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Original poster

CV writing company writing rubbish- what can we do?

41 replies

SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius · 12/02/2021 19:04

Ds3 is due to graduate this year, and is starting to apply for graduate training schemes and other jobs. Obviously this is going to be a really difficult time for graduates looking for work, so we want to help him as much as we can. We have given him the money to pay a company to advise him on his CV and covering letter, and he has just emailed us what they have given him - and it is awful.

The cover letter is full of hyperbole and claims that are vast inflations of what we know his experience to be. Some of it makes no sense at all, and the quality of the written English is terrible.

Dh has been involved in recruitment at different levels, including graduate traineeships, and he says that the letter and CV would not get an interview with any company he’s worked for, and if he did get an interview, he’d be ripped to shreds on the basis of the claims made in the letter.

Dh is going to sit down with ds3 over Zoom and help him write a decent CV and letter - but I was wondering if anyone has any advice to offer - either on resources we can use ourselves, on the things people do and don’t look for in CVs or on reputable companies that can do a decent job of this (we would have to chase the first company for a refund, on the basis of their product not being fit for purpose).

Thanks in advance.

OP posts:
Chemenger · 12/02/2021 19:06

The best place to get advice is the careers service at their university.

LunaHeather · 12/02/2021 19:06

Isn't there a uni careers adviser?

Never pay for this stuff. If need be, find someone who know what's current and give them vouchers for helping.

Sharpkat · 12/02/2021 19:11

I have been a graduate recruiter for 14 years across a number of industries and am very happy for you to PM me. I have screened several thousand CVs over the years Smile

Original poster
SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius · 12/02/2021 19:13

Thank you all.

OP posts:
thesandwich · 12/02/2021 19:14

Uni website will have lots of links and info. And run workshops
A LinkedIn profile connecting to all the relevant industries/ bodies he’s interested in and follow companies that interest him.

StrictlyAFemaleFemale · 12/02/2021 19:22

Recent thread

Original poster
SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius · 12/02/2021 19:35

Thank you.

OP posts:
SeasonFinale · 12/02/2021 21:41

Never pay for CV writing services!

QueenoftheAir · 13/02/2021 08:43

We have given him the money to pay a company to advise him on his CV and covering letter, and he has just emailed us what they have given him - and it is awful

Echoing PP - you really didn't need to do this.

Universities have excellent trained staff in regular contact with large graduate employers - well, my sought-after RG university does. They will guide the student/graduate in writing a CV for free and will usually do it for at least a year after graduation.

And they don't write it for the student - they guide the student to write it her/himself. Recruiters can tell when it's not written by the applicant!

Our Careers service sometimes despairs at the way many students will not take their advice. My Department Employability tutor also despairs that our current undergrads don't come to our discipline-specific employability sessions - a well-known director of an organisation which employs graduates in our area was attended by precisely no students. Argh.

Chemenger · 13/02/2021 11:29

@QueenoftheAir

We have given him the money to pay a company to advise him on his CV and covering letter, and he has just emailed us what they have given him - and it is awful

Echoing PP - you really didn't need to do this.

Universities have excellent trained staff in regular contact with large graduate employers - well, my sought-after RG university does. They will guide the student/graduate in writing a CV for free and will usually do it for at least a year after graduation.

And they don't write it for the student - they guide the student to write it her/himself. Recruiters can tell when it's not written by the applicant!

Our Careers service sometimes despairs at the way many students will not take their advice. My Department Employability tutor also despairs that our current undergrads don't come to our discipline-specific employability sessions - a well-known director of an organisation which employs graduates in our area was attended by precisely no students. Argh.

I could have written this. Our career service is great but they have to expend far too much energy persuading students to engage with them. I too have suffered the humiliation of having no students turn up to a recruitment event.
PresentingPercy · 13/02/2021 11:49

I do think that if DC cannot write a cv themselves they are possibly not the first in the queue for employment. They really need something to put in it and write coherently.

Also I think cv's need tailoring to the job. Generic "cover all bases" cvs are often heading for bin. Why someone atually wants X company and how their experience and qualifications fits into the profile required is a good place to start. Bigging up something that everyone else has got is a waste of time. Especially if it is not relevant. Nor is gushing and fawning.

However, if DC cannot write something decent themselves they do need to think about why not.

