CV writing

[DramaLlama20]

Is this really worth it? Being made redundant looking to change roles entirely, my cv was only ever used internally after being at this particular company for a very long time. So it needs an overhaul and to be made relevant for applying externally

YABU do it yourself its not worth the money
YANBU its worth the expense and here is who I'd recommend

I do as a one-off. You'll be amazed at how different a professionally written CV looks from how you imagine they should look. Once you know what they look for, it's easy to tweak and re-tweak your own CV.

Feel free to pm me and I'll have a look too... I'm a real stickler for accuracy in CVs or even if you just need tips :)

Thanks thats kind however at the moment it's massively internal full of jargon so would make no sense externally or to you (unless we work In the same industry!) Do you have any recommendations of companies/people who may do a good job too? Thanks

@DramaLlama20

I work in science, so maybe! Plenty of jargon there.

Sadly no, it was so long ago, I don't remember. I just had a quick look in my emails, but no luck.

What they did with mine was fill it with key words that employers search for. Very often we undersell ourselves and miss out on the simple things.
Next one was formatting. Maybe a slight reorder of sections, ensuring that spacing is pleasing to the eye etc.
Then those little spelling, punctuation, grammar mistakes... you'll be surprised how inconsistent some CVs are... capitalisation that is on some words and not others, double spacing in some areas..

You need to change your CV to tailor to individual job ads and key words to get through software algorithms, so pointless to try and make a one size fits all CV.

Start with lists of skills, technical knowledge and personal strengths.

Make a new CV each time for each job, and lots of online applications now you fill your "CV" in the boxes of a form so you'd be re typing bits out anyway.

Good luck!

YANBU I love mine feel proud and gave me lots of confidence

cvandinterviewadvisors.co.uk/

The last couple of jobs I applied to didn't actually let me upload a CV; it was all done through an online portal with clear instructions about what information to enter into each section, so I had no say over the structure or what to put in.

There are a fuck ton of templates on Canva.com.

I'd also recommend saving all the text in a notepad file because it wipes the formatting. Makes copy pasting into online applications much quicker.

A CV must be tailored to an application. Generic CVs and bought templates have very little value. Rather than paying someone to write a one-off CV for you, find someone that you can coach you into writing your own CV and making it specific and relevant for each role you're applying for.

I had it done a few years ago, from memory an organisation recommended by my professional body - really disliked it
I complained so much I got a full refund.

I use a generic CV - in my sector a supporting statement is very common, I detail that to match the person specification.

Look on askamanager blog for some very useful guides to writing a CV and then you can do it yourself.

20 years in in-house recruitment. There are no algorithms. Humans read CVs. That's not to say some read better than others but I can guarantee you if you're being rejected it's because your CV isn't clear about what you do and not because "algorithms"

Definitely do it yourself as PPs have said there are some good templates online. So long as it conveys the info about you, your experience and qualifications in a smart and presentable way - great!

Do your personal statement as fact, not a quote about yourself. So-
"Possesses excellent IT skills and is fully conversant with Office"

Not

"I have excellent IT skills and am fully conversant with the Office suite"

It makes a big difference.

It’s worth the investment in time yes.

These days job hunting through LinkedIn is worthwhile, and you can apply for so many roles with their EasyApply function which essentially is just uploading your CV. I applied for loads doing this, and got a number of interviews, some of which I turned down. The time and effort that goes into application forms is exhausting, much easier to have a CV that covers all.

Good for you

I work for a company that uses a fillable template for applications, and will screen out applicants based on the key words we set up in the algorithm. Yes we COULD go and read each manually, but when you have over 150 applications for a role, it's unlikely.

Original CV on an email job, I agree, but more and more companies are using software that screens.

Crazy that some places are different hey....

@Blablablanamechangagain Genuinely I'd love to know where you work. Every head of function I've ever met is adamant this isn't in place. There are tech solutions that attribute weighted scoring based on predefined criteria so perhaps the top scoring profiles would be reviewed first, but I've never seen an organisation rely on the software to reject candidates.

And yes, even with 150 CVS per role, I've only ever known each of them to be reviewed. From big global organisations to smaller SMEs I've worked in.