CV Advice from 2003
Still hazy, after all these years...
I’m currently trying to organise and properly catalog my CS teaching materials from the early part of this century and came across a document I wrote for my Software Engineering students. I’d set them a (non-assessed) assignment to write their CVs as if applying for a SE role. Here’s my generic feedback on their collective efforts, some of which might still be relevant more than 20 years later!
Some Notes On CMS Assignment 3
In marking the CMS assignments I came across a number of common errors and problems, especially on assignment 3, the targetted CV. To save me repeating this I’ve noted some of the main problems below.
Fonts Too Small
The person reading your CV may not have as good eyesight as you, especially once their eyes have glazed over after the 400th application. Do not use fonts sizes below 10 points, particularly for important information like your contact details. I know that the “CV” template in Microsoft Word uses a very small font for the address at the top of the page but just because it is from Microsoft does not make it right!
Clumsy Cut And Paste
In some ways, the Windows cut and paste feature is too clever for its own good. By default it will paste text in to your document preserving the font and other text effects of the original source. This may not match the font of the paragraph or document you are pasting into. This makes your document look scrappy and inconsistent. Unless you really want to preserve the original formatting use Edit -> Past Special… Past as unformatted text.
Unhelpful Hyperlinks
Microsoft Word “helpfully” turns any e-mail address that you type into a hyperlink and will underline it and colour it blue. This is completely pointless and unnecessary for a document that is printed and makes your document look strange – why is the e-mail address underlined and why is that the only part of the document in colour? Turn this feature OFF! Who is in control here, you or the word processor?
Call a Spade a Spade
To spare their shame I shall refrain from naming the person who described their summer job as “using their initiative to correctly allocate automobile parking locations”. You were a car park attendant. Over-blown language like this gives the recruiter some light relief but doesn’t help your case.
Back to Grammar School
The correct use of the apostrophe is to scatter it at random throughout the document in words that end with “s”, this will convince the reader that you are fully conversant with all aspects of grammar. Discuss.
For the record folks, the apostrophe is used for two reasons – to indicate a contraction (“didn’t”) or to show possession (“Henry’s Cat”). If the subject is plural the apostrophe goes after the “s” (“Mothers’ Day”). Special case, “it’s” = “it is”, “its” = “that which belongs to it”.
Emphasis Envy
I personally intensely dislike random emphasis of words for no apparent reason. It makes the document harder to read, the sentences do not scan well and it makes your CV look like a cheap, nasty marketing flyer.
Proofread, Proofread, Proofread
Read your CV carefully. Then read it again. Get someone else to read it. Run it through the spelling and grammar checker in Microsoft Word (but do not rely on them – they are both fallible!) Then sleep on it and read it again in the morning.
Examination Marks
Your GCSEs may seem long ago and unimportant now that you going to get a degree but employers will still probably like to know your grades at English and Maths, especially if you did not do these subjects at ‘A’ level.
I’m An Expert I Am…
Completing a 20 week programming course does NOT make you a “highly experienced C/C++/Delphi programmer”. Completing my CS1TQ2 COTS course does NOT make you “highly skilled in all Office products” (and neither does the fact that you have written a lot of documents in word). If you are going to make these claims make sure that you have some real and convincing evidence for this!
Interesting Interests
Always include your interests – it gives the interviewers something to talk to you about. You all did the same degree course, it is your interests and extra-curricular activities that will set you apart from the other 16,000 Computer Science graduates out looking for jobs this year…
And Finally…
Apologies to all those who’s CVs I was so rude about. It is better that you hear it from me, you will never get feedback from your job applications, you just won’t get any interviews. I am always happy to heap abuse on your CVs so for some honest feedback feel free to e-mail them to me at the (non- underlined!) address below.
Regards all,
Karl
K.R.Wilcox@reading.ac.uk