TomHardyAndMe · 13/02/2021 11:52

Dh has been involved in recruitment at different levels, including graduate traineeships, and he says that the letter and CV would not get an interview with any company he’s worked for, and if he did get an interview, he’d be ripped to shreds on the basis of the claims made in the letter.

Dh is going to sit down with ds3 over Zoom and help him write a decent CV and letter

Why didn’t your DH do this in the first place?

At 21 and as a graduate this really shouldn’t be something an adult needs help with. Have they never had a job before? It needs to be their own work - it will be obvious at interview if someone else wrote it.

murbblurb · 13/02/2021 11:57

the library has books on the subject - and almost all are now e-libraries so lockdown won't stop reading.

your son needs to read up on this, do his own CV and then ask you to look it over. It is a life skill that he needs so HE takes charge.

With respect, what did you expect from outsourcing, of course what you got was useless!

Ohalrightthen · 13/02/2021 12:01

Paying someone to write your CV for you is hugely disingenuous. Part of the function of a CV is that it demonstrates the candidate's written communication skills, and ability to identify, rationalise and appropriately display the relevant parts of their experience. Paying someone else to do it for you has the potential to mislead the employer regarding the applicant's abilities. It's just shitty practice, and i say that as a hiring manager.

PresentingPercy · 13/02/2021 12:04

And they can be spotted too! So definitely to be avoided.

WeeDangerousSpike · 13/02/2021 12:09

I've always tailored my cv and letter to the job I'm applying for. So the 'skills and interests' bit, or 'personal statement' or whatever. I've made sure to highlight skills that meet the requirements of the job. So I wouldn't go on about my customer service skills for a job that's not customer facing, or about my computer skills for a job that wouldn't need them. I don't see how a generic cv would be useful, and even less so a generic covering letter!

I didn't even know those sorts of services existed, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if recruiters wouldn't spot them a mile off and discount the application. I think a bullet might have been dodged here! I hope you can get your money back, I expect it wasn't cheap.

PresentingPercy · 13/02/2021 15:32

Recruiters do spot them. They often appear too good to be true. They are often gushing and full of waffle. They don’t address the JD or person spec. It’s a lot more useful to know how to construct a cv that’s your own rather than someone else write it.

Haffdonga · 13/02/2021 15:42

Your ds will be a graduate. He will be going to interviews and eventually doing the job on his own merit. Your dh has experience of recruitment. There's good advice all over the internet.
e.g. www.prospects.ac.uk/careers-advice/cvs-and-cover-letters

Why on earth would you need somebody you've never met to write his CV for him? Confused

A fool and his money ...

Original poster
SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius · 13/02/2021 20:17

We do know that ds3 is an adult, and will be a graduate, and should be doing this more or less on his own - ds1 and ds2 have managed to find themselves jobs when they graduated with very little help from us.

But we do also think that this year's crop of graduates are going to find it significantly harder to find work, due to Covid, and its effect on the economy, and we want to be sure we have done everything we, as parents, should, to ensure he has the best chance possible to get a job when he graduates.

OP posts:
TomHardyAndMe · 13/02/2021 20:20

What’s his existing work history like?

thesandwich · 13/02/2021 20:22

It’s quite late for many grad schemes already. Is he active on LinkedIn?

Nohomemadecandles · 13/02/2021 20:24

Cv Writers are awful. I see 1000's of cvs and can spot one a mile off. They never give the info you need and always look the same. Often with the same words.

Ohalrightthen · 13/02/2021 20:38

@SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius

We do know that ds3 is an adult, and will be a graduate, and should be doing this more or less on his own - ds1 and ds2 have managed to find themselves jobs when they graduated with very little help from us.

But we do also think that this year's crop of graduates are going to find it significantly harder to find work, due to Covid, and its effect on the economy, and we want to be sure we have done everything we, as parents, should, to ensure he has the best chance possible to get a job when he graduates.

So teach him how to write a good CV. Don't pay for him to, essentially, cheat.
pitterpatterrain · 13/02/2021 20:57

thesandwich yes I agree we did our undergrad recruiting before Christmas - I want to say November?

Any looking now would fall into our rolling recruitment that includes those with experience vs undergrad per se

JanuaryJonez · 13/02/2021 21:28

Placemarking!