CV writing – the art of the possible

Additional Reading
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How to write the perfect covering letter
Understanding the job and career market
How to handle most interview questions
At what point does it become lying?
Interview preperation tips
Outplacement- where do we go from here?

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The CV is your primary marketing tool when looking for a new job. And before you mutter that this is a statement of the bleeding obvious and move on to another item ask yourself the following two questions:

‘Do you really know how effective your resume is?’ and
‘Does it get results?’

It is, in fact, very difficult to assess how well you market yourself. In-house appraisals are not aimed at improving your chances in the cut and thrust of the open market and, unless you are extremely fortunate and succeed in every job application, you will not know why your resume failed to secure you that important interview you were hoping for.

Career

We spend a huge amount of our lives working and it is probable that our careers are right up there with family, friends and health in significance. Yet the CV is often sadly neglected. Why should this be the case? It is not as if there is a lack of information out there as to the importance attached by potential employers to the CV. When the average job advert receives up to 100 applications how can the CV not be the most vital tool in your tool kit? A recent survey showed that when assessing a CV, key decision-makers are, on average, giving each applicant’s resume around ten seconds. That is ten seconds to decide whether you are going to have the right stuff to make an interview worthwhile.

There are people who can sell but for most of us selling is hard work and selling ourselves almost impossible. Summing up our lives in such a way that it sounds like you are the ideal candidate for a job for someone that is only going to spend about ten seconds looking is a daunting prospect. If you have any doubts about your ability to do this it would be worth tapping into the experience of a professional CV writing service - a quick search on the internet will give you a large number to choose from.

CV Templates and CV Examples

CV writing companies offer a wide range of services and it is essential to make sure that your expectations will tie in with what they are offering. For example, it is unlikely that a CV costing less than £50 will be much more than a standard template version. These can be perfectly adequate if you are just starting your career and have very little work experience but not if you are more senior. At senior executive level you should be looking for a company that specialises in working with senior executives and who use senior, market specific specialists to write for them. They are most likely to have been, or still are, people who have had long experience as employers and recruitment consultants. It is important that they should also have someone for you to work with who is experienced in your field, or the field you are hoping to move into, and at the level you are hoping to achieve. CV writing companies working in this sector will usually have career management expertise as well and can give help with job applications, interview techniques and other aspects of your career. This is the area in which AccendoCV excels. By using HR Directors, MDs, Technical Directors Senior Recruitment Consultants, IT Directors etc who will discuss and agree the substance and relevance of the content of your CV with respect to your goals, we can and do add significantly to the effectiveness of your resume. Your discussion with a senior executive with experience in your field, who can focus on your goal and apply your experience effectively to help achieve it, is a unique advantage which AccendoCV has made available to you.

Curriculum Vitae and Cover Letter

Although they can seem expensive in comparison with the bottom end of the CV market, if you consider that a CV is your primary marketing tool it must be a sensible investment to get it right. And, as we all now know, CV writing is much more demanding than it initially appears. At the end of the day you should have a CV that will position you at the right level, demonstrate your skills and experience as required for the job you are applying for, and also emphasise the benefits you will be bringing to a new firm. The process of talking through your CV with someone who is experienced has the additional benefit of helping you to understand your strengths and weaknesses and to clarify where you should be going. Finally, a really good, professional CV will have all your talents and achievements jumping off the page in front of your next employer and ensure that after ten seconds you are not consigned to the bottom of the pile.

If you want to get your CV to the top of the pile, get the best resume you can buy - Get a CV and cover letter from AccendoCV.

Phone: 0845 170 7654
Monday - Friday 9am - 5pm

Click here to email AccendoCV