Reply to: Old crappy CV in need of resuscitation

[sasguru]

Congratulations on spotting the deliberate mistake

uh-huh

[richard-af]

It’s not as easy as just getting the spelling and grammar right.

All my friends cv’s are very different in style, format and content and not just because they all have different pasts, before any of you quick witted ones say anything. Some focus on achievement and successes others on the tasks they’ve performed, some have personal statements other don’t, some are two pages other are five (which I think is a little too long).

A little expert help surely can’t hurt.

Surely it can, though.

I've seen first hand how CVs are filtered, and CV writing service-generated CVs can stick out like a sore thumb.

But, marginally better than one I saw which had a covering letter saying, "Having recently returned to the community, I can say that I have learned my lessons, etc."

[chicane]

HTH

Congratulations on spotting the deliberate mistake

[sasguru]

Therein lies the problem. There are many talented people knocking around with a grasp of spelling and grammar that is less than pristine.

I periodically recieve letters and emails from people looking for employment or freelance work, and virtually every one of these letters or the attached CV contains a serious spelling or grammar mistake.

HTH

[TheBlacksmith]

It’s not as easy as just getting the spelling and grammar right.

All my friends cv’s are very different in style, format and content and not just because they all have different pasts, before any of you quick witted ones say anything. Some focus on achievement and successes others on the tasks they’ve performed, some have personal statements other don’t, some are two pages other are five (which I think is a little too long).

A little expert help surely can’t hurt.

[chicane]

Is this a sign of insecurity, needing someone else to write your CV

Not necessarily. It may be a sign of understanding your weaknesses. Knowing what you're poor at (in this case spelling and grammar) is just as important as familiarity with your strengths.

[sathyaram_s]

One more reason to write the CV yourself ..

I would imagine that the CV writer will not have enough knowledge to know the buzzwords in your field of specialization ...

May be, you could get a CV specialist write the CV for the first time - but keeping upto date and making changes should be our task, IMHO ... There are a niumber of articles on this site to write killer CVs.

BTW, CV writing specialists will be experts in doing CVs for permies ... Contract CVs should be different ... Take that into consideraation when engaging one ..

with the right content, the right buzz words etc can be the difference between getting the interview and not.

[daviejones]

I don't think it's laziness at all. Agencies and clients can be very particular when it comes to CVs that havinmg one done properly, with the right content, the right buzz words etc can be the difference between gettinjg the interview and not. It is more important now because a lot of agencies are using electronic scanners to pick out the words they would like to see...a result of lots of candidates for less roles.

Just my opinion....

[backagain]

Is this a sign of insecurity, needing someone else to write your CV

Assuming the CV writer knows you life intimately and every piece of soft-wear your grubby mitts have passed over...

Just have several CVs around catering for a variety of positions; if one of them doesn't fit the job, then a quick edit to make it fit?

Observation: those in the business a long time have very character based/black and white CVs. Those new to the business have flashy/webpage/colorful CVs?

Is all the cr@p about the business/career stuff at the beginning of the CV: is this believable or have any value?

[Sockpuppet]

(my grammar aint great)

That was placed in your post of purpose. I therefore claim my £5 (just becuase no-one has done that in a while).

[VectraMan]

Therein lies the problem. There are many talented people knocking around with a grasp of spelling and grammar that is less than pristine.

Well yes, but then in this day and age spelling mistakes are just as often caused by spell checkers as they are bad spelling. I think the point is not about how good your spelling or grammar is (my grammar aint great), it's about laziness. If you can't be bothered putting effort into a cv, possibly the most important thing you'll ever write, then what impression does that create?

At this level, if anyone can't write their own c.v. I suggest they do something different and leave the contract work to us professionals.

[chicane]

CV writing services are for illiterates.

Therein lies the problem. There are many talented people knocking around with a grasp of spelling and grammar that is less than pristine.

I periodically recieve letters and emails from people looking for employment or freelance work, and virtually every one of these letters or the attached CV contains a serious spelling or grammar mistake.

[thunderlizard]

It's all down to what skills you've got. I write my own CV but wouldn't ever design my own website, fr'instance. Illiterates can have a future too!

If you are rewriting your CV, put Web2.0 and SOA on it. They are cutting edge, but nobody completely knows what they mean, so nobody can catch you out.

[richard-af]

In the same way as a professional footballer should do his own accounting becuase that what they are good at.

You may be ace at IT but tulip at writing CVs so professional help could be a good thing.

It's a CV for Gawd's sake! What's there to know? You were there; you did the graft; you know your skills.

CV writing services are for illiterates. And, unless you then spend time proofreading such a CV service's version of your CV, you may end up with an error or two in there, which is going to make you look a bit daft at interview, etc.

I re-write mine frequently, and have another critical look at it every week. The only way.

[TheBlacksmith]

Cheers, just mainly looking for style, format and the best way to display my skills and experience.

Obviously all the stuff is in my head, it's putting it down that I need a little direction on.

If it is 80 quid, then that's a small price to pay.