CV Advice Please

Reactor · 06-12-2010 03:35PM #1

Hi, dont know if this is allowed but if it is would people who know about these things mind looking at my CV for me, it comes to exactly 2 A4 pages 12pt Times New Roman, any constructive critisism appreciated. Thanks.

My Name

Address: xxxxx, xxxxxxx, County Galway, Ireland.

Mobile: +353 86 xxxxxx

Email: xxxxxxxxx@yahoo.com

Objective:
I hold a BSc (Hons) Degree in Biotechnology and a BSc (Hons) degree in Applied Biology and Biopharmaceutical Science and I possess strong technical and organisational abilities both in theory and in practical analytical techniques. I am therefore keen to secure a challenging, longterm position where I can fully utilise and grow my skill set.

Education:
2008 - 2010: Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology, Galway, Ireland

B.Sc (Hons) Degree in Applied Biology and Biopharmaceutical Science: 4th year project involved work placement in a quality control department and the development of a standard operating procedure for iIsopropyl alcohol usage at a major medical device manufacturer.

2004 - 2008: Athlone Institute of Technology, Athlone, Ireland

B.Sc (Hons) Degree in Biotechnology: 4th year project involved an investigation of the diversity of soil bacteria communities using analytical diagnostic techniques.

1997 - 2003: Gort Community School, Galway, Ireland

Leaving Certificate - 420 Points

Topics Covered During B.Sc Courses:

· Analytical Pharmacology.
· Analytical Biotechnology.
· Analytical Chemistry.
· Applied Immunology.
· Pharmaceutical Science.
· Human Physiology and Pharmacology
· Microbiology.
· Quality Control.
· Validation and Good Manufacturing\Laboratory Practice.
· Bioprocess Technology.
· Molecular Biotechnology and Genetics.
· Detailed working knowledge of procedures and equipment related to ELISA assays, PCR, SDS-PAGE, HPLC, Gas Chromotography, UV Spectrometry, Sterilization, Cell Culture and various other analytical and pharmaceutical production techniques as well as statistical theory and analysis including Six Sigma theory.

Work Experience:

April - May 2010: Major Medical Device Manufacturer, Parkmore West, Galway, Ireland.

Work experience for Applied Biology degree. Received training and experience in the Quality Systems department of a large medical device manufacturer. Duties included, process validation, creation of standard operating procedures, preventative action reports and a variety of other quality assurance tasks including water sampling.

April - June 2008: XXXXXXX County Hospital Pathology Laboratory, Ireland.

Work experience for Biotechnology degree, observing and assisting in the day to day operation of a modern pathology laboratory. Skills and techniques developed included Biochemistry, Microbiology, Blood Transfusion/X-Match, Haematology and general laboratory operation as well as good laboratory practice. I also received experience with modern analyser equipment such as the Beckman Coulter SYNCHRON CX®9 PRO Clinical System, the Elecsys 2010 Analyser and the Bio-Rad D10 system.

Summer 2005 - 2007: XXXXXXXXX, Wellpark Industrial Estate, Galway, Ireland

Till operator, food preparation, bar service, health and safety.

June - September 2003: Major Medical Device Manufacturer, Ballybrit Industrial Estate, Galway, Ireland

Production line operator, assembling medical devices for export in a GMP/FDA regulated cleanroom environment. I received a perfect attendance bonus when I left to begin college.

Further Qualifications and Skills:

· Full, clean driving licence.
· ECDL (European Computer Driving Licence).
· I have excellent experience with Windows/Microsoft Office/Excel and the Internet in general.
· I possess basic programming skills in website design, HTML and C++.
· I have completed several workplace fire and health and safety courses.

Interests/Hobbies:

· F.C.A (Irish Army Reserve): Regular military training and some basic first aid.
· Science / Technology / Astronomy / Internet / Programming / Literature / Cycling

Referees:

Major Medical Device Manufacturer, Parkmore West, Galway, Ireland:
Contact xxxxxxxxxx, Quality Systems Supervisor: 091 xxxxxxxxxxxxx

XXXXX County Hospital Pathology Laboratory, Roscommon, Ireland:
Contact XXXXXXX, Lab Manager: 555-XXXXXXX

XXXXXXX, Wellpark Industrial Estate, Galway, Ireland:
Contact XXXXXXX, General Manager: 091 XXXXXXX

Eoin · 06-12-2010 04:05PM

I don't know enough (anything) about your industry, so these are more generic comments.

