leaving.

It's one of the reasons why I'll probably only start looking for work once husband has a job and we know we're definitely moving, especially as I hope the reputation of my previous work for current employer would push me towards being short listed.

The problem is that most future employers don't care about applicants IME. When I moved to my current post I explicitly said NOT to contact my current employer until after interview as I'd lose my job if they did. Despite saying references would only be taken up if the applicant was offered the job they wrote to my employer pre-interview and, as a result, my temporary contract wasn't renewed despite the fact I'd been told it would be. Thankfully I was offered the job here otherwise I'd have been out of work.

Re: NZ FORMAT CV
 

Here in NZ they tend to seek references to help them to shortlist for interview in my experience. Saying dont contact won't make any difference.

Re: NZ FORMAT CV
 

That's a shame as it would mean I can't apply for any jobs in NZ without being made redundant from my current post.

Emigrating is looking further and further away. I'm beginning to wonder how ANYONE manages it :(

Re: NZ FORMAT CV
 

How come?

Re: NZ FORMAT CV
 

I have recently re-structured my UK-style C.V. to fit an NZ -style based on advice provided by an NZ Recruiting agent. It has got me further into the recruitment process with some employers who ignored my previous attempts. I can send you a template if you like.

Steve

Re: NZ FORMAT CV
 

That's really kind Steve, thanks. I'll send you my email address via private message.

Re: NZ FORMAT CV
 

Have emailed you.

Stephen

Re: NZ FORMAT CV
 

That's not my experience in NZ. I advise my clients not to put references on the CV, but to provide them on a separate sheet when asked for. Usually this is at or after the interview. Most often, it is prior to an actual offer. If you are asked to provide a reference earlier than you would like, contact the recruiter and explain the situation. Offer to supply a 2nd reference (from a previous employer) with the first reference to be provided once an offer is in place (subject to references). Recruitment consultancies are the worst offenders when it comes to over enthusiastic reference checking - I suspect it's the job given to the temp or junior who just sends out stock emails.

Re: NZ FORMAT CV
 

You don't have to give full contact details, you can keep it vague or can simply put something like References: Available on Request

This gives you the control as to who has the details. NZ employers usually want to talk to someone rather than write or fill in a form. I agree it's the agencies that are the biggest PITA they want to take up references before they even consider sending you for interviews. Its annoying as it wears very thin if you're applying for lots of things and relying on one person as your main referee and most likely you will be. It can be very hard yards trying to manage this and you do need to be on good terms and upfront with the reference provider and give them a thousand apologies in advance for possibility of being bailed up in the middle of the night to talk in quite intimate detail about you.

Quite honestly I think you are wasting your time if you're not the primary visa applicant and not yet definite about moving.

Re: NZ FORMAT CV
 

Just catching up on this thread and some interesting points, as someone who has been in recruitment for 10+ years I thought I would add a couple of thoughts;

Definitely include the visa status or at least plan - shows your serious and prepared! Biggest push back I get from clients is "how serious are they to move here, what research have the done?"

You don't need in-depth detail about work experience 20 years ago and no one likes lengthy CVs, but for me I like a brief snap shot to fill in the blanks i ie 1995-2000 Trained as a Bricklayer, 2000-2003 backpacked in Europe....then get into the detail for your recent jobs.

I only recruit management roles in construction so for me I really need context of what people have done recently, and my NZ clients really appreciate this as they wont have heard of the companies and projects people in the UK have worked on; eg: Project Details (could be a one page appendix), Employer website or one line description of them etc,

Achievements Achievements - brave to do but always good to state what you have achieved.

Hope that's some help and I think the thread has got some excellent points.

Good luck

Re: NZ FORMAT CV
 

Interesting comments smfield23. I removed the British reference, the reference to any type of visa or inkling that i was foreign. I got a job interview, and subsequently a job immediately afterwards, after 30+ applications getting nowhere, prior to that.