Critique my CV?

Visas, Permits, Passports and Naturalization
1
Hello all, ive been in Europe now for two weeks and am continuing to apply for jobs, and connect with people in similar fields. I have received some pretty constructive feedback from people in the work force in Switzerland regarding my CV and have decided to make a few changes...

Changes made:

-CV Picture (US Resume's do not have these, just had a professional pic taken last week and implemented it into my CV) For the record, I do not like the picture taken, and nearly refused to put it on my resume, however my SO and others, including the photographer think it is a good picture for the CV

-Country code put on all US based references so there is no need to look up the code if references are checked

-Streamlined skillset section, and re-wrote the introduction

I have also been told conflicting opinions on the total length of the CV, one friend of my SO has said that it should not be more than one page long, but I have never heard this before. I have been told by recruiters that all experience should be listed regardless of how long it makes the CV (this makes sense to me as long as it is no more than 3 pages).

Thanks in advance for any input, negative or positive.

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B-tE...it?usp=sharing

2
For agency recruiters, they'd want to see your date of birth and Permit Type. Just looking at your CV and it says, US citizen, there's low incentive for them to contact you as t's quite difficult getting a work permit for 3rd country nationals.

Talking in the 3rd person is not really done anymore so you're better off re-writing your introduction in the first person. Also instead of writing about your previous roles, you should have a line in your intro about what value you're adding to the role you're applying for. You might have to change this every time according to the job spec.

Finally, the references section is not really needed. If you have reference letters or written recommendations, add that to your application dossier to be sent with your CV or later on but you don't need to include your references' contact details on the CV itself.

Do include all of your previous experience if all of them are relevant to the job you're applying for. If not, a line would suffice for the 'irrelevant' work experience just to show there are no gaps in your CV

Depending on the employer, they'll aso want to see any educational?professional qualifications you do have.

Finally, language skills is always handy to have on the CV if you have them. Hope that helps!

3
Thank you, this is exactly the kind of info im looking for!

4
I really hope you have scrambled your data in the cv.

Don't post stuff like this on public websites.

5
Reason being?

6

Identity theft for one thing.

7

Unfortunately, as mtv says, “third state” nationals, i.e. rest of the world, are last in the jobs queue in most of Europe. Priority in Switzerland is given to Swiss nationals, EU citizens and anyone else already living here who has a valid work permit.

This is what any potential employer has to do before they could offer you a job:

http://www.bfm.admin.ch/content/bfm/…zulassung.html

Not impossible, but without language skills and outstanding qualifications/experience in your field of expertise it’s very difficult. If you want to move here you’ll have to be persistent and expect it to take months before you find anything.

8
I am moved here, living here currently, 25 minutes outside of Zurich. Already fully aware of the chances and that they are slim to none, I moved here for my girlfriend and for a better life, if it doesnt work out then im fully prepared to head back to the states and/or get married to help increase (not guarantee) my chances of landing an IT gig.

Not that this has anything to do with my initial thread.

9

Then you need to update a few things. Your location shown here on the forum is San Diego while your CV gives a German address and telephone number.

Are you physically sending out your CV with appropriate cover letters too and not just relying on your google one? I’d either list just a couple of your most recent reference contacts rather than all of them or simply put “reference contacts supplied on request”. Most Swiss employers won’t want them until later in the application process anyway. That would shorten the CV down nicely without cutting out the substance. 3 pages should be fine.

10
Ahh I see, I didnt realize I was still listed as being in CA, Ill change that shortly. Good info on the references, much appreciated! And yes, I am physically sending out the document in .docx form as an attachment and not a google doc, I simply listed it here in that way for quick access. And yes also sending out a cover letter with the CV.

11
Is that a fake address then? If so Ok but the above advice is good but if you are living in Germany I would think that would lower your chances. Living in Switzerland, having the right permit to work, and then network, network, network. But if you live in the country and your permit should be on your Resume.

I saw a stat just last week 51% of jobs were obtained through people`s network and that`s what I have seen.

Good Luck.

12

As in physical I mean old fashioned paper CV and cover letter. Don’t necessarily write that method off when applying. Of course it depends on what the individual company/agency wants.

BrianJW he moved here to be with his girlfriend. But JamiSteven I have to ask, is she supporting you as her dependent and do you have a residence permit? Or are you trying to do this as a tourist?