I would say don't use "Times New Roman". It's an OK font for printing, but not that nice when viewed on a monitor.

I would remove the references, and say they are available upon request. Although I'm sure they will fully back you up, you want to control when they are contacted - and that should only really be when you've been offered a job, pending the reference check. Another reason is that you might want them to emphasise a particular area of your experience, depending on the job you've gone for.

Double check the spelling - I copied it into Outlook and it suggests that Chromotography should be Chromatography. Is this correct? "longterm" should be long-term.

jethrothe2nd · 06-12-2010 05:23PM

I don't know anything about your industry either, but as a manager for a multi-national, I have seen plenty of CVs.

In general, I would say take out all the topics covered during your courses - in my opinion, that level of detail is not needed on a CV. If needed you can include information relevant to the job you are applying for on the covering letter.

Your objective is too generic. Your CV is very often the first impression a hiring manager/HR will get of you. Try to make it say something unique about you that sets you apart from the crowd.Hard to do,but makes a difference.

That's my 2 cents worth.

Good luck with job hunting!

tenchi-fan · 06-12-2010 06:15PM

I don't really like your CV to be honest - too much waffle and padding. Try to get it down to one page and see how it looks. I notice you write "Ireland" a lot on it.. if you are applying for a job in Canada it's completely wrong.

Your objective shouldn't state your education as it is clearly listed further down on your cv. The self-introduction isn't good in the objective.

After your objective, I would consider putting a "Skills profile" which includes 4-5 of your key skills. Usually mention your IT skills here, mention some of the procedures you used, mention your communication skills and your attention to detail.

education. Leave out all the subjects you did. Just put the college name, with course title as a bullet point. Leave out the work placement from the education section as you are mentioning it further down.

Work experience.
ALWAYS Include your job title - make one up if necessary! Use bulletpoints rather than sentences for work experience. Don't put fullstops at the end of bulletpoints.
Don't write "creation of", it's passive , instead write "created"... Try to stick with the past tense on your cv.
If possible, call it "employment history" rather than "work experience".
Get two bulletpoints out of "Summer 2005 - 2007" and remove "health and safety" unless you can expand on it and it was actually part of your job.

Don't use the word "I" on your CV. In particular "I have received experience" is terrible wording for a cv.
So instead of "I have excellent experience with Windows/Microsoft Office/Excel and the Internet in general" becomes "ECDL certified. Excellent I.T. skills with Advanced skills in Excel and Word"

Use commas for your interests (rather than forward slashes) and consider removing "Science / Technology / Astronomy" as they are too vague.

Remove the "further skills" section. Put important skills at the top of your cv in the skills summary and put your programming skills in "hobbies and interests"

Change the heading of interests / hobbies to just say "Interests"

Remove your referees contact details. Just say available upon request.

Change the font to 11pt or even 10.5pt. I like the new MS Office fonts of Cambria (bold and underline) for headings and Calibri for body text.

include your email address in the header

Devia · 07-12-2010 01:37AM

Too much on it imo, needs to be simplified down and made quick and easy to read. Below is the basic layout I'd use. No objective and no interests, any recruiter I've spoken to in recent times will say that its all just fluff and its not what they want to know about. They want a single sheet of paper to glance at and find out if you have the education & experience for the position. If you make that easy for them you've really boosted your chances of an interview.

Aside from that I agree with the great advice posted above. Hopefully you've gotten some good pointers to improve your CV.

Page 1

Name <-- Maybe center these 4 lines of text (personal preference).
Address
Mobile
Email

Academic

Year - Year: Institution
Qualification - Result

Year - Year: Institution
Qualification- Result

Employment

Year-Year: Company
Title
- Role/Experience
-Role/Experience
-Role/Experience

Year-Year: Company
Title
- Role/Experience
-Role/Experience
-Role/Experience

Year-Year: Company
Title
- Role/Experience
-Role/Experience
-Role/Experience

Other

-Skills/Achievements/Qualifications
-Skills/Achievements/Qualifications
-Skills/Achievements/Qualifications
-Skills/Achievements/Qualifications

PAGE 2

Referees:

Name
Position
Name/Address of company
Contact number
Contact email

Name
Position
Name/Address of company
Contact number
Contact email

Name
Position
Name/Address of company
Contact number
Contact email

tenchi-fan wrote:

Change the font to 11pt or even 10.5pt. I like the new MS Office fonts of Cambria (bold and underline) for headings and Calibri for body text.

