If You Insist On Hiring A CV Writer, Here’s How To Make Sure You Choose A Professional

If You Insist On Hiring A CV Writer, Here’s How To Make Sure You Choose A Professional

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If you send me your CV, I will give it a solid 20-30 seconds of my attention. This would involve a quick read of your profile, a glance at your positions and the companies you’ve worked for, and finally a quick look at page two of your CV. If your CV reads well and has what I am looking for, I would give you a call to discuss your experience in more detail. There is only so much information you can gain from a CV. If it doesn’t hit the mark quickly, it will head to to the bin, never to be seen again.

The Phone Call Vs The Bin

How do you make sure your CV is good enough for me to pick up the phone and give you a call? One way you could give yourself the best opportunity is to have your CV written by a professional.Having your CV written by a professional makes sense. If you have problems with your health or your car, I am sure you would go and see a professional, so why don’t you visit a professional CV writer for your CV.

Should You Hire A CV Writer?

CV writers get a lot of stick on the internet. If you google “why NOT to use a CV writer” you will get far more hits than if you google “why TOO use a CV writer”. A good CV writer is worth their weight in gold and can save you a lot of time and effort which is a small price to pay for your dream Job.

  • Applicant Tracking Systems – CV Writers, will know how to understand these changes to make sure when you apply to a position online, your CV makes the cut. Remember, unless the right information is in the right place, your CV will be deleted quickly.
  • Personal – Have you ever tried to write professionally about yourself? It’s challenging to find the right words to use and let’s be honest, for the majority of us, it’s really difficult to get self-promotion right without sounding too arrogant. A CV writer will know all the right words to use to make sure you come across confident, without sounding too arrogant.
  • CV’s Change over Time – CV designs have changed over the last 20 years. What used to be a well-formatted CV in the past may not be now. Unless you understand these changes, no matter how good the information on your CV is, you will not get the desired results. Professional CV writers keep up to date with any changes in their market.
  • CV Formats Differ from Industry to Industry – A CV designed for the I.T. Industry will look very different to a CV intended for a Sales Role. I am not a great fan of creative CVs, however, if you’re applying for a design related position, a creative CV would be the right approach.
  • Action Words – CV Keywords are hugely important, but you need to use the right Keywords in the right format. Writing you’re a “Team Player” means nothing on your CV as 99% of candidates use this word on their CV. If you go onto explain how you’re a team player by helping, training or guiding your team, then this will help to ensure that your CV stands out.
  • Lack of Writing Skills – Lots of candidates are fantastic in business. If you ask them about their industry, they can in detail, talk to you for hours. Trying to get this information down on paper, in the right context, is more difficult. Generally, candidates find it difficult to think objectively with their own careers.

How To Choose A Good CV Writer

While CV writers get a lot of stick on the internet, they can be worth their weight in gold for the right candidate who doesn’t have the time, the ability or the know how to write their CV.

Once you have made a decision that you’re going to use a CV writer, the next question is, how do you choose a good CV writer? Enter “CV writers” into Google, and there are over forty million results. Who do you choose? How do you know if they’re going to be able to write you a great CV that will be able to stand out from the crowd?

Before you hand over your credit card, make sure that your CV writer has all or at least most of the following.

What Qualifications Do they Have?

CV Writers Need to be qualified and have the right market knowledge to write a CV that impresses. Qualifications are great, however, a CV writer should not be written off merely because they don’t have all the qualifications listed below. I studied Water Engineering at University, but it doesn’t mean I could build a pipeline.

Below I have listed the Four Main CV Associations and some brief information about each one. Should you require a more in-depth review of these certificates, there is a great website here which goes into further detail.

PARW/CC – The Professional Association of CV Writers and Career Coaches​

The PARW/CC was set up in 1990 as a way to demonstrate an on-going commitment to learning, exchanging ideas and gaining the expertise to best help clients achieve their personal career goals. Within the association there are three main qualifications;

  • Certified Professional CV Writers (CPRW)
  • Certified Employment Interview Professional (CEIP)
  • Certified Professional Career Coach (CPCC)

NRWA​ – The National CV Writers Association​

The NRWA is as per their website, “the only non-profit trade association for professional writers”. The NRWA started in 1996 and was the first CV association to use the internet. Within the association, they have the;

  • Nationally Certified CV Writers (NCRW)

RWA – The CV Writing Academy​

The RWA was set up by Wendy Enelow and Louise Kursmark who between them have a wealth of CV writing experience and knowledge to include public speaking events, book Publication and Online Articles. They offer a certificate called the;

  • ACRW – Academy Certified CV Writer

CDI – Career Direct International​

CDI was initially founded in 2000 to provide a venue for global career professionals to access education, networking and personal/professional development opportunities. Over the years the CDI has developed into more of a professional development organisation, which provides numerous courses, conferences and networking programs. They offer the following CV certificates;

  • CARW – Certified Advanced CV Writer
  • CMRW – Certified Master CV Writer

Ten Things Your CV Writer Must Provide

  • Satisfaction Guarantee – Do they offer some form of satisfaction guarantee? If you don’t like their work, they will adjust your CV to suit your needs.
  • Interview Guarantee – This would mean that the CV writer would continue to adjust your CV until you start getting interviews. This is always a good option to have as while CV writers should know what clients are looking for sometimes its not the case for particular roles.
  • LinkedIn Testimonial’s – Testimonials are a great way to see how a CV writer performs. Testimonials on a website are great, but anyone could write them. LinkedIn.com testimonials, on the other hand, are much more beneficial as it’s very difficult to make these up. A LinkedIn profile that has a selection of good testimonies from other users is an excellent sign.
  • Accomplishments – Great CV Writers also have, and you need to look out for these. Look out for recommendations from books, national websites or famous people. As an example, The CV Store in the UK has been recommended by the renowned entrepreneur James Caan in one of his books.
  • The Telephone Call – Ideally you should be meeting your CV writer in person, however often this is just not the case. Writing a CV from only a questionnaire is not possible. Professional CV Writers will insist on both a Questionnaire and a Telephone Interview with you as a minimum.
  • Niche CV Writers – Ideally your CV writer has a specialist division that’s in the same sector. Recruiters will look at your CV for a maximum of 30 seconds, and unless they find what they’re looking for in the place that they expect to see it, your CV hits the bin pretty quickly. A CV Writer specialising your niche will know the formatting that needs to be used to provide success.
  • Check out their CV Samples – If you do not like their samples, most likely you’re not going to want your finished product. Good CV writers will provide CV samples, which will show their CV skills, are and how they will write your CV.
  • Get a Free CV Evaluation – Before you commit your hard earned money to a CV writer, ask them for a free CV evaluation. This will give you the opportunity for the CV writer to tell you what’s wrong with your CV. If you like what you hear, at least you know that they will do a good job for you.
  • The Price – Yes the price is important, but there is an old phrase, “Buy cheap, Buy Twice”.

Finally

If you need more help writing your CV, send it to me for review.

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Nick Jones

My name Nick Jones, I am a professional Head-Hunter with over 20 years of experience working all over the world. I specialise in out-of-the-box job search strategies to get your CV directly to the hiring manager, thus skipping any ATS portals or recruiters who think they're important.

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