Client Reviews & Successes
At City CV we pride ourselves on our CV writing service and interview coaching results.
It makes sense to us to polish and perfect every CV, to spend time refining a client’s interview questions and answers, so that our services are continually recommended and endorsed. And, as a large percentage of new clients come to us via referral, it’s an approach that obviously works. We measure our own success by the success of our clients and we make a point of staying in touch with our clients to see how their careers develop. We are particularly proud of the fact that many clients come back to us every few years for a CV update.
But don’t just take our word for it; here are some of the reviews and successes that our clients have enjoyed:
“Both my husband Matt and I have just landed two fantastic executive City jobs – at a tier one investment bank and an asset management company – with the incredible support of City CV.
I was introduced to City CV by the executive search firm The Return Hub who were hosting a webinar on the importance of the CV and LinkedIn profile in today’s recruitment process which is dominated by keywords and AI. Listening to Victoria’s insights and advice I quickly realised that as a returner I needed help with my professional branding and networking and signed-up for the ‘Executive Impact’ package i.e. the full package: CV, LinkedIn profile, career coaching and interview coaching. And Matt who had been off work for over a year with little success despite scrolling the job boards every day also decided that it was time to seek expert help.
Getting a professional to write your CV results in a best in class document showcasing your expertise, experience and achievements with keywords tailored to the AI engines of recruiters. It also gives you a deep understanding of your own skill set, career milestones and strengths which make up your very own USP, hence boosting much needed self-confidence.
Sharpening my LinkedIn profile, connecting with ex-colleagues, business associates and like-minded professionals, following industry specific groups and organisations and posting relevant content opened-up the full power of professional networking to me. This resulted in me being contacted by head hunters, engaging in debates, participating in insightful webinars and conducting most of my communication via this platform.
Preparing for an interview in a COVID19 / Brexit / digital / WFH world is a daunting task for everybody and especially for a returner. As part of the Executive Impact Programme, City CV provided us with the services of an executive coach (the fantastic Nick Byron). With his City background and amazing ability to grasp the requirements of a job spec, articulate the necessary skills and experience and to turn them into an engaging pitch, Nick has given us the confidence and structure to succeed.
During the last six months (yes, it takes that long from invitation to signing the contract) he has acted as a sounding board, life coach, sparring partner and motivator, injecting energy and belief into never ending interview rounds, advising on wardrobe and laptop set-up and endlessly adapted, rehearsed, and perfected our pitch.
City CV is a team of dedicated professionals that want you to succeed in a competitive virtual job market. They cater and adapt to your specific needs and time schedules. Both Matt and I signing up to the City CV ‘Executive Impact’ package has been the best investment in our careers, and we are very thankful to Victoria and her team.
“My career had offered me the opportunity to lead several companywide projects. Upon successful completion, I wanted to capture that experience, and translate that experience into a more senior position. Hence, I began looking for a CV writing company. I wanted to find a company, which did not employ a cookie cutter approach, and give me a generic product, which did not stand out from the crowd. I settled on City CV because of their efficient and tailored approach to writing.
I was passed to Sharon who had experience working with people in my technical field. I could tell from our conversation that she was familiar with my industry, and felt very reassured. The product was delivered very promptly, and led to several interviews. Ultimately, I was successful in securing a more senior position, and increased my salary by more than 50%. Throughout that process, several recruiters and companies complimented my CV.”
“Thank you for your work. I’ve uploaded your work into my LinkedIn profile and within hours I have been contacted by recruiters, it works.”
“I just wanted to share with you and Sharon, that I submitted my new CV for a role on Wednesday this week, they interviewed me today and I got the Consultancy Transformation role I applied for and start on Monday…. I can’t thank you enough for making this whole process of finding a new consultancy role so smooth for me with the expert CV that was delivered to me.”
“Thank you for the amazing speed and quick turnaround, especially over the weekend this is truly remarkable. The CV is amazing and if I don’t get offered that job now then nobody will.”
“I wanted help to make the step up to Director level. So I reached out to City CV for interview coaching. It was the first time I’d used their paid service. But, I had previously attended, and got tremendous value, from their free webinars.
Over 2 coaching sessions with Nick, I practiced new ways of framing interview answers. The preparatory work also helped me to clarify my message. Nick’s ability to both challenge and buoy me, was exactly what I’d hoped for. In the event, I didn’t get the job I had intended the interview coaching for.
But, 2 days later, had another interview, where I did get the job. The coaching augmented my ability to communicate my USP authentically. It gave me the extra I needed to step up in my career.”
