Rhymer Rigby published the following article in The Financial Times this week...
"Carl Fry, group chief financial officer of Journey Group, supplier of services and products to the travel industry, had always written his own r?sum?s and thought he did a pretty good job. But when he applied for his current position, he decided to try out a professional CV-writing company called The CV House. "I was very impressed with the results. The big difference is that it really got to the most relevant and important stuff and put it in the right order for the reader," he says.For most people, a curriculum vitae is something that merely needs dusting off when changing jobs. It is mainly a question of adding a few lines here and deleting a few there. But such a slapdash approach is perilous, according to Louise Mowbray, personal branding consultant and former head hunter. She says that those who read your r?sum? will "literally scan the front page for clues that...illustrate you have the background, skills and expertise relevant for the role that they are looking to fill." Most CVs receive less than a minute's face time, she says, so you really need to make yourself stand out. For fees that vary from a few hundred pounds to more than a ?1,000 depending on seniority, a professional CV service can make the best of your professional self.Kerr Wells, who now runs his own company, Attivo Global Learning, paid Bradley CVs about ?650 to write his r?sum?. When he got the first draft back, he says, it made him sound so good, "I was almost embarrassed". Did it work? When Mr Wells had his first CV written in 1998 he was earning ?35,000; 10 years later he was on ?120,000. "You've got to be up to the job too," he says. But he recalls sending his CV to the chief executive of a European bank and getting back the two-word response: "Let's talk."Janet Moran, managing director of CV House, which specialises in CVs for senior managers, says most people do not really know what recruiters want out of a CV. She starts out with an initial consultation to determine whether her services are necessary. If they are, she will rewrite the complete r?sum? for about ?1,000. This includes researching the target audience and drawing out the job applicant's outstanding achievements. "It is often the process of preparing the CV they find the most useful as many senior people often don?t stand back and look at their careers," Ms Moran says.Paul Bradley of Bradley CVs agrees: "Most people do miss out on their real achievements - often if you look at someone's CV they will have basically written out their job description rather than why someone should invite them for interview. It is about where they've been, not where they want to go." A good CV writer, he adds, has a mixture of copy writing skills and human resources or recruitment experience. And they make the most of what is there rather than make things up: "It all has to be true. It's a matter of putting it in the best light."James Phillips, a senior consultant at Fuller CV, says a ?1,000 fee is not as high as it sounds, if clients consider the value of their own time. He recalls talking to a client who was a freelancer who said he had spent 10 days working on his CV. "As he charged ?1,200 a day, his CV had effectively cost him ?12,000. Having it done professionally would probably have cost less than ?1,000."Yet while these services have a good knowledge of what employers want generally, their sector-specific knowledge may be found wanting. Mr Phillips says Fuller CV has 80-90 consultants on its books who cover the most common sectors. He admits, however, to being caught out recently when a marine biologist called for his services. Buyers should also choose their CV writer with care. Some low-cost services amount to little more than a typing service and will add nothing to your r?sum? beyond a decent layout and nice fonts. "There's nothing to stop anyone with a computer and a website setting up a service that looks professional," says Mr Bradley.Perhaps the strangest objection, at least in Britain, is the quaint notion that having your CV "done" just isn?t right. But, Ms Mowbray says, this is a fallacy. "A polished, relevant and compelling CV is absolutely vital." Indeed, no such qualms have hampered the r?sum? writing market in the US, which is well developed. "At the end of the day, a great sounding CV will not get you the job," says Mr Wells. "But it will get you through the door."