I also recommend the font Calibri 11 instead of the Times New Roman 12

Reactor · 07-12-2010 02:06AM

Thanks a million to everybody for taking the time, is it absolutely necessary to put down the degree results? I only passed the biotech one due to a horrible year I had.

avalon68 · 07-12-2010 02:27AM

I have to say I dont find that cv very appealing tbh - Ill try and dig out a copy of mine - if you want, pm me your address Ill email it on during the week.

tenchi-fan · 07-12-2010 02:45AM

Reactor wrote: »

Thanks a million to everybody for taking the time, is it absolutely necessary to put down the degree results? I only passed the biotech one due to a horrible year I had.

It's not absolutely necessary to put down degree results. If you got a 2.1 or higher I'd spell it out! If you got a 2.2 I'd probably write "graduated with second class honours" as a bulletpoint. If you just passed, then correct me if I'm wrong but is it still considered an "hons" degree? Either way, just because you wrote down your result for one degree doesn't mean you need to write down the result for the one you didn't do well in. If you get called to an interview and they happen to enquire about it (they won't), you can talk up the subjects you did well in.

Reactor · 07-12-2010 02:48AM

So can I just say I got 2 2:1s?

Devia · 07-12-2010 02:59AM

Reactor wrote: »

Thanks a million to everybody for taking the time, is it absolutely necessary to put down the degree results? I only passed the biotech one due to a horrible year I had.

I think leaving them out is fine, especially when it might hinder your chances of getting an interview rather than help. I would prepare to be asked why they were left out though, particularly if your degree is an essential requirement for the role.

Scráib · 07-12-2010 01:07PM

Hi Reactor,

Here's my tips:

Mainly I'd say the work experience always comes before education. Employers want to see the previous employment before they care about your education.
When describing your employment list significant jobs you had, projects and special achievements you have under your belt. Personally I have the role title and two/four bullet points outlining what I did.
Keep everything succinct. Employers will make their mind up on your CV after 30 seconds, based mostly on the first page. So put all the really good stuff on the front page.
I got a really good book: Ultimate CV by Rowan Manahan to help with this. It's about 10 euro and worth the cash.

It'll take you a while to update your CV. I remember that I was sending out my CV for ages, before I objectivly re-read it and realized just how bad it was. Only in the past few months am I happy with it. It's an iterative process, so you'll be continually updating the thing over time.

Reactor · 07-12-2010 04:33PM

Mainly I'd say the work experience always comes before education. Employers want to see the previous employment before they care about your education.

Even if you're just a graduate begging for any position just to get a bit of experience though? Id be worried they'd just look at the amount of time I spent in those places and dismiss me instantly?

Reactor · 07-12-2010 04:37PM

Might as well throw in my cover letter aswell, this is just the generic one, I customise it a bit depending on the company, what do you think? Really appreciate all the help Im geting here by the way:

Dear Sir or Madam,

Hello, my name is XXXX XXXXXX, I am 25 years old from Galway, and I recently completed a B.Sc (Hons) Degree in Applied Biology and Biopharmaceutical Science in the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology, I also have a previous B.Sc (Hons) Degree in Biotechnology from Athlone Institute of Technology. I am contacting you with a CV regarding biotechnician/pharmaceutical roles or any other positions for which you think I may be suited. I am also seeking short or long term internships or graduate work placements in order to gain industry experience.

I consider myself a fast learner and hard worker who is great at dealing with people or working as a team member, I have excellent IT skills as well as knowledge and practical experience in a wide range of areas in molecular biology, pharmaceutical usage and production and biotechnology such as ELISA assays, PCR and SDS-PAGE as well as cleanroom environment, Good Manufacturing Practice/FDA regulation and quality control. I also have experience from previous positions with diagnostic devices such as the Beckman Coulter SYNCHRON CX®9 PRO Clinical System.

I am completely flexible in terms of hours / shifts / location and I hope to become a valuable and longterm member of XXXXXXX. I have included my CV for your consideration. If you wish to contact me I can be reached at XXXXXX@yahoo.com or at 353 86 XXXXXX. Thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely

XXXX XXXXXXX.

tenchi-fan · 07-12-2010 04:41PM

Reactor wrote: »

Might as well throw in my cover letter aswell, this is just the generic one, I customise it a bit depending on the company, what do you think? Really appreciate all the help Im geting here by the way:

Terrible.