“The application process for summer internships in Investment Banking and Asset Management is notoriously tough. I found this out the hard way and endured the most demoralising and disappointing couple of weeks in early September facing rejection after rejection.
Following this, I decided to reach out to City CV. The service I received was nothing short of outstanding. Victoria took great care in listening to my situation through our initial meeting. I was then directed to Nick, Head of Banking at City CV. It was an absolute pleasure working with him throughout the process and he really did go above and beyond to support me through the process.
As soon as I had begun the process after starting work with City CV, I began to start progressing past the CV and initial screening phase of some of the most prestigious firms in the industry. I believe this was all down to Nick’s excellent rewriting of my CV as well as an outstanding cover letter that landed me an interview with Morgan Stanley, Barings and Aon. I decided not to progress with these applications after securing my role at Bank of America.
I have now achieved my dream to secure a summer internship in the Investment Banking field and I am hugely excited to start at Bank of America this summer. I put this success all down to Nick and City Cv’s service in helping me to submit the strongest application possible. I would highly recommend anyone else in my shoes to reach out to City CV. This is a truly exceptional service””
“I am delighted to report that no less than one month after receipt of my professionally edited CV, I have accepted an exciting new job following a flurry of interviews in short succession. Firstly, the revised and polished document elicited a far higher response rate and I often felt I was ‘quicker through the gate’ with next day rather than next week meetings proposed. Secondly, I didn’t find myself “explaining my CV” or career journey.
Recruiter/Director/CEO had read my CV and were often confident in the value and experience I could bring. And finally, following interviews for jobs higher than my target salary, when offered my chosen role I was able to successfully push for a 13% increase on base.
The expert service provided by Karl truly painted me in the best light. Many thanks to you and the team!”
“Victoria and her team took my very traditional-looking CV and dragged it kicking and screaming into the 21st Century – and I ended up with an unexpected promotion.
I couldn’t be more grateful – thank you!”
“The cover letter looks great and will be a good template to tailor to specific roles. I have no questions or edits. Thank you for the wonderful individualized products that you provided and I am looking forward to putting them to use soon.
Tim – It has been a pleasure working with you! I greatly appreciate the time taken to learn about me and my career, along with your expertise and attention to detail which all resulted in a CV and cover letter I am very happy with.”
“Looking to reach the next level in my career, I found that despite my technical competency, I wasn’t best placed to communicate how my particular skill set would translate to the executive level. Initially sceptical of the merit of a professional CV review, I arrived at City CV after realising that the conversion rate for my applications was around 7% – not great.
The consultant I was given, Karl, who, contrary to my rather arrogant assumption, knew my industry backwards, and was able to walk me through my profile from the perspective of my target employers, and through one-to-one conversation, iterated through until we had a CV that communicated exactly what was needed – no more, no less.
The effect was immediate, with my conversion rate skyrocketing to 40%, 4 job offers, and ultimately a 38% salary increase.
Naturally, I now consider the services of City CV as essential to my career progression as networking and conventional CPD. An absolute no-brainer, worth every penny – cannot recommend strongly enough.”
“I really liked the CV, the presentation style and in essence much shorter and sharper.
Other people liked it as well!!! (which is the main thing!) It had a definite impact certainly with one company. They particularly commented that my CV stood out.
They had 380 applicants, down to 50 in a first screen, then 5 for first interview.
The power of the new CV! First interview with the recruiter went very well.”
“This is the first time in 26 years that I’ve actively had to go out into the market to find a new role. Daunting to say the least!
City CV was recommended to me by a colleague who’d used their services previously. In a word…WOW!
The team at City CV took a lot of time to get to know me and fully understand my background, experiences and career highlights. They bring a massive amount of experience and expertise in helping you structure your CV for maximum impact and in particular a point by point plan of how to do the same with your LinkedIn profile, including how to navigate the job market there.
Outstanding service provided. Now feel much more confident about job prospects. Highly recommend!”
“I contacted City CV following my redundancy. I was previously in a senior role as Head of Security for a major global brand. I have never needed to rely on a CV before, having always secured roles through my networks or executive headhunters. However, in the COVID recruitment climate, my CV just wasn’t cutting it. I applied for a sizable number of “cold start” roles, but wasn’t getting the interview invitations.
Roll forward to August 2020 when I engaged City CV and within just over a week applied for my first role with my new CV…and I got it! I discovered retrospectively, that my CV and LinkedIn combination alone, got me onto a shortlist of 6 from over 240 applications. It was a long process…9 interviews, but it was worth it.
