Writing a good CV
Writing a good CV is something that most people think they can do.
The only trouble is that the job market these days is extremely competitive, and a lot of the time “good” isn’t even good enough. After all, the chances are that if you are applying for good jobs then you will be competing against not only other people with equally good CVs, but also applicants with excellent/superior quality CVs.
Moreover, you may well think that just because you are applying for good jobs with a DIY CV then everyone else is too. However, this is not only quite a common preconception, but it is also a naive and flawed preconception too. Indeed, more people use the services of professional CV writing companies than most people realise. In fact, if you have applied for good jobs, then it is a good bet that you will have been competing against people with professionally written CVs. Indeed, the higher you want to climb the career ladder, the more likely it is that you will be competing against not only people with good CVs, but people with top quality professionally written CVs.
So does it make a difference?
The short answer to this is yes.
Obviously, just as in any profession, quality varies from company to company. However, if you engage a top quality professional CV writer then it can not only boost your odds in the job market, but it could actually transform your whole career. Indeed, many well-qualified candidates miss out on jobs not because they aren’t the best candidate, but simply because their CV isn’t as good as that of one or more of their competitors.
How can you write a good CV?
Well there are plenty of books on the subject. That said, a lot of what has been written is old, outdated and pretty bog standard. Moreover, even if it wasn’t, if you want the best results you really need to take an individual approach rather than copy examples from a book.
Obviously, it is entirely up to you but my advice would be to save yourself a headache and engage a top quality CV writer (i.e. someone who does this professionally day in day out for a living) to do the job for you. A top quality CV writer should be able to create a far better CV than you, and do this at a very reasonable rate considering the enormous potential benefits.
It’s quite strange but if you had a problem with your car or plumbing or electricity than most people would call a professional. Funnily enough, the same isn’t the case with CV writing, and part of the problem is that a lot of people think they can get something on the cheap by doing it themselves. Well yes, they can. But it’s a false economy. And you only get one chance at a good job, and as mentioned sometimes even a “good” CV isn’t good enough.
As mentioned, it is entirely up to you but my advice would be to save yourself a lot of time and effort by engaging a top-quality writer who can give you a real advantage in the job market. If you don’t, your competitors will!
This ‘writing a good CV’ article is taken from extracts from the book by Paul Hichens, who is senior consultant at leading UK CV writing company CV consultants.co.uk
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