Professional CV company ?

[dayloon]

Morning All,

Has anyone had any experience with any professional CV writing companies ? Mine is a little bit crap and i'd like it to stand out. There are lots of companies out there but i'd like some recommendations if possible.

Thank you

 

[Darkst4r]

Do it yourself , it's not difficult. If I received a CV that was obviously from a professional company I would bin it straight away.
A CV is an opportunity to sell YOURSELF.Getting someone else to do it for you is cheating and doesn't look good to an employer.It looks like you are either too incompetent or too lazy to do it yourself.
If your CV really is that bad, have a look at online examples and adapt it to suit your own skills, qualifications, and strong points.

 

[J.B]

There are about a billion guides online and theres the good people of OcUK who always lend a hand.

I wouldnt spend money on it and it's supposed to be a reflection of yourself and no one knows you better!

 

[philjohn]

Do it yourself , it's not difficult. If I received a CV that was obviously from a professional company I would bin it straight away.
A CV is an opportunity to sell YOURSELF. Getting someone else to do it for you is cheating and doesn't look good to an employer. It looks like you are either too incompetent or too lazy to do it yourself.
If your CV really is that bad , have a look at online examples and adapt it to suit your own skills , qualifications and strong points..

I would agree getting them to write it is not great, but having a trained eye go over what you already have and suggesting alterations/helping you in general is going to be far more helpful than using some of the examples you see online.

Doesn't the covering letter sell you more than your C.V. which tends these days to be a bit dry and covering what your skills/past job experiences/qualifications are?

 

[happy_2008]

I had mine done not sooo long ago and i was very happy with the results! I spoke to the guy who was writing mine for 1hr 30mins who put down some very good points about where i was failing on my own cv. During this discussion, you go through your previous employment and your current employment etc.

Also, i applied for a job online yesterday and got a call back 2hrs later but unfortunately for me the pay was lower than what i am after

 

[dowie]

Surely a flawed concept unless you're paying a small fortune for the service.

I doubt that the people working for CV writing companies get paid a huge amount, therefore it would be sensible to perhaps assume that since they couldn't get a better job they might not be the best people to assist you in getting a good job.

Avoid, unless you're a complete spaz who needs help with spelling etc....

 

[happy_2008]

Dayloon - Be careful with which company you use though, most online CV companies tend to outsource there work out to young people with a few months or years experience.

 

[NickK]

The normal practice is to offer a free CV critique. They will then absolutely slate your CV and thus make you feel that you really need them to rewrite it for 3-450 quid.

I'll add more later but I need to pop out.

 

[jamief]

You do NOT need to pay someone to rewrite your CV. Look online for guides, examples of good CVs and forums that can help.

 

[Glaucus]

Do it yourself , it's not difficult. If I received a CV that was obviously from a professional company I would bin it straight away.
A CV is an opportunity to sell YOURSELF.Getting someone else to do it for you is cheating and doesn't look good to an employer.It looks like you are either too incompetent or too lazy to do it yourself.
If your CV really is that bad, have a look at online examples and adapt it to suit your own skills, qualifications, and strong points.

it is not easy at all writing a good cv. A company can not tell if it is professionally done. Call it cheating all you want, but it gets me far more interviews than a home grown version.

Surely a flawed concept unless you're paying a small fortune for the service.

I doubt that the people working for CV writing companies get paid a huge amount, therefore it would be sensible to perhaps assume that since they couldn't get a better job they might not be the best people to assist you in getting a good job.

Avoid, unless you're a complete spaz who needs help with spelling etc....

And you have personal experience of this?
Seeing as they have a 100% guarantee policy and you can get your money back. I is in there best interest to write a good one. They know a lot about you from all the info you send in, the more info the better and you can always talk to them and reject it as many times as you like.


Anyway I use these guys, usually have to reject it a few times before I'm completely happy. It's also much better if you talk to them for a while. They can ask you stuff hat you might not of even thought to include.
http://www.cvcl.co.uk/CVservices.htm

 

[fini]

Anyone like to share what they feel to be a grade-A CV then?