I have just received the offer and signed the contract. Not only that, but I have had a 28% annual income increase on my last position, which I would not have achieved otherwise.
I actually applied for one other role with my new CV as a back-up and was also invited for interview. I ultimately withdrew having now been offered this perfectly progressive career role.
When I first saw Victoria, she talked about ‘return on investment’. I absolutely agree. This was money well spent and I am now revitalized to begin adding value to my employer in the New Year, knowing that they respect the value of my skill set.
A big thank you to Karl, Victoria and the whole City CV team.”
“In the past decade, I have reached a few levels in the narrow competitive security consulting industry in low, medium and high-risk environments. I have used friends, family, and two CV writing agencies while preparing to excel through that time. Back in June 2021, I took the most challenging task since to transfer my know-how and experience to corporate security in Europe. I needed an industry expertise agency that could prepare my CV to reflect my experience, character and capability.
City CV was recommended to me by another Global Head of Security, and I decided to take their 30min free call to understand better how they can support me. Fantastic Eleanor deconstructed my old CV, advising what was missing and where the improvements could be made. After the call, I was convinced that my new CV would be done from scratch and in line with industry requirements and the job I wanted to compete for. Devin was then in contact to fill out pre-consultation notes before a consultation call. What amazed me with Devin was his in-depth knowledge of my industry and how focused he was to extract details of my past projects and achievements. On top of that, he provided advice and guidance on how I could potentially approach in job search in an already competitive industry.
The end product came in a short time, and I put it to the test. Having ATS friendly CV saved mi time, and soon enough, I started to receive calls from some big corps. In total, I have narrowed my dream employer to three major companies in the banking, technology and commercial real estate sector. That accounts for twelve rounds of interviews and two offers. I could note each time talking to interviewers was their genuine interest in my experience, which was now thanks to City CV well presented, quantified, and reflected my achievements.
I would have absolutely no hesitation in recommending City CV service for peers in the security industry. I well understand how challenging is to present ourselves to the commercial sector while transitioning from service to the corporate world. I know 100% that I will be using City CV services when the time comes to progress in my department.“
Marie provides a balanced coaching approach that clearly identifies the issues and obstacles in the way of goals and employs sophisticated coaching techniques that generate sustainable solutions. At a time in my life when I was so despairing and feeling powerless after numerous job rejections, Marie was able to completely turn these difficult thoughts into a positive direction that enabled me to regain control, hope and remain focused on the end goal. She continued to wholeheartedly believe in me despite the continuous setbacks and even managed to rebuild my shattered self-esteem and confidence.
Marie gave me the strength and determination to achieve my ultimate goal and to think beyond the immediate future. I would 100% recommend Marie to anybody who has become “stuck” in life for whatever reason. She will absolutely ensure that you have the best possible chance of reaching your goal and goes out of her way to support you during the process.”
I’d like to thank you both for the fantastic support and the excellent work you did on my CV and cover letter – Tony’s interview coaching was also incredibly helpful as well and helped me go in in a far more confident manner. I just wanted to thank you in person for helping me getting an invitation to campus in the first place. I’m absolutely certain that I wouldn’t have even made it through the first round without your services, and I’ve already recommended you to some colleagues who are considering a professional revision of their application documents.”
“I have some great news to share. After intensely interviewing over the last few weeks with a number of really good charities, I have now accepted a role at a reputed NHS Hospital Foundation in London.
I would like to thank you for all your help with my CV and Cover Letter. You helped me showcase the best in me. And I would highly recommend City CV to my professional contacts and friends as well”
“I have worked with Louise for just under a year as I threw myself into the graduate job hunt. She built my confidence by changing my outlook on myself. She enabled me to understand that my achievements are professional, and thus I am professional too. She also pushed me to understand my strengths which gave me the confidence boost needed to succeed in interviews.
After a difficult year of job hunting, but Louise’s reassurance allowed me to navigate through a variety of career options from finance to auction houses until I secured a dream role in advertising in a creative agency – in fact securing two roles! Thank you Louise!”
“I’m genuinely pleased and impressed by these. My main worry was that I would not recognise myself in all this but I think you’ve done a fantastic job of capturing all the key points and expressing them in a way I couldn’t have managed in seven months, let alone seven days.”
“I just wanted to thank you again for the job you did with my CV. I have been able to secure a Head of Business Services position, and they remarked that my CV was very good.”