Swiss-style CV's - Page 2

KeinFranzösisch · #21 24.01.2012, 08:49

	Quote:	lilith
	From the HR soapbox, i would never ever put my bdate on the CV. It is unprofessional to have it there, and as an hr rep, one has to pretend not to see it - unless one is applying for a small, local company. Anyway, the age is easily deducted from your graduation year! I also am not in favour of pics... It usually speaks of local experience, and of a lack of global exposure.... i've seen cvs going in the bin for less... Should you add a pic after all, let it be super professional, no self shot in front of your laptop. The main recommendation i have is to craft both cv and motivation letter to the position you are after... It is a lot more work, but it pays off. It shows you are interested, that you understand the position and the requirements, and that you've done your homework. And aftr interviewing, say thank you. It is a great time to make some extra points, or to remind the hiring manager who took the time to see you what a wonderful person you are, and few think of doing it.

But you are in California and I can't help but to think you are looking at the CV elements from the point of view of a US HR rep, where I would agree with you, that if there is a picture and a birth date and other personal non-merit information that you have to ignore it. I've caught hiring managers saying "I'm not interested in this person because they're going to retire soon." (as an example) Um... no. You can't use that as a reason... not in the US.

As for deducting age from graduation dates... that doesn't always hold up. Not everyone goes off to university at the age of 18 and graduates at the age of 22. And smart people never put the year they graduated high school on their CV.

JordanBarrZurich86 · #22 24.01.2012, 09:03

	Quote:	lilith
	From the HR soapbox, i would never ever put my bdate on the CV. It is unprofessional to have it there, and as an hr rep, one has to pretend not to see it - unless one is applying for a small, local company. Anyway, the age is easily deducted from your graduation year! I also am not in favour of pics... It usually speaks of local experience, and of a lack of global exposure.... i've seen cvs going in the bin for less... Should you add a pic after all, let it be super professional, no self shot in front of your laptop. The main recommendation i have is to craft both cv and motivation letter to the position you are after... It is a lot more work, but it pays off. It shows you are interested, that you understand the position and the requirements, and that you've done your homework. And aftr interviewing, say thank you. It is a great time to make some extra points, or to remind the hiring manager who took the time to see you what a wonderful person you are, and few think of doing it.

But what if you are not a graduate??

BiancaO · #23 24.01.2012, 10:51

Thank you. Nice to hear that from an HR personnel. I still feel awkward about the birthday thing. I figured that they could just realize my age from my schooling, or an approximation, but I'm confused why so many Swiss and Germans have told me that they add a lot more personal info than I am used to.

As far as a picture, I've never had one on before, but I'm thinking I will give it a shot, for a short time at least. I have professional headshots, so I would add one of those, and on the top right corner, like other Swiss examples have shown. But, if the responses aren't any better, I'll just remove it

Thank you!

	Quote:	lilith
	From the HR soapbox, i would never ever put my bdate on the CV. It is unprofessional to have it there, and as an hr rep, one has to pretend not to see it - unless one is applying for a small, local company. Anyway, the age is easily deducted from your graduation year! I also am not in favour of pics... It usually speaks of local experience, and of a lack of global exposure.... i've seen cvs going in the bin for less... Should you add a pic after all, let it be super professional, no self shot in front of your laptop. The main recommendation i have is to craft both cv and motivation letter to the position you are after... It is a lot more work, but it pays off. It shows you are interested, that you understand the position and the requirements, and that you've done your homework. And aftr interviewing, say thank you. It is a great time to make some extra points, or to remind the hiring manager who took the time to see you what a wonderful person you are, and few think of doing it.

eye · #24 24.01.2012, 11:26

Buna Bianca!

I also used to live in the US and would never in a million years have thought that adding a picture and personal info on the resume can even be.. legal! Let alone be crucial in whether you're considered for a position or not. After 6 months of sticking to my American style resume (which was simple and formatted to fit into one page) with little success, I finally gave up. I changed it to fit into almost three pages, added color, a picture and some personal details. After two days, I have to say I've at least started to get a lot more responses.. It might be a sign!

c123 · #25 24.01.2012, 11:53

	Quote:	lilith
	From the HR soapbox, i would never ever put my bdate on the CV. It is unprofessional to have it there, and as an hr rep, one has to pretend not to see it - unless one is applying for a small, local company. Anyway, the age is easily deducted from your graduation year! I also am not in favour of pics... It usually speaks of local experience, and of a lack of global exposure.... i've seen cvs going in the bin for less... Should you add a pic after all, let it be super professional, no self shot in front of your laptop.

What a load of rubbish: "it is unprofessional to have it (dob) there (CV/resume)".

Know your audience, tailor your communication to them and for the response you are hoping for. That is being professional, not spouting some half thought rule of thumb. In some societies they expect dob, pob, marital status, photo etc. In other places they don't.

The world is different. Please do not forget this.

devit · #26 24.01.2012, 22:14

could not agree more.this if first place where i have seen photos being attached for cv submitted for IT jobs.

Biol_bloke · #27 24.01.2012, 22:54

I was also initially surprised by the inclusion of photos here but was told it is pretty normal here (by someone who works at a recruitment agency). They said it's less common for very senior positions. I included it in the one I sent for my current job. I don think I included my birthday, but I did include the type & expiration date of my residence permit.