 

[NickK]

As others have said, it's easy to do your own CV properly. However it may be an idea to perhaps look at your english skills then tackle it.

Collins "Improve your writing skills" book is a worth read.

The key to the CV is knowing what it's for - it is for you to sell yourself to gain an invitation to an interview. Nothing more, nothing less.

Next it's important to understand who will be reading it. Often these people are filtering hundreds of CVs. So it has to be clear, concise and relevant as you have 15-30 seconds to avoid the reject bin.
1-2 pages maximum. This is not about what you did in your holidays, it's about a concise list of things you have experience in.

It should be also understood that a considerable amount of CV searching goes on by keyword. Thus you need to understand these and understand their relevance to your CV. I've had many "I've found your CV whilst searching <jobsite>" calls.

Next is the wording. Language is everything - positive action words should communicate to the reader what you have done. You're not interested in saying what you haven't or limitations, that's what an interview is for to scope out.
Write clearly using verbs and nouns whilst avoiding adverbs.

The format of the CV depends on the job. A fresh graduate or research position would focus heavily on education. When experience is king then the focus will be on your previous work experience. When achievement is king (sales/director), then the addition of financial achievements will come first.

Writing a CV and getting just right is actually difficult. You're attempting to condense your worldly value into a short description.

 

[happy_2008]

As others have said, it's easy to do your own CV properly. However it may be an idea to perhaps look at your english skills then tackle it.

Collins "Improve your writing skills" book is a worth read.

The key to the CV is knowing what it's for - it is for you to sell yourself to gain an invitation to an interview. Nothing more, nothing less.

Next it's important to understand who will be reading it. Often these people are filtering hundreds of CVs. So it has to be clear, concise and relevant as you have 15-30 seconds to avoid the reject bin.
1-2 pages maximum. This is not about what you did in your holidays, it's about a concise list of things you have experience in.

It should be also understood that a considerable amount of CV searching goes on by keyword. Thus you need to understand these and understand their relevance to your CV. I've had many "I've found your CV whilst searching <jobsite>" calls.

Next is the wording. Language is everything - positive action words should communicate to the read what you have done. You're not interesting in saying what you haven't or limitations, that's what an interview is for to scope out.
Write clearly using verbs and nouns whilst avoiding adverbs.

The format of the CV depends on the job. A fresh graduate or research position would focus heavily on education. When experience is king then the focus will be on your previous work experience. When achievement is king (sales/director), then the addition of financial achievements will come first.

Writing a CV is actually quite difficult. You're attempting to condense your worldly value into a short description.

Very well written Some people seem to think that CV's are dead simple when in reality they are really hard. I thought my CV was good previously until i noticed that i didnt sell myself at all

 

[NickK]

Yup, each statement you make should be a selling statement that addresses a particular attribute or experience.

The deftness comes when selling but not wearing the reader out and providing enough information in their train of thought to press the Yes button.

Even now, after a month, I've just figured out a better way of presenting the information I want to say which will allow an easier flow.

Like a book, a CV isn't perfect the first, second or third time and it takes time to think and redraft.

 

[dowie]

And you have personal experience of this?
Seeing as they have a 100% guarantee policy and you can get your money back.

lol - erm no - of course I don't as I've quite clearly pointed out exactly why I wouldn't bother with them

anyone could setup a CV writing company - it isn't hard to come up with a few good templates and them employ a few workers (students ideally) to fill out the information for each new customer - perhaps have some industry specific templates - for example medical CVs can be several pages long whereas performing arts CVs can often be 1 page long and include a photo etc...

as for the "100% guarantee" - get a grip - what sort of point are you trying to make with that....

looking at your link for £32 you're basically paying some **** in a call centre to fill a template out for you - if you can't do better than that then fair enough - for me personally I'll certainly be sticking to writing my own...