Having a CV professionally re-written?

[Danm1les]

Does anyone have an experience of this? I quite fancy a career change and having worked for the seam company for on and off the last 5 out of 7 years my CV probably needs a freshen up. Everything I’ve done has been sales/customer service based working up from the bottom to a relatively good position where I work now however the company I work for is a family run affair and anything above me is out of reach as all the directors and managers are related!

I've seen online that you can pay and have someone go over and through your CV and rewrite it in a way that I probably wouldn't and I didn't know if it would be worthwhile? I've applied for a few jobs so far and haven’t had much luck apart from being fobbed off with the 'In this instance' email.

Any experience or comments would be great!

Thanks,

Dan

[anonymous-user]

Its a tough one

My old boss paid a company called Giraffe I think to do his, was about £100 and they also reworked his LinkedIn profile for him

When chatting to him about it he offered to send me his CV to show what they had done. It essentially was a lot neater, showed his skills more clearly and focussed on those rather than just listing the jobs he had done (these were lower down)

However, he is still sat at the same job (by all accounts moaning about the same things) I rewrote my CV using their format and did get a new job (and subsequently another one since)

So I think it can be worth it but its definitely not a magic bullet

[Efbe]

Using some sensible fonts, with bold where it applies etc, I haven't failed to get an interview for every job I have gone with using the following:
(PM me if you want a word version of it with formatting etc.)

---

Curriculum Vitae - Name
Profile
3 lines of blurb to describe you in a paragraph

Key Attributes
• Job
• Experience
• Exceptional things about you
• bulletpointed

Relevant Experience
• Quick description of the skills you have
• bulletpointed

Contact Details
Address, e-mail, phone

Qualifications
• high level list of qualifications

Career Summary
May 2014 to present Company
Job Title
• bulletpointed short paragraphs of what you achieved in this that was awesome

January 2010 to May 2014 Company
Job Title
• bulletpointed short paragraphs of what you achieved in this that was awesome


(keep going on this list all the way back.
If it is a short career, put your uni/college stuff here as well
All chronological going backwards)

References
Ref1, name, company, position. Phone number/e-mail
Ref2, name, company, position. Phone number/e-mail
Ref3, name, company, position. Phone number/e-mail

[Efbe]

also, no picture, no hobbies, no personal opinions, no colourful comic sans, no length paragraphs that can be summed up in one word.

[TIGA84]

Efbe said:

also, no picture, no hobbies, no personal opinions, no colourful comic sans, no length paragraphs that can be summed up in one word.

Agree on all except hobbies, and there's a caveat to that as well. No generic hobbies like Reading, Music, Films, Photography, Cooking.

Boring, says nothing.

Specific hobbies with detail? Good, shows you've got a life and passions elsewhere.

[rog007]

Danm1les said:

Does anyone have an experience of this? I quite fancy a career change and having worked for the seam company for on and off the last 5 out of 7 years my CV probably needs a freshen up. Everything I’ve done has been sales/customer service based working up from the bottom to a relatively good position where I work now however the company I work for is a family run affair and anything above me is out of reach as all the directors and managers are related!

I've seen online that you can pay and have someone go over and through your CV and rewrite it in a way that I probably wouldn't and I didn't know if it would be worthwhile? I've applied for a few jobs so far and haven’t had much luck apart from being fobbed off with the 'In this instance' email.

Any experience or comments would be great!

Thanks,

Dan

Happy to provide some feedback on your current CV if you care to pass it across; I'll let you know if it's good to go or in need of a minor/major rewrite.

[Efbe]

TIGA84 said:

Agree on all except hobbies, and there's a caveat to that as well. No generic hobbies like Reading, Music, Films, Photography, Cooking.

Boring, says nothing.

Specific hobbies with detail? Good, shows you've got a life and passions elsewhere.

though I understand where you are coming from, hobbies are a minefield.
What is a cool hobby to one person, is a geek/freak/loser/etc to another.

Put down running/gym, and an manager who has never done a day's exercise in their life may think you will spend all your time in there, and be aggressive/cocky/self-centered etc.
Put down sport, then a sport-hating manager/HR bod may think you are a football lout.

So if you do do this, then really think about how it will make you come across from a third person perspective.


...edit...
>samaritans... can't think of a negative for that hobby ...

Edited by Efbe on Monday 11th April 13:39

[Hoofy]

Efbe said:

TIGA84 said:

Agree on all except hobbies, and there's a caveat to that as well. No generic hobbies like Reading, Music, Films, Photography, Cooking.

Boring, says nothing.

Specific hobbies with detail? Good, shows you've got a life and passions elsewhere.

though I understand where you are coming from, hobbies are a minefield.
What is a cool hobby to one person, is a geek/freak/loser/etc to another.

Put down running/gym, and an manager who has never done a day's exercise in their life may think you will spend all your time in there, and be aggressive/cocky/self-centered etc.
Put down sport, then a sport-hating manager/HR bod may think you are a football lout.

So if you do do this, then really think about how it will make you come across from a third person perspective.


...edit...
>samaritans... can't think of a negative for that hobby ...

Edited by Efbe on Monday 11th April 13:39

It's not about whether it's a cool hobby or not but stuff that shows you have other attributes. Only put down football if you actually play, similarly, don't put television unless you write scripts or edit videos in your spare time.

