Actually, you are. Or, at least, you are writing your career story and that is why you should always consider a professional CV writer.
Consider celebrities’ biographies. They often use ghost writers. Sometimes it’s because they don’t feel comfortable writing about themselves. But it’s also because the publishers know that experienced writers ask the right questions, reveal interesting answers and see the bigger picture.
It’s a similar process when crafting a stand-out CV that works. We can’t promise you’ll get on the best seller list. But we will make sure your CV is written with both your target audience and the ATS in mind.
Foreword…
Or Executive Summary as we like to call it. Spending time on this exercise will give you a slick, professional career ‘biography’. It will showcase your skills, past achievements and how you will add value to a future employer.
Chapter 1 – Enlightenment & revelation
A professional CV writer will help you to step back and consider the complete picture of your career. They will ask you questions about how your achievements benefited your current and previous employers. From that, they can extract information that demonstrates the value you can offer to a new employer.
This process will naturally lead you to consider your previous career moves and successes. Even chapters that didn’t end so well can help you see patterns in your employment. This will help you identify key skills and decipher why you loved certain jobs.
This reflection is invaluable and will help you plot your next career move more astutely.
Chapter 2 – I found myself
Your considerations and conversations during chapter one will have highlighted your salient skills and attributes. In short, we will have shaped your personal brand and worked out what makes you unique. This will help you:
- make your next career decision
- position yourself strongly in interviews and when networking
- draft your LinkedIn bio.
Past career moves that you might see as mistakes can still form part of this biography. You can’t change the past. But by scrutinising your decisions you can learn from them and rethink how you might present them. Being prepared for answering any potentially difficult questions is a huge advantage in an interview.
Many of our clients think they know their career inside out. However, a conversation with one of our CV writers can often uncover forgotten or overlooked skills.
Chapter 3 – Understanding how the world works
Your CV writer should be an industry specialist and up to date in the latest hiring practices. They will make sure your CV meets new recruitment criteria or practices such as ‘applicant tracking systems’. It’s also a great opportunity to quiz them about how the recruitment process is working in your chosen field.
Chapter 4 – Ready to face the world
As you go through the process of creating your winning CV, the CV writer should be asking you, “Why?”, “So what?”, “What was the impact?”. These questions transform matter-of-fact statements about your roles and responsibilities into career game-changers.
For example, why was it important to move your team onto a new system? What were the efficiencies? How much were the savings? What did it demonstrate about you? We’ll help you draw out the important selling points from your career history.
Spending time on these questions and answers is also great interview preparation. You get to practice steering the conversation to your strengths, articulate your successes and ultimately, communicate your brand.
Epilogue
CV writers provide objectivity and many years of writing expertise. It’s hard for any of us to generate this objectivity ourselves but by collaborating with a CV writer, you have a helping hand. Ensure that whichever firm you choose consists of certified CV writers, professional industry body memberships who will happily share samples of their work.
What makes our CV writers different?
The writers at City CV are experienced in interviewing and writing as well as being industry specialists. They see things that you might overlook such as skills, employment patterns, or barriers to progression. Their recruitment and industry knowledge will help you present your achievements in a manner which sets you up for interview and securing your target role.
Our aim is to ensure a happy ending to the next chapter of your career story.