There are plenty of resources online on how to write cover letters and none of them start with "hello, my name is x and I'm 7 years old"

You also started writing down course names and systems you used even though these are all on your cv.
"any other positions for which you think I may be suited" and "I consider myself" don't make you sound confident.

Paragraph one, the type of job you're applying for. Paragraph two, your suitability. Paragraph 3, You're available for interview.

Reactor · 07-12-2010 04:45PM

I know, Im a disaster, I can write excellent lab reports but I go total spack-hands when it comes to personal mail like this, I look at those resources and wonder if thats really what employers want though, it always sounds so cheesy and fake, not that my current one doesnt

tenchi-fan · 07-12-2010 04:48PM

Reactor wrote: »

I know, Im a disaster, I can write excellent lab reports but I go total spack-hands when it comes to personal mail like this, I look at those resources and wonder if thats really what employers want though, it always sounds so cheesy and fake, not that my current one doesnt

Just keep it to the point. Yea, they can sound a bit cheesy but they can also make you sound confident.
Also, try not to address a cover letter to "dear sir or madam", find out the name of the manager who will be able to give you the job.

Eoin · 07-12-2010 04:50PM

Reactor, post an example of a customised cover letter - a generic one is useless.

Does the company specialise in a particular area? If so, talk about it and say how interested you are in that area.

If you're applying for a particular role, then match their key requirements with an example of your experience.

You should customise your cover letter a LOT for each company, and your CV a good bit as well if there's a range of jobs you're applying to, or if different companies specialise in different areas.

Reactor wrote:

I look at those resources and wonder if thats really what employers want though, it always sounds so cheesy and fake, not that my current one doesnt

They don't want cheesy, they want to know that the applicant fits their organisation - and showing a bit of initiative by doing some homework can't be a bad thing.

Reactor · 07-12-2010 04:56PM

The customised one is 95% the same to be honest, I just shoehorn in the companies name and something about their products, I know its bad but I dont even know where to start improving it. I gave Irishjobs.ie €65 to clean up the CV and CL but they did f*** all with it, total rip-off.

Dan_Solo · 07-12-2010 05:02PM

This may go against the grain, but when I look at CVs I couldn't care less about the formatting, padding or font TBH. I want the best person for the job, not the best CV writer. Sure, I'd try to make it look as neat and tidy as possible, but any employer who knows what they're at will employ you, not your grammar skills.
(unless you're applying to work for graphic design company or something!)

Eoin · 07-12-2010 05:05PM

Dan_Solo wrote: »

This may go against the grain, but when I look at CVs I couldn't care less about the formatting, padding or font TBH. I want the best person for the job, not the best CV writer. Sure, I'd try to make it look as neat and tidy as possible, but any employer who knows what they're at will employ you, not your grammar skills.
(unless you're applying to work for graphic design company or something!)

I don't think you should imply that an employer doesn't know what they're at if they want people who can communicate well. This is an important part of a lot of jobs, be it technical / scientific or whatever - even if it's not the primary part of a role.

Dan_Solo · 07-12-2010 05:10PM

eoin wrote: »

I don't think you should imply that an employer doesn't know what they're at if they want people who can communicate well. This is an important part of a lot of jobs, be it technical / scientific or whatever - even if it's not the primary part of a role.

I didn't really. If there's a choice between good candidate with badly written CV and bad candidate with best written CV ever, there's really only one choice. Plus, being able to write CVs is an incredibly poor indicator of "communication" skills in general I've found, be it report writing or presentations.

Devia · 07-12-2010 05:16PM

Bit of advice for your cover letter. Others may have stuff to add but this is generally how I'd structure it:

I'd start with something about the position or jobs you're looking for... something along the lines of "Dear sir/madame, I wish to forward my application for the position of xxxx recently posted through company/website" and I'd leave your name, age and location out. Any personal info they need will be on your CV.

Its important to highlight what you got from your college experiences and how they relate to the job(s) in question, not just list your qualifications (they're clearly listed on your CV). Maybe get a paragraph out of that.

In another paragraph discuss your work experience, the skills you acquired, systems/devices you used and relate them back to the job or the work that particular company does and how you think that would help them.

