CV Advice

[Bushwhacker]

Hi all,

I am currently updating my CV and am trying to shorten it a bit. Being in my 40's I have had a few jobs over the years and up to now I have always listed them all on my CV - but I am starting to think this may be unneccesary as it is making my CV quite long. Is there a convention about what previous posts I should mention e.g. would it be acceptable to just include the jobs I have had in the last 10 years or 15 years ??

Thanks in advance

BW

[Ice-Maiden]

Yes BW, I think it would. You could always add a footnote that you have experience in.....(name them)...and then if you reach the interview stage, you could elaborate on it if necessary. As a person familiar with placements and employing people, it doesn't matter to me about what happened from the word go. The first thing I look for, obviously, is experience, & traits which I believe will be valuable to the positions applied for. There's also a matter of seeing how long a person has been in any one job. If nothing's lasted longer than 6 months, it's hardly liable to the next time. Make appropriate CV's for each job.

[Twenty20]

As the Ice-Maiden says.....cut your cv down to what's relevant to each job application. Too many jobs listed will look bad anyway. I, too, wouldn't want to read about what you were doing in 1992 unless it was really relevant.

[jeanette1976]

Always try to keep your cv down to 2 pages maximum. I only do my employment history including the heading (From last 5 years).

Either way, I always add a covering letter which i use to emphasise why i would be good for the job.

Good luck!

[squirrel77]

hi,
I only show the last 3 jobs or upto 6 years back. I add a footnote saying 'previous jobs/experience available on request'.
Good Luck

[CushtyFred]

"Being in my 40's I have had a few jobs over the years"

A few jobs!! You probably worked on the first production line of the wheel moosh!

[Bushwhacker]

Worked on it CushtyFred ?? - I designed the blooming thing !!

Cheers for all your advice folks.

BW

[cgobes]

More and more people are creating a fifteen-year work hiostory CV and marking their CV to show this. Before that, you could do a simple list of employers and dates.

Also, remember that in the duties and responsibilities for your jobs there will be duplication so - for earlier jobs - keep the description down to a minimum.

Also, for your older jobs you could tweak the dates to 'eliminate' any short-term jobs that don't add anything to your skills/experience. this will also increase dates with some jobs that are left in and thus make you look more committed.