Bibsawan Ghoshal presentation in ALES 204 lecture today on Effective CV Writing has already cleared up questions I had remaining from my lab. The CV examples he is showing are very helpful. The examples of organized CV's on his presentation will be a great resources when creating my own personal CV.
That CV was terrible. Many words were misused, conveying an entirely different meaning than was intended. Also the tone was too colloquial and in some cases, inappropriate. A CV is not a place for humor and jokes, it is meant to be serious and to the point.
Some of the Bad Resume Examples from Biba's presentation are actually hilarious. I don't think that an allergy to Mongolian sheep will be relevant in many job applications, maybe if you were applying to be a sheep herder. And as always, spelling and grammar are extremely important because errors can create the exact opposite effect that you want.
The CV presented in class today wasn't a very good example for several reasons. It used "I" a lot, the headings were the same size as the text and just barely stood out, the font was somewhat hard to read, and it focuses on the person instead of focusing on the job opportunity. The second CV wasn't formatted very well, it was all over the place, the spacing was different under each heading, each heading was placed differently compared to the body of the text, it had 3 objectives which is not concise. Finally the CV did not provide any references which we learned was absolutely essential.
CV's are important in the academic and non-academic world. They are extremely specific to the job being applied for and they have only the most relevant information about yourself. It should be tailored to the job, not to yourself!
The first example has too many uses of "I", some passages are clearly untrue and unprofessionally written. Like the passage "I'm self-employed and my employer doesn't know I'm looking for a job". While this is hillarious, no employer in their right mind would hire a person like that.
The CV shown in class today was not very good. It used the word I several times and headings and text font were the same size, making it difficult to read. Unimportant details were included that just took up extra space but had no relevance to them. CV's should be relevant, professional and to the point.
The first CV is difficult to read, even close up on a computer screen. The personal information provided is not what employers would be looking at all, there are numerous uses of "I," making it seems like a lazy, unmotivated individual wrote it. The Second CV is slightly better, including more relevant and useful information that an employer might be looking for, though it is still missing basic information at the top such as the person's name and contact information. It also lacks any sort of academic or professional history. Overall, the two CVs presented in class are essentially "what not to do" when writing a professional CV.
Although the first CV is keeping the headings and font constant the CV is still hard to follow along due to the overwhelming amount of information. The second example of a CV does not keep the same format throughout the document, making it hard to follow along. I also notice that this CV is using "I" throughout the CV, which should not be used on a personal CV. I find that both of these CV examples need to be better organized, which will help present their personal information in a more professional matter.
The first bad resume is really bad. There is very little the author of the resume says positively about themselves. For example, "I am a procrastinator especially when the takes are really unpleasant." These are things that you should not say in a resume because you want the employer to have confidence in you, that you will do the job and how could they when you out right say that you avoid working as much as possible. Being able to type fast is the only positive aspect this person states in this resume. However they did not relay their skill in a professional manner. They could have said "I am a very proficient and capable typist." Also if you have a stat on how fast you can type like 100words/minute then that is a good thing to add in order to accent your skills. There are many other improvements that could have been made in regards to this resume in addition to the ones stated. So if you are questioning your resume layout and information then ask a professional to look at it and give you some tips for improvement.
Please do tell if the CV examples in Biba's lecture were real or not--they were so bad they seemed too bad to be true.
Listing your allergies, for example--I'd only find that useful if you were applying for a job that has a daily exposure to animal or food products you may have trouble with, and even then I'd hope you had the common sense to avoid an occupation that would threaten your health in such a way unless you really, really needed the hire. The mentioning that one donated blood was kind of creepy and just screamed desperation--as if you would go to desperate measures to enter, stay with, and/or leave the job if it ever happened. I'm surprised examples as outlandish as these are being shown to us, truly all of us are aware not to add crazy things for employers to see, let alone irrelevant.
What I disliked the most was the CV that explained a great interest to join the Aviation industry, but a scan through the entire CV and you would fail to find ANY evidence of that person's past with Aviation whatsoever. There should have been some distinction between a) What KIND of job you want in that industry, for example in a cockpit or a radio tower or as a mechanic, and b) What skills and history do you have, and how it can be best tailored. At this point I don't know what's the lesser evil--an open-ended and broad explanation of your skills and traits, or a willingless to be a square peg in a round hole by opening up about your individual experience and knowledge. I would hope then that one takes a step back and before carving the perfect CV, take a good long look at your ultimate career goals and dreams. Establish your base before thinking about the top.
Deanna spot on! i agree with you and beleive that we should ask ourselves these question.What is your CV to you? What does it represent? Why is so used? Who uses it and for what reasons? Our experience of CVs and the answers to these questions make us sceptical. There are so many assumptions running about how important and useful CVs are. What do you believe?
CVs have become a passport. If you want to travel, drive a car or buy an alcoholic drink you need evidence of who you are and your entitlement to do the thing that want to do. It is literally your entry ticket.
I loved how Biba's presentation included humor (the allergies, for example). I literally laughed out loud when I read "Donating blood, 14 gallons so far" under a bad example for a "Personal Interests" section of a CV. I truly hope Biba made those up himself to make a clear point to the class of what is considered extremely unprofessional.
It was helpful to include chronological and functional CVs because many students, including myself, had no idea that there were different types of CVs! Building the foundation of my own CV will be awesome when it comes time to graduate, and potentially look for a research position or potential careers.
This is a great presentation on how to create a professional CV. Sometimes it is overwhelming knowing where to start in order to impress potential employers. Thank you Biba for breaking it down for us!
Bibsawan Ghoshal presentation in ALES 204 lecture today on Effective CV Writing has already cleared up questions I had remaining from my lab. The CV examples he is showing are very helpful. The examples of organized CV's on his presentation will be a great resources when creating my own personal CV.
