CVs - Fact or Fiction ?

So how accurate is you current CV, I know mine is as accurate as my latest role, tailored specifically for the role I was applying for. However there is a difference between tailored CV for specific jobs and totalyl disingenuous information. I have seven or eight CVs designed for specific roles. I apply for, all highlighting the major points for the job in hand and playing down those points which are totally unsuitable for the interview. Who cares about my detailed knowledge and experience of Java Security APIs when I am applying for a project or development manager role? Boy have I seen some howlers in my time.

Let's get a bit of background. In my time I've probably recruited 100-150 people for roles in companies I have worked for or been involved with. That means I've probably read 500 - 1000 CVs, and then interviewed 300-400 people.

Now how many of you have that wonderful word MENTOR, just what the hell does that mean? It's on everybody's CV. To mentor means to take some under your wing, to teach them all you know and send them out into the big bad world of development full of experience and stories gained in the presence of a master. Or did you once tell a junior code-monkey to use a StringBuffer instead of a String in Java once. Let me guess ...... the StringBuffer wins every time.

I used to set an exam with every candidate I interviewed. The exam was based on the contents of the CV from which we pulled 10 questions from a stack of 40 or 50 written by my development team. We used to put all candidates in a glass cage, which was a central meeting room in the office. One guy ,we were examining, pulled out a book after about 20 mins and started searching it for answers, now does that say about him. However the best example, was one guy who spent 15 mins looking through every question 5 times, then stood up, walked out and his passing comment was "yeap, you got me there". Yes we got him but he still wasted both his and my time in the process.

So what makes a good CV, well honesty would be a start, followed by a clear description of just what an individual has done. Tailor it for the job your are applying for, by all means, because any recruiter will receive many CVs, and they want to be able to determine quickly who is right.

However there is a worrying trend coming from some people, and we all know who they are, h they copy the marketing literature straight from their current employers website into their CV. I end up with half a page of a product marketing literature, for which the candidate probably wrote 20 lines of Java, sorry but this is unacceptable, and is filed under B, in the gravity fed CV repository.

What I want to see is a simple, basic description of what the candidate was responsible for, what they achieved, what benefit the company that employed got from them, and what they got from the company, over and above the cash. I don't want to see 15 jobs in 5 years, what does that say, long term prospect or billy fly by night, let me guess. Next!

Don't put things on that you don't know, I like to explore during an interview and even if the skill isn't relevant, I might just ask you about it anyway. How many candidates have I seen that only have 3 or 4 years or experience and list a whole page of technologies, if you put them on your CV, I expect you to know about them, because its likely I will ask you about them and if I don't get a decent answer, that makes me ask what else are you lying about. Next!