Targeting CV

[TheFaQQer]

I've had multiple renewals and some contracts have lasted up to 6 years (in different areas within the same client). Is this a good thing or bad? I read that some contractors specify in bold how many renewals they got against each client.

Also when you list your gigs in the CV, do you mention the agency name or the client's name or both as the sub header?

How can you have been contracting for at least 12 years and not know whether this is a good or bad thing, or how to write your CV?

[The Agents View]

There is no stead fast rule when it comes to CV length. Someone with 5 years of experience, probably can, and should, have a 2 page CV. Someone with 30 years of experience, chopping contracts every year or so, is of course going to need more - for some, a lot more.

My basic rule for someone very experienced is 2-3 jobs with a very detailed description, and then scale it down to one paragraph per job beyond that, until you get to 15 years in the past - at which point, a table with your client, job role, and budget is probably sufficient. Personally as an agent, I quite like a more detailed CV so that I can see the foundation of the experience.

The one thing I'd say about CV's, is that the things reading them, are dumb.

Now yes.....you're probably thinking that it's the agents which are dumb, but actually I'm talking about the databases. IT contractors in particular, will know that there are a million ways of skinning a cat - and that certain technologies are the same, or are entirely compatible (please excuse me, I'm not an IT recruiter so I can't give an example). The knowledge of those associations though, is completely based on intelligence.

Search terms are literal, and like any search engine, based on key word counts, as well as their presence.

The best way I've found of establishing how your CV ranks, in a visual way, is to use a tool called Wordle www.wordle.net

Copy and paste your whole CV in here, and it will turn it into a series of word pictures. The bigger the word, the more prominent it is to a search engine.

If the words you see in your wordle picture, are not the key areas you work within, I would suggest re-writing your CV - especially if you want to be picked up for relevant jobs through job boards etc.

[blazing]

How can you have been contracting for at least 12 years and not know whether this is a good or bad thing, or how to write your CV?

See my post #18 where I replied to you. I don't know - I just never had to look for one on jobserve. It has always come to me - got head hunted and through connections. My skills are very good. So I've never been out of contract, and I can't remember my last interview - it was probably 14 years ago. I'm fine with the CV writing and I've got one ready. Since you guys have a lot of experience in the contract hunting business, I'm looking for advice really. The negative could be "not diversified in 6 years" but the positive is got renewed repeatedly - so it could go both ways.


http://forums.contractoruk.com/busin...ml#post1939863

[blazing]

The best way I've found of establishing how your CV ranks, in a visual way, is to use a tool called Wordle www.wordle.net

Copy and paste your whole CV in here, and it will turn it into a series of word pictures. The bigger the word, the more prominent it is to a search engine.

If the words you see in your wordle picture, are not the key areas you work within, I would suggest re-writing your CV - especially if you want to be picked up for relevant jobs through job boards etc.

Thanks for providing an agent's view. I'll take a look at wordle.

[chappers]

There is no stead fast rule when it comes to CV length. Someone with 5 years of experience, probably can, and should, have a 2 page CV. Someone with 30 years of experience, chopping contracts every year or so, is of course going to need more - for some, a lot more.

My basic rule for someone very experienced is 2-3 jobs with a very detailed description, and then scale it down to one paragraph per job beyond that, until you get to 15 years in the past - at which point, a table with your client, job role, and budget is probably sufficient. Personally as an agent, I quite like a more detailed CV so that I can see the foundation of the experience.

The one thing I'd say about CV's, is that the things reading them, are dumb.

Now yes.....you're probably thinking that it's the agents which are dumb, but actually I'm talking about the databases. IT contractors in particular, will know that there are a million ways of skinning a cat - and that certain technologies are the same, or are entirely compatible (please excuse me, I'm not an IT recruiter so I can't give an example). The knowledge of those associations though, is completely based on intelligence.

Search terms are literal, and like any search engine, based on key word counts, as well as their presence.

The best way I've found of establishing how your CV ranks, in a visual way, is to use a tool called Wordle www.wordle.net

Copy and paste your whole CV in here, and it will turn it into a series of word pictures. The bigger the word, the more prominent it is to a search engine.

If the words you see in your wordle picture, are not the key areas you work within, I would suggest re-writing your CV - especially if you want to be picked up for relevant jobs through job boards etc.

thanks for the wordle link. Just a tip. Don't save as they are unable to remove them as the creator is anon