Thoughts on my new CV?

wilmasafe

wilmasafe

New Member
Hi guys,

I have been freelancing for a few months after finishing a foundation degree, work is not coming in as thick as i'd like it to. So I want to apply for an internship/junior/trainee role in branding or online marketing agency.

I was just wondering if any gdf members could give me some opinions on my CV, i just want it to be perfect before i start sending it off. I will of course change it slightly to meet each vacancy but as a whole, what do you guys think?

Thank you

Adam

Please find my CV on this dropbox link (the pdf was to large to upload as an attachment)....

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ogq7qprxnw17va5/MY CV.pdf
 
Honestly, I think it needs to be much more creative. The first line of your bio says you are creative, but the CV itself doesn't show this.
 
Paul Murray said:
Honestly, I think it needs to be much more creative. The first line of your bio says you are creative, but the CV itself doesn't show this.
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I have read in several blog posts that making the CV over the top with creativity like some i have seen can be a put-off, I've read that employers just want to see the info in a nice and digestible layout. It's confusing because so many people have different opinions its hard to know what to do :/
 
Typo -'Employement'

I think you can afford a little more creativity. There's a big gap from yours to something 'over the top'.
 
Oh yeah thanks for that. And ok I don't suppose you know of any examples that are slightly more creative? No worries if not, thanks
 
wilmasafe said:
I have read in several blog posts that making the CV over the top with creativity like some i have seen can be a put-off, I've read that employers just want to see the info in a nice and digestible layout. It's confusing because so many people have different opinions its hard to know what to do :/
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Yes and No. I wouldn't pay too much attention to everything you read in blog posts. At the end of the day if you are applying for a design job and you say you are a creative but show no sign of that in your CV, then it simply does not add up. About 5 years ago I applied for a job and sent two CVs (as at first it wouldn't let me upload my more creative version): one being a standard version, not designed or creative in any way; The other was my more designed version with a much more thought about layout. Now, when I got the job my employer told me that when he saw my first CV (standard version) he didn't even bother to read it, he just threw it away. Needless to say, when he saw my more 'creative' version, he felt almost forced to read it as the design drew him to it.

With all that being said, getting too creative can backfire, as it is a CV at the end of the day and it should do its job simply and effectively. Employers want to see something that has clearly been well thought out, not a pretty picture.

My advice for you would be to build on what you have, add a bit of a design style to it and use a more thought about layout. Just spend a bit more time on it as your CV is the first 'piece of design' many employers will see before your portfolio.
 
Ok thank you, when you put it like that it does makes sense to have a good design, i'm just not sure what a suitable design is for a CV. Is there any chance i could see your CV if its on your pc or even if you have a link to any designs you feel would be suitable? Sorry I just really want to get it right before sending it off to vacancies, thanks
 
Ok thanks everyone for the valid points. There seems to be a big divide in what employers would look for in terms of design for a CV, creative or simple... as you can see in the comments below this blog post.... http://dzineblog.com...me-designs.html .... people are all disagreeing with each other, I'm definitely going to design something pleasing on the eye but nothing too over the top.

Thanks for all your input!
 
wilmasafe said:
Ok thanks everyone for the valid points. There seems to be a big divide in what employers would look for in terms of design for a CV, creative or simple...
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A CV can be both simple and creative. I don't have an example to hand, but you could do something playful with the typography. At the end of the day, do something that represents you. People will disagree on design indefinitely, so ultimately you should pick something you're happy with.
 
Paul Murray said:
A CV can be both simple and creative. I don't have an example to hand, but you could do something playful with the typography. At the end of the day, do something that represents you. People will disagree on design indefinitely, so ultimately you should pick something you're happy with.
Click to expand...

I like the idea of doing something creative with the typography. I think i'll use this cv for online marketing vacancies and spice up the typography and maybe some other elements for creative vacancies.

Cheers :)
 
- I don't really dig right aligned text at the top. Right aligned text is always going to be more difficult to read when in a paragraph and is something I avoid generally.

- I think what people might be getting at with the 'creativity' is the text formatting at the moment looks quite standard. There is room for it to be given some designer TLC while still keeping it minimal and not over the top. For me the bullets are pretty standard looking as if its the default option for bullets in Word - maybe try some other minimal type of graphic device, even something simple like an underscore in a subtle colour for example?

- There is not enough space around much of the sections. Its all looking quite tight certainly on the first page. It can be surprising just how much more professional something can look if given more space. Work to some kind of grid so each section has a consistent amount of space above and below it. The second page has better spacing but could still benefit from some kind of graphic devices to 'hold' the sections together. E.g a subtle keyline below the title for example.

I'd just do some searches for 'Minimal designer cv' and see what you can find for inspiration. I can see what you are aiming to do so its just a case of refining what you have.
 
Cool.

That example you have used looks pretty nice. The typography might not be in the style you'd use but it used what I was talking about with the keyline below the titles. Basically just a really fine horizontal line (something like 0.5pt or whatever looks right with the rest of the design). It helps 'contain' the various parts of the CV so the eye knows where to look as it can see clearly defined sections. There are other ways this can be achieved but its a tried and tested method. Without some kind of order like this the eye just sees a load of text and has to spend longer figuring out where one section ends and the other begins, so information cant be identified and absorbed as quickly.

Also in that example the icons next to the phone number / email / url's are quite nice and are what I'd say give it that designer touch.

I agree the graphs arn't brilliant and it looks like the choice of font next to them would be better if it was more of a neutral sans serif rather than the hand written / script font when at that size especially as its vertical too. I personally don't put skills in graphs as you end up saying you are 50% or 60% good at something which to me doesn't sound too great but I see a lot of people do it. It should be obvious in your portfolio just how good you are at something.

Going back to your CV I'd be tempted to adjust the sections and simplify then even further so they have a consistent structure. For instance

Industry Skills
• HTML and CSS knowledge
• Experienced with WordPress CMS
• Knowledge of eCommerce protocols
• Experienced with FTP file managing
• Experienced with Mac and Windows OS
• Brand identity development
• Understanding of design processes
• Developing and managing project briefs
• Experienced with Photoshop, Illustrator,
InDesign and Dreamweaver
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Could be:
Web Development
• HTML
• CSS
• Wordpress
• eCommerce

Technical
• Photoshop
• Illustrator
• InDesign
• Dreamweaver
• Mac
• Windows


I.e I think the specific things like 'Brand identity development' and 'Understanding of design processes' should be evident from your portfolio. Usually I think CVs tend to go into more of the technical details of what you can do - but maybe other people would disagree. There isn't really a right and wrong way of doing a CV so these are only my view. I'd always try to make a CV as clear as possible so it takes as little time as possible to read. You are on the right lines of keeping it minimal without fuss as this is how I have made my CV and it usually gets a positive response.

Cheers
 
Reading an error in the first paragraph would suggest a lack of attention to detail - at which point I switch off (I see 5 - 15 speculative CV applications each week). 'with a strong a desire'.
 
Spelling errors are an absolute no-no!

Some hierarchy problems with the Green Headings and the Body Text.

Spacing between headings is not identical.

These are basic things!
 
It's 'ok'.

I would lose 'Additional Information', specially as it's a typo.

Not sure about "...got my head in a computer..."
 
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