How not to structure a CV
We asked CV doctors to peruse the alleged CV of Alex Vayner, the Yale graduate better known for his foolish video resume. The verdict? 3/10.
Vayner's notorious video, which he sent to UBS in an effort to ingratiate himself with the bank's graduate recruiters, has now been removed from YouTube, but is still accessible here.
Having gained the wrong kind of attention with his filmic debut, Vayner appears to have turned to more traditional methods of extolling his virtues. Dealbreaker claims to have got hold of a copy of his new, paper-based resume, which we're reproducing
here.
Is Vayner's alleged latest effort any more likely to win him investment banking career success? Industry CV specialists think not.
Peter Harrison, the former Goldman Sachs trader turned banking applications guru, says the content of the CV (Yale education, relevant work experience) merits a 7/10, but the poor sense of CV style degrades it to a 3/10.
Where did he go wrong? According to Harrison, it's partly down to the fact that the CV doesn't clarify what he achieved (or didn't) during his work experience. He also advises adding dates for the attendance of Yale, moving the skills section to the bottom of the page (above the 'other' section) and adding an 'achievements' section of four to six points offered in short two-line snippets (which would give Vayner plenty of potential to talk about power lifting, ballroom dancing, and helping under-privileged children).
Claire Crichton, managing director of Helpmegetaninterview.com, agrees that Vayner's supposed efforts leave a lot to be desired. As well as adding the Yale dates and elaborating on the work experience, Crichton says he ought to steer clear of management waffle like "networking key services and skill-development programmes".
She also lambasts the CV's cosmetic awfulness: "It should be either on one page or two pages, but certainly not on one and a half!"
The way things stand, Crichton says the CV's unlikely to make much of an impression: "If I was a recruiter in an investment bank, I'd be inclined to bin this."
This is a shame, given that she says Alex (formerly known as Aleksy) Vayner clearly has potential. He also has an uphill struggle ahead: recruiters are likely to bin whatever he sends them anyway.
