Jobseeker’s Diary

A couple of times, friends and colleagues have asked me to help them write their CVs, which I find funny for two reasons. Your CV is like your spokesperson, your publicist, so you can’t let someone else draft it for you. It’s one of those things you need to do yourself because you are the one who best knows your attributes, strengths, grades etc. Secondly, in this dotcom era where help with anything is just a click away, everyone should be able to write their own CV. Try Google for instance and you’ll get thousands of CV formats which can guide you on how to structure your own. I always advise people to use the Internet resourcefully beyond updating their Facebook status or checking out hot chicks. My CV “lecture” has something to do with Scott Thompson who until a few days ago was Yahoo’s CEO. Very good job, very good pay and a promising future.Of course all that has changed since news broke of that Computer Science Degree he claimed to have acquired and which must have helped him clinch the job in the first place. Now, I’m not being judgmental here, after all, haven’t we all tweaked our CVs here and there to get an edge in this highly competitive job market? But there’s a difference between exaggerating a little and telling outright lies. And for someone in the Internet business where everything is out there, Mr Thompson really didn’t think smart.Now his reputation is forever blotched and for what, a couple million dollars which he was already earning anyway at his previous job as President of eBay? Moral of this story! Be careful what you lie about or stretch on your CV because somebody might figure you out. I know people who have claimed they’re well-travelled when the farthest they’ve been is Tanzania and they travelled by road. So a time comes when the boss has too much to do and can’t make it to a conference in South Africa, France or wherever and decides to send his assistant instead. The guy panics because he doesn’t even have a passport or worse, has a phobia for flying. Others list impressive previous positions only for the interviewer to call up a contact at the said company and be told that so and so was not a Senior Marketing Executive as he claimed but rather an intern! I always tell people that if you’re going to lie about something like that, at least call your reference (assuming you’re buddies) and let them in on the secret beforehand so that his account doesn’t contradict yours. Related to this is listing referees without asking their permission. People always assume that because they know someone, it’s okay to slap them onto their CVs. What if your prospective employer decides to call to know more about you and the referee says they don’t really know you or are not willing to back you? See how your application gets tossed to the bin right away? Several stories are also told of people who lie about their previous pay, inflating the figure in the hopes that if they get the job, they’ll be paid about the same or even more? It has worked for some but there’re also some unlucky applicants who were told their expectations were too high for the company only for them to flip. “You know what, I’ll take whatever you’re offering…” Do you have any idea how pathetic that sounds? To be continued…