CV writing company writing rubbish- what can we do?

[SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius]

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.

There are plenty of firms who will recruit in the spring. It’s ok to be looking. What is his subject and what sort of job does he want? That will make a big difference. He needs to think about what career and make sure his cv matches what they are looking for. Tweak it every time!! As parents you encourage and cajole! If all else fails, do a masters.

@Ohalrightthen - we thought we were paying for him to get advice and guidance - we didn’t think the CV and letter would be written for him.

Tbh, I think accusing us of wanting to cheat is pretty nasty.

@TomHardyAndMe

What’s his existing work history like?

@TomHardyAndMe - he has worked as a waiter for the last four years, alongside his degree. His employers seem to have been happy with his work - he was offered a supervisory position at one place. He has also done labouring for friends of ours, who were reroofing their cottage and building a new house.

And he had a daily paper round and a weekly one through most of senior school.

As far as we can tell (as his entirely unbiased parents ) he has a pretty good work ethic.

Op google 'graduate recruitment companies' he signs up with them, if his profile is matched to a role by degree type/ uni/ grade they'll be in touch for a chat and help tweak his cv.

No. It’s not cheating. He won’t benefit!

What subject is he doing and what are his ambitions? He needs to fit the work skills he’s learnt into his cv and tailor it to the jobs he wants. What type of job does he want?

My son (law student) has been applying for jobs. As he is living at home he has been chatting to me about it (I'm a lawyer, not that I really know what firms want in these covering letters) and I have checked spelling and grammar on a few. He had a telephone session with someone from his course provider (it is part of their service) which sounded quite helpful. However she did put a comma in somewhere where he and I are certain it was wrong so I would not always take these bits of advice as gospel truth.

I think she did have good points about having a logical structure and avoiding long paragraphs. His older sister who to some extent has been involved in recruitment also said try to have a few short paragraphs as people read things quickly.

It might be the CV company is just trying to ensure that the few work experiences he has are bolstered up a bit but never lie and anything untrue is likely to come out at the interview.

The whole system seems a massive waste of time to me and was in 1981/82 when I applied to 139 firms -0 time after time covering letter, application form and and on. Why can't you just upload it all once like UCAS and your 150 potential employers then view it all there? There is really so little you can say about why you want Glaxo rather than Astra Z or KPMG not its rival - you are making it up half the time, spending ages explaining why that particular bit company is so different and so right for you than another. It was the same in 1981 whereas the bottom line is you need money and want a job and are a good candidate rather than I was born to serve KPMG and no other will do.

Actually, the “millenial mindset” is all about what they will get out of being employed by a particular employer rather than another. They don’t just work and get paid anymore - they want super fast development, routes to management and perks, more time off, recognition. It’s quite exhausting!

@JanuaryJonez

Placemarking!

Why, are you exepcting some kind of exciting reveal or unpredictable conclusion?

Only on MN do parents who have experience in an area refuse to help their adult children of any age when they need it, weird

If your DH has knowledge of the area it seems obvious that he should have helped in the first place, call be cynical but I would have expected a CV agency to be a waste of money

As others have said use the uni free services

When I was looking for work after having children I got a free hour’s consultation with a recruitment advice company via my professional instute. I used it to get a CV written, and then paid for another hour for advice on job search. It was very worthwhile. I wrote the CV but, essentially, was helped in setting out my experience including community involvement, in a way that would tick recruitment boxes.

If you can find a good person I would very much recommend it. However No reason why a friend who does a lot of recruitment might not be as good. DH , wh does a lot of presentations, has certainly been asked and been will to help as a critical audience for people to try out presentations that are needed as part of a recruitment process.

Similarly DS was struggling to land an internship and we suspected his interview skills were holding him back. Not everyone is a natural. We employed a freelance communications trainer (actually a friend of someone on this thread) to give DS five one hour sessions, including presentation skills, and Zoom interviews, and he got through all five stages for his dream internship (sadly not enough places so he was first reserve). That said the basic skills he picked up have continued to be useful.

A RL friend’s recent graduate son has been struggling to find work in these COVID times. He finally landed an interview so I suggested he also had some coaching, with both coaching and interview online. He landed the job on a good graduate scheme with a major national employer. A few coaching sessions gave him confidence, and given how competitive it is out there, may have made the difference.

@Ch3rish - we haven’t refused to help ds3. We thought we were helping him by paying for the CV advice - clearly we were wrong, but we thought their help would be better than that which we could offer.

I wish I had asked about CV advice on MN before we lashed out on this company’s work, but lesson learned (at a cost) - and now we will help ds3 ourselves.

@Needmoresleep and @MrDarcysMa- that is good advice - thank you.

@PresentingPercy - his degree is in geography, though he has also done two years of urban planning and estates management, and his interest is in sustainability, so he is looking for jobs there, but he is also looking at other areas - he has a good work ethic, and is very motivated to find a job.

There’s a shortage of planners in lots of areas. Sustainability is a big thing now. I would think his cv should look ok. If he wants RTPI qualifications, (I assume yes not RTPI qualified at the moment) does he need a training position? This shouldn’t be impossible with local authorities or similar organisations. Although I have loads of friends who did this, they are mostly my age now! There are also planning consultancies who work on regeneration schemes.

[quote SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius]**@Ch3rish* - we haven’t refused to help ds3. We thought we were helping him by paying for the CV advice - clearly* we were wrong, but we thought their help would be better than that which we could offer.

I wish I had asked about CV advice on MN before we lashed out on this company’s work, but lesson learned (at a cost) - and now we will help ds3 ourselves.[/quote]
My post wasn't aimed at you, it was at the posters who think you shouldn't help him, I totally think your DH should have helped from the start (I know that's not helpful now) no way would I not help my child with something if I could just because they are over 18.

It's not like you're going to an interview with them or sitting next to them doing the job but helping them get a foot in the door, absolutely, after that they are on their own

I have experience with those sort of companies. You absolutely should go back to them and complain. Highlight where and why it is inaccurate. They should, at the very least, redo it. It might not be what you want but will, hopefully, be closer to real and he has something to work with.

I’m sorry for misinterpreting your post, @Ch3rish - my apologies.

I really do think he has to be careful about not submitting his own work. Often employers test further. If there is a discrepancy between what he’s written (or has been written for him) they will notice. So be careful about grammar and spelling. Tailor each application to the job.

It might be useful to have your DH scan the JD and person spec with him so DS knows what they are looking for. If a longer application is required he really must write it.

I would not complain about the company. It’s happened - lesson learned. It would still be a cv he had not written nor tailored to the individual organisation. This is important in my view. What are they looking for? His does he meet their criteria? That’s what is needed. Not waffle.