I’m blogging pretty well at the moment, god knows how long that will last, my aim was to blog at least once a week this year, I’ve failed that but who knows I might just make the average up over the next few months..
I failed a lot of my GCSE’s, I moved schools a couple of months before the exams were on and it was a different exam board, when I joined the school the tutors said they had called the exam board and everything was fine, so I did the work, revision, exams and everything.
Results day came around and the only thing I passed properly was Drama (fancy that!), I did pretty ok with English (funny eh!) and I’d taken RE a year early and got an A.
But I still got into College, Uni and have had some pretty great jobs..
I admit that to get into college I had to have an interview, but the tutor saw I had a passion for what I wanted to study and allowed me to take the course, as long as I completed my maths GCSE (I got a D in maths)..
Talking of maths, this is another subject I have trouble with, so counting and spelling, if I’m starting to think I’m just thick 
… I took my Maths GCSE 6 times… each time going over my paper and being just literally one or two marks away from a pass.
So college I did well in but I wasn’t happy with how the course or the college infract was run (that’s one of the reasons I was elected into the student union)
I’ve have 4 proper jobs since I started University, not once has anyone commented on my GCSE’s, its all about personality, knowledge, presentation and really, what you do outside of your job.
I’ve done a lot of charity work (if I do say so myself) over the past few years and it does stand out, I’ve won a volunteer of the year award and that doesn’t bad on the old C.V (I tend not to take the award to interviews anymore).
And while we are on the subject… sort your CV out.., I’ve seen some shocking CV’s.
- DON’T put that you’ve got 2 pets and a goldfish…
- DON’T put your email address if its got the word arsemonkey in there
- DO put your NAME on the damn thing
- DON’T talk about how many brothers and sister’s you’ve got
And while we are on the subject, “Record of Achievement”, what a load of bollocks, I think I’ve taken that to every job interview and not once has it been opened or asked about, this carn’t be just me that thinks this?… (sometimes it can)
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Hi Dom!
On the subject of CV’s…..
After working many many years in the engineering industry, I took the plunge and changed career this year working as a web developer for a great multi media company in South Wales. Despite having no commercial experience, I got the job on the strength of what I could actually do and not what qualifications I had. This being examples of work I had done, having great enthusiasm and good knowledge of what I do, plus my website (always good to have a blog of some sort).
I was a was a bit concerned about my CV not having any previous employers in the multi media industry, so my advice to anyone out there in my situation is to explain yourself in the best possible terms about how passionate and driven you are about web design/development. List your skill sets (don’t bluff them), what you plan to do with them and have done with them ,and list goals (if possible).
When listing previous employers, (and if like me you didn’t have any in this industry) by all means list them but don’t go into great detail about what you did as any prospective employer will not want to read what you did whilst stacking shelves etc.. at Tesco. It’s a design or development etc, job you are applying for.
Also it’s a good idea to pay attention to typography and layout of your CV – don’t make it too long and stick to colours that are print friendly. A good well presented CV will always catch the eye!
With that kind of passion, there’ll always be a position for you at http://www.blueskypr.biz
Another tip for improving your CV.
If you apply for a job and don’t get an interview, ring and ask why, all potential employers are obligated to give you the reason. Use this information to improve your CV.
I LOLed at the “Don’t” section. It’s true that some people can’t write CVs properly at all. The exam boards are so worried about people not getting jobs that they’ve included a “Preparation for Working Life” GCSE (short course)! I know I took it! (I got my results this year). I had to write a CV + Letter of Application. The whole thing felt like the government were trying to insult my intelligence….