sia bg/cs operative for hire

Mate
You need to seriously take a secongd look at your CV, it looks more like an advertisement campaign!!
It needs to be on 2 pagesof blank A4 and contain more detial about what you have actually accomplished rather than where you have been. Go online and take a look at other CV's, failing that you can purchase books on how to right a CV.
As an employer/employeei will tell you now that would not pass the first stage of the paper sift.
Hope this helps
HP
 
Hi Mark,
It looks like you put a lot of effort into the appearance of your CV rather than content.
If you dont mind, as a demo to others I will rewrite it for you in a more traditional format and then post it here. That way you get your CV reworked for free and other members in doubt can get a heads up. If you object, I wont do it.
 
hi silhouette,thank very much for your offer i would be really greatful if you could do this for me please ,iam new to the industry and any pointers are more than welcome thank you .
regards mark
 
Gents! This is what this website is all about!

Hairypie..............erm not to keen on yer name but hey ho LOL ..........but thanks for your frankness and input!

Silhouette ...outstanding!

CM
 
Hi mark1 and welcome aboard.

I thought I would just add a few comments about your CV and also some pointers to others about to submit their CV. I have to agree that it does need a redesign. I have recruited quite a few people over the years and reading CV's unfortunately is often a hurried affair when there are many applicants. You were probably thinking that a snazzy design would catch someone's eye which it does, but it also overshadows the actual content (which is good) of the CV. After all if it is too much "look at me" then it comes across more as desperate, rather than confident of your own abilities.

Normally rule of thumb is try and keep it down to two pages with key skills and experience and qualifications first. You got close though in that respect. Try and use a typeface that is easy on the eye, I did find yours a bit hard to read. You have to remember there will be many CV's to sift through and even the slightest reason to reduce the pile down to a more manageable size will be used. Spell check everything twice as there is little excuse for bad spelling with a word processor package. It doesn't have to be a literary masterpiece but good grammar is a requisite.

Just keep it simple and clear with a consistent format. Use a bit of design to brighten it up but make sure that it does subtly. I actually prefer word documents rather than PDF's as I can check the properties to see editing time and even what computer it was created on. Sometimes this gives an insight into the person not on the CV.

Something I do (although this is dependant on the type of work I am going for) is to include a photo of myself in the document. You will be amazed how the psychological impact of "humanising" your CV can increase your chances of selection. Seeing a face will actually draw you to that CV compared with a mountain of white A4 with plain type and template borders.

Avoid at all costs the cover page with fancy border and just your name and Curriculum Vitae. It is just another page to turn and if you cant be concise on the first page it may reflect that you may not be concise in the job. Also that border you thought was "unique" I have seen at least 20 times before! Colour is good but remember many printers are monochrome or they may be photocopied. Colours often do not translate well in black and white and end up "muddying" the content.

Don't lie, you will be found out, maybe not in CV selection but certainly by the time an interview takes place. I would take a person on that may not be everything I am looking for but is honest, if they are lying they will be shown the door. I can normally spot one within the first minute of meeting and one of the reasons I get the job of selecting people in the companies I have worked for.

Contact details should be correct and professional. If you have to use a hotmail account please try to avoid addresses like dj_mickey@hotmail.com or dragonslayer@hotmail.com as you are applying for a professional post. Addresses like that do not look professional and again can show a flippant disregard to etiquette. If you can get a personal domain name email address with just a simple first name and initial account. They are less likely to be blocked by corporate spam blockers as well.

Some companies use electronic scanning of word documents to pick out keywords. I have heard people using white text and putting these keywords in even if it is not relevant to your experience but is to the job you are applying for. It will fool the selection process but if found out will amount to cheating and I would question the persons integrity even if I may admire their cunning! Also if they get printed out on non white paper stock they show up!

Lastly experience in each job. Keep it brief, bullet points are good as you can quickly see relevant experience even in an unrelated job. Stress responsibilities rather than the obvious duties the job would entail and don't flower up a responsibility like Catering Coordinator when in actual fact you were the one that got everyone their coffees!

I hope this helps!
 
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I have completed the CV but cannot upload it to the site because its too big at 37kb for the 19 allowable. Will email to Mark in the meantime
 
Brilliant advice Nomad, you should be charging by the hour!

Shame about the uploading glich Silhouette. I'll look into it and see what we can do.

Thanks to you both.

Mark1 this is what we call in the trade networking and inside knowledge.

This forum has been designed especially for these reasons.
 
I have completed the CV but cannot upload it to the site because its too big at 37kb for the 19 allowable. Will email to Mark in the meantime

I've increased the limit so you should be able to upload the CV.

Thanks for helping out, its much appreciated!

Over time I will be able to implement a email system on here so you could have a email address @closeprotectionworld.co.uk - if theres enough people interested I'll look into it.

Mally
 
Ok, thanks for increasing the document capacity. I have uploaded Marks' new CV.

Please note this is not the finished article. I have written in red areas that he will need to fill in himself. The format is one I have tried and tested sucessfully with several PMCs

Notably absent were address, DOB and SIA CP no, but as this is a public access forum it was prudent of Mark to omit these. In applying for jobs though, this information is critial.

I scrapped the PDF format and the graphics and reverted to a word document. I personally believe that the summary bullet points are the first thing the sifter reads. This tells him/her whether the applicant has the minimum qualifications.

Mark ticks most boxes as far as criteria for CP work goes - military experience, sound operational tours, CP trained & Licensed. Because he has been out of the army for some time, potential PMC employers may want to see a recent firearms course. I would suggest that Mark explore the possibility of getting on CRGs HECPO course to brush up on these skills and get a foot in the door.

Anyway, all the best Mark.
 
Brilliant advice Nomad, you should be charging by the hour!

Thanks CM and funnily enough I do charge by the hour but for you lot my advice is free;)

May provide dividends when I finally get my license and I am looking for surveillance / Ops work:)

Good work on the CV silhouette, definetly right about adding who trained you as it is a small world and someone may well know them. I was supposed to be trained for unarmed combat by Johnny Walker but unfortunately there was a death in the family and he could not come down. His replacement had trained with him and did a fine job too. Seems a fair few know Johnny (nice guy too).

Good luck with the job hunt mark1.
 
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i cant thank you guys enough for all your help and advice i will resubmit the reworked cv once the blanks are filled,i have spread the word about the forum to guys i now within the cp industry the more the better.
to silhoutte, again thank you. regards mark
 
.......makes me feel all warm and fluffy inside!

.........good stuff!

........Between us all i think we cud have a pretty awesome CP team.............
 
hi mo,feel free to use the word doc that siihouette reworked for me as a template just copy and fill in with your own details ,located five posts above yours regards mark
 
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