CV

[Frank]

I haven't found a job yet, as it seems most companies require lots of grades and don't even want to talk to you if you haven't any and cannot show you did the job they ask for at least a few years.

Ironically enough, more than half the job offers consist of these specs:

- High-level IT grade
- Latest MCSD grade
- At least one year experience with .NET
- Multiple years of experience with Visual basic and MS SQL

So, it seems I'm not even qualified enough to write some dumb VB program, because I haven't got the grades...



When asked, most companies say they really want a really good programmer / systems manager / network administrator above everything else, for (to me) simple and mostly low-level stuff. And when I tell them I can do that and send in my CV, I never hear anything from them anymore, or I get a refusal that I'm not qualified enough.

So, I was thinking of taking a difficult approach, and just filling in on my CV as profession: Hacker, and spend a page explaining to them what that really means, and leave it at that.

Or, alternatively, just state that I can do whatever they want me to and probably have done most of it in the past.

Do you guys think that might work? At least, it cannot possibly work worse than my previous CV's.

 

[MuFu]

I'm not sure what the custom is in your part of the world but we always send a covering letter with CVs which often ends up being more important. If it's an e-mail submission you write the covering letter as the body and attach your CV as a Word or PDF file.

Demonstrating aptitude is critical and I don't think it's entirely possible to do through a CV alone. I would use your CV to highlight your experience and then tailor a covering letter for each individual application, perhaps mentioning situations in which you've demonstrated pertinent skills.

I agree that some companies value qualifications too highly, but it's a quick way to sort through applicants. The trick is to try and get a wildcard interview and then show them your boobs (so to speak).

How old are you, incidentally?

 

[Frank]

Thanks.

I made a new CV, that only lists the relevant names, and omits the "grades" header.

And I am going to write a nice letter to every company to explain why they should hire me, and just attach that CV.

Let's see if that works!

Oh, and I'm 39.