What do CV Writing Companies really do?

14th Jun 2011

By Matt Craven, Managing Director of The CV & Interview Advisors

I remember leaving university back in the early 90s and approaching a local secretarial services firm to type my CV so that I could post it out to all the employers that were surely desperate to hire my good self into their business. I also remember thinking at the time that £40 seemed really expensive.

It also occurred to me recently (stemming from a conversation with a potential customer) that many people probably think that a CV writing service is something along the lines of a typing service such as the one that I used all those years ago. Clearly this thought filled me with horror that people might think that all our expertise and years of research amount to some meagre ‘typing service’ (no offence to people who provide typing services by the way). Now I realise that there are some lower-level services out there, but I thought it might be worth clarifying what guys like us do:

Firstly, we help you gain an element of clarity (or sanity) with regards to your career goals. We then define the hot skills within your chosen profession so that your CV is tailored around the needs of your target audience. The next phase is all about working with you to define your value proposition and blueprint for success (communicating this is a key part of any effective CV). Once we have defined these ‘skills / abilities’, we discuss key events in your career and help you to communicate success through tangible and statistical evidence. We discuss your career history in detail and make sure we understand exactly what each role entailed. Once we have collated all this information, we are then able to author a highly effective CV which communicates your value proposition, blueprint for success, key skills, career highlights, achievements and career history. What you end up with is a hard hitting business case as to why someone should hire you. I joke with my clients that writing the CV is the easy bit; where we have to work the hardest is getting good quality and relevant information out of our customer’s distant memory.

The whole process takes approximately 8 hours and in order to be effective, we employ highly experienced Career Coaches who have held senior position in their own careers. We have Consultants with MBAs and PhDs, Senior Project Managers, Operations Managers, Headhunters and Businesses Owners. These business savvy guys allow us to provide an enhanced service which is way above and beyond the typing service that I bought for £40 twenty odd years ago.

For more information, why not call me for an informal chat on 01274 408 222.