To think that if connexions does a cv for someone

[MrsKravitz]

It shouldnt be riddled with spelling and grammatical errors?
Just re-doing ds' CV

"I don't want Connexions to be writing CVs. I want applicants to be writing CVs, with assistance if necessary."

I'm thinking the same - I'd never even considered before that I might be interviewing people who hadn't written their own.

Obviously there are professional services available for 'tarting up' CVs but I certainly wouldn't have thought of someone else creating the original.

It's not only Connexions though - I've just had "help" from a very expensive careers consultant paid for by the company which has just made me redundant, as part of my resettlement package. I went because it was free and I got the morning off work. They re-worked one I've had for years (so I did write the content) and they introduced a number of spelling and grammatical errors, but the fact that these and other professional CV writing services exist suggests to me that to say "he should be writing his own CV" is nonsense. All sorts of people get help.

They might have produced the error ridden document, but surely the content must have come from him and he would be able to talk about his experience/ hobbies etc? I don't think it's unreasonable for a 16yo (or anyone else) to want some help and guidance on something so important and which none of us has to do very often.

Its awfully naive to think everyone does their own cv.

As a careers adviser (who doesn't work for connexions - different country, but do work in the public sector), I would not "write" someone's CV for them but would give them guidance as to content, format etc. I would show them examples of the type of CV they are trying to put together, and give them feedback.
I see a lot of economic migrants from europe who are looking for work in the UK. Some have very poor English language skills, and apart from anything else, if I corrected and "wrote" their CV, it would give employers a false idea of their written communication skills.

I used to support adults into employment and had major issues with Connexions workers writing CVs. My policy was there were basic formats for Cvs and people could be encouraged to write a CV according to a set of criteria, but ultimately they should be encouraged to do it themselves, with guidance.

The Connexions way was to have a standardised CV format written by the worker for the client, and when you put them together all the clients' CVs looked identical. I thought that made them look rather obviously like someone had written them for the person.

I have since heard that employers are savvy to this style of CV and do not want to receive 20 CVs all identical, featuring personal statement and certain styles of writing.

I never won the argument though so I guess I was wrong

"Identikit CV's R Us"

apprenticeships are open to any age group not just teens. The ultimate decision is left to the employer but they need to be aware of age discrimination laws.

When my sister was 16, my husband helped her with her CV. When she popped out of the room, he listed "popping bubble wrap as I really like the sound it makes" under her hobbies. She didn't check it over and sent it to every shop in our hometown trying to get a Saturday job.
Not quite the same thing, but it still makes us laugh.

Just re-doing ds' CV

Can he not re-do it himself? surely if he is old enough to have a CV he is old enough to be able to write it himself? I'm not saying he should not get any help at all ,don't get me wrong, but it seems he has absolutely no imput in it from your OP.

Ahhhh so this is why I have had a slew of they most ridiculous CVs ever handed into my shop recently!

All identical (bar the qualifications and experience), with identikit interests, even down to the spelling errors in some cases. Two of them had been encouraged to put down every singly SATs result they'd every recieved which meant both of them had CV's that were 5 pages long. We all wondered who on earth was teaching these kids that this was appropriate. Mystery solved!

We didn't interview any of them, so I would tell your DS to bin this one and start again. And not to put his SATs results in

I dont see whats wrong with helping a 16 year old do his cv. I will help my lad out. He doesnt even know how to use word .

I've always been of the firm belief that writing a CV should be part of the curriculum when children hit GCSE level.

Unfortuntely, it's not.

And I receive CVs constantly from people askign for jobs, when it's obvious that they've never been given help with writing one.
It's not just the structure, but using sentences, or words that make sense when put together in a phrase.

I'm really disappointed that connexions has staff that would produce a CV that's not even less than perfect, but bloody dreadful!

I wouldn't write someone's CV for them, but I'm quite an expert (even if I say so myself!) at writing them - I would give them a template, make suggestions, get them to put it all together and the final CV would be their own work.

I just can't believe that a professional body would take a competant CV and make a mess of it!

YANBU

MrsWifty - I would be inclined to interview your DD because of that statement!

I knwo it wasn't her that put it in, but if I saw that on a CV, I would think that they had a sense of humour, and that would work really well in my shop.

That might be because I love popping bubble wrap because of the sound it makes
but mainly because I have a children's bookshop, and you need someone with a childish sense of fun. :)

sorry sister

What I can't understand is that CV advice and guidance is freely available on the internet. There is something very wrong if a young person leaves school without the ability to research something on the internet and cobble something decent together from a variety of sources.

As for parents helping, well, a bit of help is fine. If I'm writing CVs for my sons when they leave school then I shall consider myself to have failed miserably as a parent. Our job as parents is to help them grow into useful, productive adults, not to do it all for them.

silverlace- I believe using the 'x' is actually the original English and therefore correct way of spelling the word connexion.

My rather elderly, public school educated father has always spelled it 'connexion', long long before the agency came into existence.

yes- Mirriam-Webster says ' Chiefly Brit.

yes, i use the spelling connexion.
first came across it in Jane Austen books, i think.

I don't understand the writing CVs for applicants, either. Not saying this about your son in particular MrsKravitz, but it seems a bit, well, of a lazy way of doing things. What Connexions should be doing is holding CV Workshops to show the youngsters how to write and present a CV, then they should be checking it over for them. Writing it for them is the fast and lazy way.

We learned how to write ours at a workshop in the local library at GCSE age. Do they not do this anymore.

But OP, YANBU. If they are offering CV writing as a service, they should be able to do it.

nickelbabe maybe they didn't want to hire someone who would spend all day in the storeroom fondling the bubblewrap and laughing to themselves?

undoubtedly!

I'm not the most strict person though - I tend to get the bubblewrap out myself just for fun!

but I can see that serious businesses might not like it .

We were taught how to write a CV at school - that was just 12 years ago so don't they bother now? They also taught proper letter writing at Middle School and High School.

YANBU. NO-WAY! those morons at connexions likely used a spell checker without ever reading the damn thing through themselves. you should get him to apply for a job at Connexions using the CV they supplied. that would be moderately amusing. :)

After leaving uni (2004) I found myself writing or editing CV's for dozens of my friends/colleagues. Selling yourself is hard (particularly when trying to be simultaneously honest and compelling). On some levels it seems easy. Avoid errors, lies and using terms like me, my and I all the time. In reality it is far harder than it sounds.

If it's one of the poor lads first CV's then it's not as if he has a lot to work with either. Those doofuses at connexions would have been better off referring him elsewhere if they are to busy to do their jobs in a proficient manner. Better that than effectively sabotage him from the outset.

He's fortunate to have a magnificent mamma to sort him out in the face of such ludicrous governmental failure. :) Other poor sods may not be so lucky. Perhaps if they spent less money on god awful branding pimping a name like 'Connexions' in an embarrassing attempt at being down with contemporary youth and spent it on providing decent front-line staff... Perhaps then they'd do better. wouldn't hold ya breath though. They could be hiring people from an agency/ or HR background. I'd be writing angry letters... But that's just me...

I just can't believe that a professional body would take a competant CV and make a mess of it!
It's 'competent' I work for Connexions BTW.

i knew i'd spelt it wrongly!

i blame it on the typing rather than the inability to spell - when i'm typing, my fingers don't do what my brain tells them to!

someone higher up in the thread (Richlinn) also works for Connexions, and they said it depends on the person you get.