How do you choose a CV writing service?
Surprisingly, not everyone who gets in touch with us actually has their CV written by us. I guess some people were just looking for some free advice, some wrote their CV themselves, some probably used a different CV writing service and some just didn’t do anything I guess. That got me thinking about the different types, styles and qualities of service so I thought I’d explore them here
(1) The Glorified Word Processing Service (not really a CV writing service)
Usually the cheapest CV writing services on the market, writing up the CV from your copy and doing nothing more than tidying up the spelling, grammar and formatting. This can be a very useful service if your budget is small and you aren’t confident about your own abilities, spelling, grammar and layout skills.
They won’t do anything else for you and to be fair, at the prices they charge, couldn’t afford to spend much time.
(2) Recently redundant HR professionals
Sometimes, people get made redundant and need to find a quick way to replace their income and turn to CV writing as a way of plugging the financial gap. 
Often the people that set these services up are well-meaning and have some knowledge of the recruitment market, particularly from the hiring point of view and are the next step up the ladder in terms of the quality that you will receive. Often you will find their services advertised on Social Media and through the paid advertisements such as Google Adwords as their websites haven’t got traction yet and they don’t yet have many satisfied customers.
This type of service can be useful but don’t expect amazing results.
(3) Large CV Writing Services
There are many of these out there and to be fair, some provide a good service. There are three main issues with these services:
(a) They are large and generally impersonal
(b) They sub-contract the CV writing
(c) They pay large affiliate commissions to referral sites in return for driving traffic and business to their websites.
If you do use one of the large companies, please make certain that the consultant that you end up dealing with has the necessary skills and experience to get things right for you. The reason why affiliate commissions are bad is that this takes a large percentage of your cash and the person actually writing your CV gets only a small amount (typically between £25 and £30).
(4) Experienced Professional CV Writers (usually smaller businesses)
If you find the right person to work with and have the budget, this is your best option. I say this not simply as this is what we do but because this is usually the best way to get a result. Experienced CV writers will have a wealth of advice and help that they should be able to give you. They will often have been in the profession for a good length of time and will know about subjects such as keyword optimising your CV, working with recruiters, getting to the interview and so much more.
In the end, the purpose of the CV in the first place is to get you interviewed. You won’t get a job purely based on a better CV but it will give you a better chance. The interview is the place where the job offer is secured. Experience CV writers that work for Professional CV Writing Service Businesses will give you a better chance of success.
Author: Glenn Hughes
I’m a professional CV writer who also writes website content, LinkedIn profiles, helps people with bespoke job applications and more. I’ve been writing for the internet since 2009 and have many published articles.
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