Career in caravans turns vintage Nine things you should for Hamilton coach builder always include on your CV

By Thomas Manch

Caravan builder Dave McRobbie’s lifelong career has become vintage. The 65-year-old qualified coach builder - one of a fast retiring breed - began an apprenticeship at the long-shut Hamilton Liteweight Caravan factory in 1969.

Now, he spends his days refurbishing the same caravans he once built.

And with over 20 caravans sitting in his Riverlea yard, across the road from the former factory, McRobbie claims to be the progenitor of a growing trend.

"By the time the show opened, already on the videos and computers.

‘‘I think that’s where it all started from, it gave everyone ideas," he says.

"People are getting more into the retro caravans because you can tow them behind the old period cars."

In the years since, he’s made a show of his favourite refurbished vintage: a red-painted 1950 Liteweight.

The little caravan has the original wood trim, a new pacific maple interior, chequered lino floor and a little sink - just for show.

Further down the row of caravans sits another rarity, a 1959 Liteweight Silver Cloud. Awaiting a new lease on life, it sat under a carport in Raglan for thirty years after McRobbie replaced the steel roof in the mid-70s.

"It was one of two I did; that is what saved this one and kept it original."

Further along, there’s a green-striped Liteweight - one of the first McRobbie helped manufacture. "I haven’t had time to do anything to it. ‘‘If someone buys it, they can finish it off." It takes two months work to restore a former glory and many people pay between $20,000 to $80,000 for a rarity with all the mod-cons.

"But they’re worth more if you don’t alter them around."

On Wednesday, two incoming customers with repair jobs were expected when caravan enthusiasts Anna and Todd Green pulled in. it was

Travelling home to Gisborne from Cape Reinga the pair were towing a 17 foot, 1977, Chevron trailer that’s ready for a remake. McRobbie supplied them with a sheet of plywood for the interior walls.

"People prefer the older ones … It’s a great life. You’re warm, you’re dry - you know, we’ve done the tent thing," Anna Green says.

You have just six seconds to impress a recruiter with your re´sume´. In some cases, whoever is reading your CV might be looking for a reason to toss it in the "No" pile.

You need to sweat the small stuff. That means making certain that your re´sume´ includes these nine basic elements:

1. CONTACT INFORMATION

This may seem obvious, but candidates sometimes forget to include basic information like their email address, or they bury it at the bottom.

Make it easy for the reader to understand how to contact you.

2. PROFESSIONAL TITLE

When someone reviews your re´sume´, there should be no question as to the type of role you’re seeking, says Amanda Augustine, a career-advice expert for TopRe´sume´. "Make sure your goals are crystal clear by including a professional title at the top of your re´sume´, such as ’Senior Accounting Professional’ or ’Marketing & Sales Associate’, just below your contact information and above your career narrative (what I usually call the ’professional summary’)."

3. KEYWORDS FROM THE JOB POSTING

You’ll want to include some keywords and phrases from the job posting. This is especially important if the employer uses a re´sume´-scanning system.

Augustine says in addition to eyeballing job descriptions that are relevant to your job search and pulling out the most commonly used keywords, you can also copy and paste a number of the job descriptions into JobScan.co to identify the most frequently mentioned terms and see how your re´sume´ measures up.

4. ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACHIEVEMENTS

Employers need to know what you’ve done to contribute to the growth of your department, team, and company to determine whether your strengths align with the needs and responsibilities of their company and the job opening, executive career coach and founder of Re´sume´ Writers’ Ink Tina Nicolai says.

Under each job title and description, include the most important, impressive, and relevant achievements.

5. YOUR CAREER NARRATIVE

"No matter if you are constructing a functional re´sume´ or a chronological re´sume´, some kind of professional history is critical," executive re´sume´ writer Mary Elizabeth Bradford says. "But make sure your story makes for a more interesting read."

6. METRICS 8. RELEVANT URLS 9. VERBS

B"Employers need numbers to be able to fully evaluate the scope of your bandwidth," Nicolai says. "No position is exempt from measuring results. And metrics help employers determine if a person is capable of leading a team, managing clients, or growing the business."

Metrics are also a great way to back up achievements.

7. CERTIFICATIONS AND CREDENTIALS

your

If you have a certification or advanced degree that’s considered to be an asset in your field, such as an MBA or RN, include it after your name at the very top of your re´sume´, suggests Augustine.

"You don’t need to include the acronym for your undergraduate degree or a certification that’s not relevant to your current job goals. "

She says you should "still add details about these credentials in the education and professional development section of your re´sume´. Since this section usually appears at the end of your re´sume´, adding the acronyms after your name ensures the recruiter doesn’t accidentally miss this important information when they’re quickly scanning your job application."

Dave McRobbie, owner of Caravan and Motorhome World, is flat tack at the end of a busy summer that has had him fixing leaks, replacing water pumps, and restoring vintage caravans. KELLY HODEL/STUFF

While re´sume´s tend to be pretty cut-and-dried documents, there are ways to give hiring managers a better sense of your personality and expertise without breaking some of the standard re´sume´ guidelines, Augustine explains.

"Include links to websites that highlight your personal brand. This information should be grouped with your contact information at the top of your re´sume´. In addition to including the URL to your LinkedIn profile, you may want to include the links to your blog or online portfolio."

A word to the wise: If you decide to add this information to your re´sume´, make sure you’re keeping these sites current and that the focus of these sites supports your personal brand and is relevant to your current job goals, she says.

Vintage caravans have an enduring appeal, much like the classic Kiwi bach. Caravan enthusiast Anna Green says they’re perfect for beach holiday. "If you’re out camping, you’re going to get sand everywhere … on a lino floor it doesn’t matter. They’re much easier to clean.’’ KELLY HODEL/STUFF

In your re´sume´, you want your language to be direct and succinct. Rely on verbs, not adjectives, to convey a sense of action and accomplishment.

In a City AM article, Emma Haslett writes that recruiters tend to favour certain verbs (like "managed" and "delivered").