ReplyDeleteThat CV was terrible. Many words were misused, conveying an entirely different meaning than was intended. Also the tone was too colloquial and in some cases, inappropriate. A CV is not a place for humor and jokes, it is meant to be serious and to the point.
ReplyDeleteSome of the Bad Resume Examples from Biba's presentation are actually hilarious. I don't think that an allergy to Mongolian sheep will be relevant in many job applications, maybe if you were applying to be a sheep herder. And as always, spelling and grammar are extremely important because errors can create the exact opposite effect that you want.
ReplyDeleteThe CV presented in class today wasn't a very good example for several reasons. It used "I" a lot, the headings were the same size as the text and just barely stood out, the font was somewhat hard to read, and it focuses on the person instead of focusing on the job opportunity. The second CV wasn't formatted very well, it was all over the place, the spacing was different under each heading, each heading was placed differently compared to the body of the text, it had 3 objectives which is not concise. Finally the CV did not provide any references which we learned was absolutely essential.
ReplyDeleteCV's are important in the academic and non-academic world. They are extremely specific to the job being applied for and they have only the most relevant information about yourself. It should be tailored to the job, not to yourself!
The first example has too many uses of "I", some passages are clearly untrue and unprofessionally written. Like the passage "I'm self-employed and my employer doesn't know I'm looking for a job". While this is hillarious, no employer in their right mind would hire a person like that.
ReplyDeleteThe CV shown in class today was not very good. It used the word I several times and headings and text font were the same size, making it difficult to read. Unimportant details were included that just took up extra space but had no relevance to them. CV's should be relevant, professional and to the point.
ReplyDeleteThe first CV is difficult to read, even close up on a computer screen. The personal information provided is not what employers would be looking at all, there are numerous uses of "I," making it seems like a lazy, unmotivated individual wrote it. The Second CV is slightly better, including more relevant and useful information that an employer might be looking for, though it is still missing basic information at the top such as the person's name and contact information. It also lacks any sort of academic or professional history. Overall, the two CVs presented in class are essentially "what not to do" when writing a professional CV.
ReplyDeleteAlthough the first CV is keeping the headings and font constant the CV is still hard to follow along due to the overwhelming amount of information. The second example of a CV does not keep the same format throughout the document, making it hard to follow along. I also notice that this CV is using "I" throughout the CV, which should not be used on a personal CV. I find that both of these CV examples need to be better organized, which will help present their personal information in a more professional matter.
ReplyDeleteThe first bad resume is really bad. There is very little the author of the resume says positively about themselves. For example, "I am a procrastinator especially when the takes are really unpleasant." These are things that you should not say in a resume because you want the employer to have confidence in you, that you will do the job and how could they when you out right say that you avoid working as much as possible. Being able to type fast is the only positive aspect this person states in this resume. However they did not relay their skill in a professional manner. They could have said "I am a very proficient and capable typist." Also if you have a stat on how fast you can type like 100words/minute then that is a good thing to add in order to accent your skills. There are many other improvements that could have been made in regards to this resume in addition to the ones stated. So if you are questioning your resume layout and information then ask a professional to look at it and give you some tips for improvement.
ReplyDeletePlease do tell if the CV examples in Biba's lecture were real or not--they were so bad they seemed too bad to be true.
ReplyDeleteListing your allergies, for example--I'd only find that useful if you were applying for a job that has a daily exposure to animal or food products you may have trouble with, and even then I'd hope you had the common sense to avoid an occupation that would threaten your health in such a way unless you really, really needed the hire. The mentioning that one donated blood was kind of creepy and just screamed desperation--as if you would go to desperate measures to enter, stay with, and/or leave the job if it ever happened. I'm surprised examples as outlandish as these are being shown to us, truly all of us are aware not to add crazy things for employers to see, let alone irrelevant.
What I disliked the most was the CV that explained a great interest to join the Aviation industry, but a scan through the entire CV and you would fail to find ANY evidence of that person's past with Aviation whatsoever. There should have been some distinction between a) What KIND of job you want in that industry, for example in a cockpit or a radio tower or as a mechanic, and b) What skills and history do you have, and how it can be best tailored. At this point I don't know what's the lesser evil--an open-ended and broad explanation of your skills and traits, or a willingless to be a square peg in a round hole by opening up about your individual experience and knowledge. I would hope then that one takes a step back and before carving the perfect CV, take a good long look at your ultimate career goals and dreams. Establish your base before thinking about the top.
Deanna spot on! i agree with you and beleive that we should ask ourselves these question.What is your CV to you? What does it represent? Why is so used? Who uses it and for what reasons? Our experience of CVs and the answers to these questions make us sceptical. There are so many assumptions running about how important and useful CVs are. What do you believe?
DeleteCVs have become a passport. If you want to travel, drive a car or buy an alcoholic drink you need evidence of who you are and your entitlement to do the thing that want to do. It is literally your entry ticket.
I loved how Biba's presentation included humor (the allergies, for example). I literally laughed out loud when I read "Donating blood, 14 gallons so far" under a bad example for a "Personal Interests" section of a CV. I truly hope Biba made those up himself to make a clear point to the class of what is considered extremely unprofessional.
ReplyDeleteIt was helpful to include chronological and functional CVs because many students, including myself, had no idea that there were different types of CVs! Building the foundation of my own CV will be awesome when it comes time to graduate, and potentially look for a research position or potential careers.
This is a great presentation on how to create a professional CV. Sometimes it is overwhelming knowing where to start in order to impress potential employers. Thank you Biba for breaking it down for us!
ReplyDelete