CV writing services - worth it?

illusionek

Hello

I have been trying to change a job now for a while without any luck. I am mid level manager in London if it makes any difference.

My problem is that I dont get invited to interviews rather than not getting the offer. This makes me think there is an issue with my CV so I submitted recently my CV to various CV evaluation websites and the feedback in general was that my CV is bland and comes across as doer rather than achiever even though I listed many achievements.

Now I know they all want my money so I understand criticism but I was wondering whether it is even worth considering this type of service and if anyone could recommend one.

I dont want to spend around £150-£200 to get copy/paste from a standard template. However if this would help me to move on and get better paid job then it would be worth every penny.

My current CV is pretty standard: Profile, Education, Skills, Role: key responsibilities + key achievements. Also my career history is pretty stable, same field different companies and raising through ranks.

TELLIT01

I have my doubt about the value of these services. When I was made redundant, the company employed a specialist company to help with CV writing, interview techniques etc which I did find useful. I signed up with a number of agencies and surprise, surprise, shortly afterwards got e-mails from CV writing companies offering a free assessment of my CV. They all said much what you have been told and offered to put it right - for a price! I declined.
I think you'd be better off investing 10 quid or so on a book about CV writing, just make sure you get something recent as fashions in CV do change.

shortcrust

I'd think if you're clued up you can do better on your own (and perhaps even if you're clueless!). CV evaluation services are never going to come back with a 'perfect, good luck!' result.

When I've had my employer hat on I just want clear factual info on a CV and I want the skills and experience to match the job spec pretty much exactly. I certainly don't want to read about a load of 'achievements' but perhaps that's just me.

When I've been job hunting I've never sent an identical CV to the same two employers. It's always tailored it to the job and organisation. If there's a job spec I make sure they can easily pick out every thing they're looking for. If they've listed required skills my CV would mirror that, using the same order.

TELLIT01

The only aspect of the advice given to us when we were made redundant which is of limited value, was to use heavy weight paper of either beige or pale yellow colour to make it stand out from the crowd. Fine if you are actually sending in a paper CV but most want it sent electronically these days.

ReadingTim

If you're not even getting offered interviews, it suggests your skills/experience/qualifications are so different to what they're looking for (or quality of other candidates they're looking at) that I don't think any amount of wordsmithing or re-formatting of your CV is really going to help that much.

In the first instance therefore I'd be considering the sorts of jobs I was applying for, rather than my CV - as long as your CV follows the usual sort of best practise recommendations - no more than 2/3 pages, no spelling mistakes, career gaps, is reasonably relevant etc.

steampowered

I think for a lot of people CV writing services are worth it.

A lot of CVs I see are poorly laid out and have spelling mistakes - even CVs submitted by intelligent people who have taken guidance from books or websites about how to write a CV. It is very easy to miss
a few typos.

If you are not 100% confident in the quality of your CV, it could be a worthwhile investment just to get someone to look over it and make recommendations. Ideally someone who has some familiarity with the sort of role you are applying for.

TBagpuss

Before you go down the route of getting paid advice, have you considered getting anyone to informally look over your CV for you? Ideally this would be someone who is on the hiring side of the table for similar level / type roles, but even a friend or family member who isn't in that position can help you identify any errors, look at lay out etc.

I agree with the recommendation to tailor the CV to the specific role you are applying for. Make sure that your relevant experience and skills are easy to find and navigate - those are the most important things on your CV, so focus on them.

StevenB12

Before I got my first job I was lucky enough to have a C.V writing class as part of a program (it was just a very short half a day free coarse that was running at the time).

They did C.V writing etc as such..., they would give you a template of how they best thought a C.V should be written out, how to categorize things etc. I found it helpful at the time and to this day still use the same template etc but obviously over the years I have done my own writing on it and tweaking. If it's there and you can get it at a reasonable price etc then it may be worth it..., but see if they can send you what it will look like first before you buy, or just use general online browsing, find a one you like and then try to work off that.

illusionek

Many thanks for all your comments. I am at a loss why I am not getting any interviews. I know for fact I am not aiming out of my league and salary wise I am within reason for my skills and experience.

In my current role I recruited few people into my team and all CVs I have seen follow similar format to mine. I never got any negative feedback on my CV and on couple occasions I have been told my CV is impressive yet I struggle to get interviews. I dont really believe in value CV writing services bring but have no better ideas. Clearly the issue must be with CV if I dont get calls for interview?

I live in London and dont work in niche sector so it doesnt get easier than that.

Absolutely hate job hunting!!

ceegee

I don't know how old you are, but I have applied for so very many jobs, for which I am qualified, yet I don't get invited for interviews either. I am 62 and I know that age discrimination abounds. Are you an older person?

ssparks2003

I see little use in a CV writing service, ultimately the require you to tell them what you have done, what you have achieved, what skills you have. They just tidy up the wording and add buzz words. You are better off buying a couple of decent cv writing books and spending some time re-writing your cv than wasting money on someone charging through the nose for a poor job.