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PQ magazine for part qualified accountants.
Read the latest web issue here, if you like what you see sign up today |
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Any company's strongest asset – you! |
Reg Bettridge's ludicrous CV has become legendary. Make sure you don't make the same mistakes. |
Reg Bettridge's ludicrous CV has become legendary. Make sure you don't make the same mistakes.
How long is your CV? No more than three pages one hopes. All the experts agree that three pages is the maximum length your CV needs to be – two is even better.
Reg Bettridge should know all about the rules. The ex-managing director apparently sent his CV to 29 recruitment firms – and it ended up being e-mailed around the world, becoming 'happy hour' for many a consultant.
Now there is a question to be raised here about confidentiality, and the Sevenoaks-based IT expert is claiming it was all tongue-in-cheek, but it is still a great lesson for us all.
So what does Reg's eight-page CV do? Basically, it breaks all the rules!
You have to love the man's confidence. He writes: "I never talk rubbish, when I speak people tend to listen because I usually have something profound and interesting to say." The same, unfortunately, can't be said of his CV. At the end he signs off: "So that is me, not a complex person, but a down-to-earth, fun, hard-working, reliable and straight talking doer and achiever."
One suspects that the CV didn't get Reg much work. Perhaps he fell into the trap of 'wanting his CV to stand out'. Well, Reg managed that!
What Reg didn't do was go back to basics. Qualifications, exams and contact details are all important. But it is your employment history where a job interview is won and lost.
All too often candidates don't show enough about what they actually do or have done. Under each position you should have something to say about specific tasks; additional responsibilities; examples that show your personal initative, organisational skills, etc; and a list of any particular achievements. Do that and your prospective employer can immediately see what they are getting. The idea of the CV is to make it easier to be put in the 'yes' pile, rather than straight into the bin.
On a less serious note, it is also debatable whether you should include your interests. If it is trainspotting, don't. Politics and religion should also be avoided. That doesn't mean you have to lie – don't pretend to be an opera buff when you're not, you'll get found out one day.
Back to Reg. According to that infamous CV he is: * "A lion – confident, strong, well-groomed, well-respected, and when it comes to business, aggressive when necessary."
* "A train – a tough, hard worker with that slightly stubborn streak that always holds him securely on the rails."
* "A strong family man (nice family picture included in CV) – I idolise my children (Reg has four) and only for them do I drop my guard to make [sic] myself in silly situations."
* "Bob Geldof at heart" – he wants to right all the wrongs of the world. Every time a new issue hits the headlines Reg does what he can in his own limited way to help (thanks Reg!). |
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