New CV - professional or use your own?

[GTEYE]

Here's a question.

I'm looking for a new role and therefore needed an updated CV.

I've updated my own, which has served me well in the past, but have been "persuaded" to use the services of a CV writing company - I thought just to get a feel for what is current best practice, if there is such a thing.

The result of which is a CV which although I can see some (small) improvements from my own, looks to me too generic and "key word heavy".

I'm now inclined to take some ideas from the professional one and incorporate them back into my own.

My feeling is that that it should be your "own" document, and one that is written by someone else just isn't mine - and it will be perhaps obvious to the reader that it has come from such an organisation.

What are other people's thoughts one this?

[parabolica]

As someone who interviews a lot, I have never come across a CV writing company that has done a decent job. If you google whatever CV writing company you're looking at you'll get an idea; most jobs are farmed out to students and suchlike who treat it like a second income and don't often put attention to detail into it; they tend to be geared towards people who have no idea how to write a CV, rather than people looking to hone what they already have. The ones i have seen all tend to follow the same format (often some kind of EU-generic template with pre-existing tables etc) and full of inaccuracies and spelling mistakes.

Best advice I could give is to polish your CV yourself and ask someone whose opinion you trust to review it for you.

[GTEYE]

That was pretty much my gut feeling, but useful to have it confirmed.

That’s exactly what I’ll do, many thanks.

[mikeiow]

parabolica said:

As someone who interviews a lot, I have never come across a CV writing company that has done a decent job. If you google whatever CV writing company you're looking at you'll get an idea; most jobs are farmed out to students and suchlike who treat it like a second income and don't often put attention to detail into it; they tend to be geared towards people who have no idea how to write a CV, rather than people looking to hone what they already have. The ones i have seen all tend to follow the same format (often some kind of EU-generic template with pre-existing tables etc) and full of inaccuracies and spelling mistakes.

Best advice I could give is to polish your CV yourself and ask someone whose opinion you trust to review it for you.

Just as an aside.....do you feel it should be first-person (“I have done this and that”), third-person (“John Smith has done this and that”) or doesn’t matter?
Asking for a relative (I’ve not used my CV in *many* years!)

[parabolica]

I think either is acceptable but personally I prefer first person; speaking about yourself in the third person always came across (to me) as a bit pompous and can look like someone else has written your CV. But I wouldn't discount someone just because they chose third over first!

[p4cks]

Conversely, I used a CV writing company when I wanted to move on to the next step on the ladder and it worked perfectly and since then I've just made my own amendments using the same format/formula.

I agree there is a lot of 'key wording' in mine however some recruiters use programs to sift CVs and others don't, but this way I've covered all eventualities.

IIRC it was £70 and managed to get me a role which was +£10K on what I was earning prior

[zedx19]

Many, many years ago, I'd just left uni and landed a temp position at a well known engine manufacturer in Derbyshire. During my time there my manager said they had a specialist recruitment advisor working for the company and as a temp, I have access to this service and should use them to help with CV writing. I did so and found it very useful, however I was sat with someone, discussing it face to face. I was 21 at the time, now 38 and still have the same format CV, just added/deleted to it over the years and now earning well into the 40% bracket. I would say being able to sit with someone for an hour, running through your employment history, strengths, what to include etc is very useful. I would not advise using a remote service, I can't see what use it'll be over just Googling for templates and filling it out yourself.

[mikeiow]

parabolica said:

I think either is acceptable but personally I prefer first person; speaking about yourself in the third person always came across (to me) as a bit pompous and can look like someone else has written your CV. But I wouldn't discount someone just because they chose third over first!

Thanks (& to the others!)
My advice was first person if you were applying for a role, and 3rd if you were using a recruitment agency.....but I agree, 3rd person can sound pompous!

[wiggy001]

As a manager that recruits semi-regularly:

- First person always please. Making your CV sound like it was written by someone else is not a positive in my mind.
- Write it yourself. I want to know how you sell yourself, not how someone else sells you.

Whilst a 3rd person, professionally-written CV won't get binned per-se, it's not the best first impression for me.

That said, my team is technical and dealing with non-technical people at all levels, so I need to see how you communicate first hand. This might not be as relevant for others.

[dhutch]

Always written my own, so cant comment on other options, however it has worked well.

I get a number of people to read it each time I am looking and refreshing it, my gf/parents, friends in the industry, ask the recruiter their thoughts on it etc.


Daniel

[fat80b]

dhutch said:

I get a number of people to read it each time I am looking and refreshing it, my gf/parents, friends in the industry, ask the recruiter their thoughts on it etc.
Daniel

I always get friends in the industry to take a critical look and it generally works well for me. I don't feel as though recruiters have ever provided decent feedback to me (although you'd think that they'd be best placed to do so).

I'd also be wary of just adding more sections to your previous CV which seems like the obvious thing to do.

If you are applying to a different role / industry / level of position, it can be important to target the CV appropriately. I recently re-wrote mine from scratch and only on doing so did I realise how poor my old CV had become through adding sections (all good in their own right) at the top.

Re-writing the old experiences to pull out the bits that are now relevant made it flow much much better.

I'm in the tech industry and happy to review CVs for people if they want (PM me).

[dhutch]

Yeah, as you say, a lot of recruiters are remarkable bad, and even less have a good handle on the content of a cv, but I have had some comments there and add it to the melting pot.

Mine is struggling a bit through added sections at the top, nine years into to my work career and about five roles over three companies and I am struggling to say what I want for each without it being too long, while I still find my early roles add to what i want to say about myself. A good review of the lot is called for, any or a decision to go over two pages and make it a three page affair. However its just done the job again, so that can all happen another day!


Daniel

[StanleyT]

I remember getting our "companies" recruiter to help me polish my CV when I left a government behemoth company during one of their attractive redundancy periods.

It was politely pointed out to me "did I remember why I needed security clearance for the role". "Oh, yep says I and list the reasons".

We then examine the CV and it broke the first four tenants of Information Security re SC, but "probably" didn't break the OSA.

I was very very politely reminded that just sending out an internal CV with 10 years worth of "I designed this nut for x machine as old nut y fell off 44 times whilst flying over xxx" etc etc might sound impressive it wan't appropriate.

They re-wrote my CV for me. Said "10 years experience, will work for peanuts and dance for monkies". Got new job by word of mouth so didn't need send CV out in the end.

Recently in last Co, we used to have a "talent profile" CV we had to update each year as part of the Performance Review with your latest projects, reviews and experience. The company bid team used to get in touch "Hi, we've got your CV off Talent Profile to submit for opportunity XXX, only thing is, do you mind if we edit it to the xx page limit". "No, no problems". Eventually twig that the edit means "delete anything that falls after page xx". Doh!

Now keep own CV very much on own systems and leave a few honey traps in any CVs I have on corporate systems at companies so I can see where recruiters scraping the barrel have got my CV from (e.g. I actually never published a joint paper with the Irish Fusion Scientist Tok O'Mac" but it has three times been the first thing a recruiter has asked me about!).

Actually now under GDPR who'd be liable for the content of a CV on a corporate network and changes to it without the individuals permissions - I've seen my name in bids with skills I had, but now don't have 20 - 25 years on from when i did have them - e.g. what use is programming control systems in VMS now - yet I've seen me down as "Control System Programmer". Also, a couple of job moves ago, the HR director left and basically harvested our CVs and files so she had contact details for us so the new co could contact us direct and recruit the department that way - not exactly by stealth as a few people had listed mobile numbers as works mobiles! Presume the individual in for the high jump in that case?