[Danm1les]

Thanks for all the replies! Didn't think i'd get some many responses to be honest. I probably fall foul of many things mentioned on here, hobbies and potentially waffling where things could get to the point quicker.

rog007 i'll send you a copy over for you to laugh at critique.

[Efbe]

Hoofy said:

It's not about whether it's a cool hobby or not but stuff that shows you have other attributes. Only put down football if you actually play, similarly, don't put television unless you write scripts or edit videos in your spare time.

alternatively, I view the CV as a way of getting to the interview stage.
I know it's not about being cool, but it is about getting the best impressions in there. Invariably you are trying to get your CV past HR, not the Manager. This does of course depend on what kind/size fo company you are going for.

When I get there I like to have the chance to gauge the audience and see if my mustang restoration project would interest them, or whether to mention fell running, rock climbing or nothing.

[Hoofy]

Efbe said:

Hoofy said:

It's not about whether it's a cool hobby or not but stuff that shows you have other attributes. Only put down football if you actually play, similarly, don't put television unless you write scripts or edit videos in your spare time.

alternatively, I view the CV as a way of getting to the interview stage.
I know it's not about being cool, but it is about getting the best impressions in there. Invariably you are trying to get your CV past HR, not the Manager. This does of course depend on what kind/size fo company you are going for.

When I get there I like to have the chance to gauge the audience and see if my mustang restoration project would interest them, or whether to mention fell running, rock climbing or nothing.

And HR frown upon hobbies?

[ATG]

Hoofy said:

And HR frown upon hobbies?

If I discovered that HR were screening CVs for vacancies I was trying to fill by looking at candidates' hobbies, I'd be unimpressed.

[TIGA84]

Efbe said:

though I understand where you are coming from, hobbies are a minefield.
What is a cool hobby to one person, is a geek/freak/loser/etc to another.

Put down running/gym, and an manager who has never done a day's exercise in their life may think you will spend all your time in there, and be aggressive/cocky/self-centered etc.
Put down sport, then a sport-hating manager/HR bod may think you are a football lout.

So if you do do this, then really think about how it will make you come across from a third person perspective.


...edit...
>samaritans... can't think of a negative for that hobby ...

Edited by Efbe on Monday 11th April 13:39

I may want to update my "Shooting and Cars" in that case, I may come across as some kind of drive-by enthusiast.

[300bhp/ton]

Danm1les said:

Does anyone have an experience of this? I quite fancy a career change and having worked for the seam company for on and off the last 5 out of 7 years my CV probably needs a freshen up. Everything I’ve done has been sales/customer service based working up from the bottom to a relatively good position where I work now however the company I work for is a family run affair and anything above me is out of reach as all the directors and managers are related!

I've seen online that you can pay and have someone go over and through your CV and rewrite it in a way that I probably wouldn't and I didn't know if it would be worthwhile? I've applied for a few jobs so far and haven’t had much luck apart from being fobbed off with the 'In this instance' email.

Any experience or comments would be great!

Thanks,

Dan

I've re-written and helped people out with CV's.

A CV can be very important, but it depends on the industry and types of jobs you are applying for. But very often, the only decider on if they want to bring you in for an interview is your CV.


So for the most part I think it is vital to have a very good CV. If you've ever been on the receiving end, having the receive CV's and decide who you want to call in for an interview. Then you know what makes a good or bad one. Although so many people still write bad CV's.

Most common flaws are they are too generic and tell you nothing about the person.


Getting a CV re-written will only be of real value, if it is done well. And I'd argue that YOU will need to contribute to any re-write. As it is vital that you

a) know what you CV contains
b) is written and expressed in a way that you can match in an interview


No point getting an interview, only to bomb it because you don't know what CV says, or contradicts your personality.



However, just having a good CV is no guarantee of getting a new job. That will depend on the industry, your experience, abilities and the availability of positions vs the number of applicants. I.e. unless you are being introduced and put forward through a contact. Then it's rather pot luck. But your CV is the first "sales pitch" to say "consider me please".

[Otispunkmeyer]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Indeed.. I've put my CV under many peoples noses in the past and they all come back suggesting different things. Often completely different things. At the end of the day you almost have to hope that the guy reading yours is "compatible" with it.


I have had trouble even getting my CV's past the obvious computer filtration stage (applied to one job at 10 pm, had a rejection letter just after mid-night. I assume no one actually looked at it and it went in a server somewhere to be picked over for key words).

I really want to try embedding keywords in my CV as hidden words..... white text or something. Something that doesn't show on print, but a computer will read it. Almost like slapping a load of "tags" to the bottom like you might with an Instagram picture. Wonder if that would work?

Edited by Otispunkmeyer on Monday 11th April 15:03

[Danm1les]

I think that if I were to get a n interview I would come across well and switched on, its just getting to that stage.

Luckily I do have a job that I'm not being pushed out of or bullied in etc. but even still, I do feel like I'm wasting away some days in this place!

[Hoofy]

ATG said:

Hoofy said:

And HR frown upon hobbies?

If I discovered that HR were screening CVs for vacancies I was trying to fill by looking at candidates' hobbies, I'd be unimpressed.

Well, that's pretty much my thinking. PUT THE HOBBIES IN!

[rog007]

The 'hobbies' debate continues!

In what is normally a very concise document where 'less is more', my advice is always that every single word must add value to the purpose of the CV. If listing a hobby and some evidence of why it's applicable to the role being applied for adds real and tangible value, then do it!