You say excellent IT skills but you don't mention anything specific, try get a paragraph out of that too. Generally in science computer skills are quite important so you want to ensure them you're quite competent. You need to sell your skills, merely saying you're skilled in one line is fairly useless by itself.

Finally sell some of your personal attributes (fast learner ect.), convince them you're the best man for the job by referencing the above and show you really want to work for the company. Tell them you're available for interview, state your CV is attached with more details and open yourself up to further contact if they have any questions.

No need to stick to any of the above, its just an example off the top of my head but hopefully it will give you the jist of what should be included in your cover letter. In short - sell yourself.

Eoin · 07-12-2010 05:18PM

Dan_Solo wrote:

Plus, being able to write CVs is an incredibly poor indicator of "communication" skills in general I've found, be it report writing or presentations.

The layout isn't that important, once it looks presentable. But there's really no excuse for poor grammar or spelling in a professional document.

A CV is a very different document to most of the reports or presentations you might write, but you still need to be able to condense a lot of information into a concise and readable document.

Fonts do annoy me; perhaps more than they should. I wouldn't want to see Comic Sans MS in a CV. And I just find Times New Roman hard to read on a screen. It's designed for print format.

Devia · 07-12-2010 05:26PM

Dan_Solo wrote: »

I didn't really. If there's a choice between good candidate with badly written CV and bad candidate with best written CV ever, there's really only one choice. Plus, being able to write CVs is an incredibly poor indicator of "communication" skills in general I've found, be it report writing or presentations.

I agree to an extent. Any monkey can have a CV written for them. But in terms of first impressions - Recruitment decide to interview 10 candidates: There are 10 good candidates with a good, well written application and 10 good candidates with a rubbish, badly written application. Who has the upper hand?

Dan_Solo · 07-12-2010 05:36PM

Devia wrote: »

I agree to an extent. Any monkey can have a CV written for them. But in terms of first impressions - Recruitment decide to interview 10 candidates: There are 10 good candidates with a good, well written application and 10 good candidates with a rubbish, badly written application. Who has the upper hand?

If the only criteria HR have to discriminate between candidates is the quality of their CV writing, then it's time to get new HR. The candidates with better relevant qualifications and better relevant work experience get the job. As long as these facts are anywhere on the CV that candidate will progress.

Devia · 07-12-2010 05:51PM

Dan_Solo wrote: »

If the only criteria HR have to discriminate between candidates is the quality of their CV writing, then it's time to get new HR. The candidates with better relevant qualifications and better relevant work experience get the job. As long as these facts are anywhere on the CV that candidate will progress.

My question was based on the assumption that that all candidates are equally qualified.

Also im not implying that its the only criteria to discriminate between candidates, just that it is one of the discriminating factors.

Eoin · 07-12-2010 06:09PM

It's definitely a factor.

I'm not talking about a CV with no fancy formatting; I'm talking about a CV with poor grammar and spelling. It's unprofessional and indicates that they weren't arsed making the effort before applying for a job with you.

Would you really want that person communicating on your / your department's / your company's behalf?

Reactor · 07-12-2010 06:18PM

Is all the advice in this thread regarding writing a CV more relevant to people who have actually had a career and achievements and projects etc? Shouldnt a graduate put their education and subjects out front first when they're just trying to get in the door?

Devia · 07-12-2010 06:27PM

You should push education, skills and experience as much as you can IMO. Doesn't matter what kind of work you're looking for.

Dan_Solo · 07-12-2010 06:37PM

Devia wrote: »

My question was based on the assumption that that all candidates are equally qualified.

Also im not implying that its the only criteria to discriminate between candidates, just that it is one of the discriminating factors.

I understand your hypothetical, but that's all it is. I've never had to decide between candidates based on the quality of their CV writing. Their work experience and qualifications were always sufficient metrics. A CV only needs to be good enough to convey this information.

tenchi-fan · 07-12-2010 06:42PM

Reactor wrote: »

Is all the advice in this thread regarding writing a CV more relevant to people who have actually had a career and achievements and projects etc? Shouldnt a graduate put their education and subjects out front first when they're just trying to get in the door?

Yes to the education , no to the subjects.
I still put my degree first on my cv because it's relevant to my job, even though I got it in 2003.
On the other hand if I had 15 years work experience and my degree was from 1985 I'd consider putting it after the work experience.

CV Advice Please

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