Resume/CV, What's expected & What's different

Hey everyone,

New to the forum. Getting ready to hop ship to down under. I was just wondering if anyone had any advice for the layout of the resume/interviews and what is expected in New Zealand.

I learned here in the US that a full page and cover sheet, nothing more, was the most important emphasis in getting through to employers and it would be the interview where you would fill in any holes. (Seems to work on Monster and my past experiences.) Would this hold true in New Zealand, or rather would I get noticed less because everyone is writing 5-6 page resumes? I work in Telecom Engineering, sorta IT sorta Engineering.

Any other advice on how to get over the "you're an American, and won't be here long" hump? I am actually a dual citizen to New Zealand and the US, though I still have the american accent and therefore a little concerned on the prejudice. even though I plan on staying a while.

Any advice on Contract companies, or getting full time positions as well would be a bonus.

thanx,
-justin

I've seen recommendations of 2-4 pages for the CV max. Mine is 3 pages long, plus a single page cover sheet covering the highlights, data on my visa, when I'm available to be in the country, etc.

Jason

Hi there,

I've put my nationality on my cv, but my immigration status too.

With regard to general cv advice, the following is off a recruitment consultant's website:

Quote:

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Important facts to remember when compiling your Curriculum Vitae

Include all your contact details, i.e. home phone, mobile and email address.

List jobs in chronological order, with most recent job first. Include both the months and years, title, company name along with a bullet point list of your duties and responsibilities in each job e.g.

Company
Title
Start Date - End Date

Duties and responsibilities:

• bullet point list of duties

Keep information concise, accurate and to the point. Ensure the layout and format of your Curriculum Vitae is consistent throughout the entire document.

Note and list all qualifications gained and computer packages you are proficient in.

Check that fonts and spacing are consistent throughout the document.
list the names of your references i.e Name, title, company name, email address work and mobile phone numbers

**MOST IMPORTANT** Make sure you have spell checked your entire Curriculum Vitae and proof read it over and over again, get someone else to proof it as well. (40% of all Curriculum Vitae’s contain spelling and grammar errors - and people wonder why they do not get an interview!)

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HTH

The above is good advice. 3 - 5 pages should be more than enough, qualifications at the end (experience is more important). I have included a one third page 'summary' after my name and contact details, before starting employment history section so an overview can be gained just from page 1.

The biggest Telecom engineering company by far is Gen-i in NZ (part of Telecom) - they provide 'technical services' and IT expertise to the primary telecomunication corporation.

Also there is Testra and quite a few ISP's (of course).

hey thanx guys, great advice!!!

i have a 2 page cv, will that be ok

Wordy CVs seem popular in NZ.

My take:

1. Summary (what you are, and what you want to do).
2. Basic details like address, visa status, etc.
3. Skills matrix.
4. Work experience in reverse chronological order, highlighting what you actually did and projects you worked on, not just the toys you used.
5. Education and training courses.
6. Any other business.

...and send Word/text/RTF format if it's to an agent, as they'll want to chop it up. PDFs are in addition to that, not instead of.

Time to dig up an old thread. I've done some searching but have found conflicting info on the format and length of a CV.

I've just received my updated CV from an old "head-hunter" acquaintance who placed me a few times during my 18 year career so far. Since she seems very well connected and successful in the SA IT community I thought it would be a good idea to get her to update my CV. Here's the shocker... it's 9 pages long :eek: (including a generic cover page).

I'm really nervous to start submitting it to anyone in case I scare off any prospects. However, reading through it I don't see how I can cut anything out without leaving out something that may be important to someone. Heck, there's one whole page just listing software packages and programming languages I'm proficient in.

Any advice from people that are involved in the hiring and firing (HR) side of NZ businesses? Or any bosses that see CV's regularly and can advise on what works and what doesn't. Even better, anyone out there looking to hire a jack-of-all-trades electronic engineering software developer project manager sales person :nice1

i found at the london expo, that everyone jumped straight to the career history part, ignoring the summary of strengths/profile bit.
would it be worth swapping these over so history is on the first page?

OH here. I do interviewing as part of my role. I think the problem in NZ is interviews are like a box of chocolates. You never know who you are gonna get. Too many nationalities to make general comments. Personally, if you can't sell yourself in two pages plus an extra page for the references, then I consider you have serious problems. Too many people rely on reams of skills and packages they are "familiar" with. The quotes are because people put down stuff that they've heard about, or been on a project where someone else did some work using a package.
What you need to do to get an interview is simple - homework. Know the company and the role you are applying for and individually tailor your CV and covering letter to that role in that company. Know the history. Know the challenges. Be able to talk meaningfully about every skill you put down. If you have the right skills, and can show your experience is relevant to the role you are applying for, then you will probably get an interview, because there is still a serious skills shortage here.
One thing I have noticed is that certification in a relevant skill is looked upon well here.
The stuff about making the CV dates all match up and getting rid of the grammatical and spelling errors is really, really, REALLY important. Don't think listing twelve versions of java is going to get you noticed if you can't be bothered to double check your spelling.
Hmm...What else?
If someone cares about your nationality you probably don't want to work there.
You are interviewing them as well, so if you are interested then I'd expect some sensible questions.
We are often about delivering for business and customer outsomes. I want to hear about quality delivery, proactive engagement, and customer focus.
Usual blurb -
These are my personal views, and in no way reflect a specific company policy - other than the stuff about quality, customer focus, and delivering business outcomes.