"he who laughs most, learns best"
Have I caught your interest? :) I'm sending out CV's to ESL language schools.
My first line is "I am a reliable individual with a positive attitude and a flair for creativity. I can offer my enthusiasm, dedication and native fluency in English to your company and students." - but my friend who read over my CV doesn't like it as an opening line. If he doesn't like it, how can I expect prospective employers to like it?!
I want to stand out from the crowd so I am going to put a quote about learning as the opening line and then work the beginnings of my cover letter around that.
I would kind of like something humorous for the first line but I'm definitely open to suggestions (and opinions on whether you think is an innovative or detrimental idea).
Many Thanks
There are a few problems here.
1. The joke. Humour is very personal and you don't know who is going to pick up your CV. They might completely dislike John Cleese or never heard of him or simply not understand it. After all, you are sending the CV out to people who - it is likely - do not have English as their first language. They could well look at it and wonder what it's all about, get confused and bin it.
2. The CV you've written is a modern American/British tjohn cleese quotesype of CV. As I said above, the person reading it may well not "get" what you are trying to do.
I've read hundreds of CVs in my time as a recruiter and academic director and the ones I like to read are those which are simple, tell me the facts and the essential information without me having to read between the lines and wade through a candidates opinion of themself.
So... I'd recommend keeping it simple and short. There are some good articles below which explain this a lot more and give sample CVs for teaching English.
...oh, and great website links by the way
Lose the John Cleese qoute - trust me
And trying to be funny isn't going to get you a job - seriously, I would be instantly put off by your CV
I'm not being mean - just honest
There is a right time and place to try and be funny, your CV is not the right place.
Your first line should be your 'objective' save the "I am a reliable individual with a positive attitude" stuff til the end in your personal statement.
Leave the humour to the interview, otherwise you'll just make people want to stick their fingers down their throat. Seriously, don't bother. It's a turn off, not on.
It's most important to be concise, accurate, have no spelling or grajohn cleese quotesmmar mistakes, no unexplained gaps and all the relevant experience. Believe me, if you get all that correct - you will stand out. No photos either.
i definitely agree with your friend. you wont be doing yourself any favours in using this cheesy quote! it sounds like all you want to do is mess around.
if i were reading your cv and read that quote i wouldn't even bother reading the rest of the cv. it sounds very childish. sorry... but you did ask!
A CV is no place to be risky. Just be honest about your abilities.
just stick with coloured paper if you really want to be different, your friend is right about the first line
If I saw that on a CV, I probably wouldn't bother reading the rest of it. As an employer the things I look for in a CV are correct grammar, spelling, clarity, and a list of the skills someone has. Believe me when I say this: THESE are the things that will make you stand out from the crowd. Anything else, including all that "I'm a reliable individual" rubbish just doesn't get past the bu11sh1t detector I'm afraid. These comments you think are harsh are in fact just truthful.
If you didn't want the truth, then why did you ask?
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