13
Looks really good, but some changes may be in order:

-Unfortunately, you have to insert your date of birth and, most definitely, your permit status. Are you allowed to work in CH? This is the first thing an employer will look at when reviewing a foreign CV.

-Definitely include language skills. This is a tri(quad?) lingual country in the middle of Europe and it's important for an employer to know what languages you speak.

-Speak in first person in the description. It just seems weird in the 3rd person. As if someone else is applying on your behalf.

-Consider replacing 'Skillset' with 'Technical skills(et)'

-The layout is kind of confusing - starting at the 'pillsbury' bit. Perhaps try to get that on the next page?

-This one takes a bit of effort - I was told that you need to highlight the duration of your employment at previous jobs - do so by putting the start-end date in the left column next to the job title. It really makes a difference by making your employment duration stand out.

-I'd leave the professional references out, replacing it with 'references available upon request'. Then I'd create a separate document called 'References' and paste them all on to there. You can then attach this document when you feel it's necessary for a certain role. Also, as a kicker, consider pasting the company logo above each reference. This really stands out and gives the recruiter and instant overview of your previous work experience.

-Finally, make your previous job roles (e.g Lead Tech) stand out - bold, italics or underline.

Source: Speaking to Swiss recruiters.

14
Yes this is correct, I am supporting myself but staying with her at the moment and trying to do this on a tourist Visa!

THANK YOU! Great info here and its much appreciated! Ill keep you guys posted on the results!

15
I haven't had a chance to go through this with a fine-toothed comb but a few things jump off the page at me.

First, verb tense agreement, or rather, lack thereof. Under one job alone, you use:

Managed

Supervised

Provide

Act

Manage

Creating

In another you use "Built/tested/configured/troubleshoot" which makes no sense. Try to be consistent.

Another thing I noticed is that you don't state any accomplishments. In order to stand out in this market, you have to make the employer see you as special, not just another run-of-the-mill IT dude. What did you develop, implement, or improve? Why should they pick you, and go through the effort to get you a work permit?

With the references - make sure you've personally contacted each one of them and received approval to post their information publicly. It would also be wise to include a title for each person, so the hiring manager looking at your info can decide if they're a worthwhile contact.

HTH!

16
Overall layout looks clean, I like it. I'd consider formatting it so that each paragragh/description is fully contained within a single page (example: Tab the first two lines of your work experience on the first page so that it aligns with the rest of it beginning on the second page.)

Do you mind me asking where you had your photo taken? I'm actually putting together my Swiss CV right now and need to get a photo done.

Cheers, and good luck.

17
Your references will not be too pleased at their email address being posted online. In no time at all, that link will be picked up by the spam bots and they will see a big increase in junk email.

CV looks fine though

18
Waw...putting your CV online so that everybody can see it (plus other people emails)...big mistake.

Good luck with job searching!!

19
Three months later, I am adding a comment, in case it can be still useful.. besides what has been said (DOB, Working permit if any, Language skills, use the first person and not the third) I would add:

- keep the references but put them right after the corresponding job. I think it is easier to read this way.

- for each job, gives at the beginning a 2 lines description that give information about the company you worked for (smalll, Medium size, large / field of activity) and your role.

- for each job, you miss a bullet point to indicate your "achievement" . The descriptions you make of your positions are very generic. Listing achievement would personnalize them a bit.

- put . or ; at the end of each sentence.

- I would put in bold your title and not the name of your company. Unless you worked for a big company or a competitor of the company you apply to, there is not point in emphasizing on this. The idea is that the reader can understand in one minute your resume. So for example, for your first job:

Senior IT Systems Analyst 08/2012-Present

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw

- you need to put your educational background. Even if you did not go to university, you need to mention your last high school degree, and any professional certificate you have. In my opinion, this is mandatory because this is the first question I asked myself when I saw your resume.

- I personally put on my CV the activities I enjoy doing outside work (running etc..). The point is again to personnalize the CV and gives the recruiter the desire to meet you.

- it looks to me the skillset section is too detailed. It should be 1 or 2 sentences that you want the recruiter to remember. If you give too much info, he will forget + the details are supposed to be in the description of each experience. I would also merge this section with the Introduction section.

And that is all..

20
I ́d be more interested to hear if it worked well for the OP?

And I have a different opinion on titles and after work activities etc. As my boss used to say: "in a bank even the cleaning lady is a VP" so imho job titles do not really always say what you have effectively done. And personally I ́m not that interested when hiring/viewing CV ́s what a person does after work