Think about anyone that has ever told you not to bother paying a professional for help with your CV. What kind of comments are coming to mind?
Here are a few of the most common I’ve heard thrown around:
- If you need a resume writer, you must not be good enough for the job anyway
- You don’t need a resume writer; they don’t know your experience any better than you do
- Don’t pay someone to write your resume, my wife is awesome on computers and stuff. She’ll do it for you!
Let’s break these down.
- You must not be good enough for the job, if you need your CV written.
Let’s consider Suzanne. Suzanne is an awesome Senior Administration Assistant. She has been for more than 10 years, and has received endless praise and recognition from managers, executive assistants and even CEOs. She’s great at her job. However, Suzanne wants something more. She’d love to be an Office Manager, but there’s no way her current business can offer that opportunity, and all she could do is wait years until the current Office Manager moves on. Is that any kind of career plan?
While Suzanne knows her current business, her current role, and her industry well, she hasn’t got a great commercial understanding of the wider sector. Therefore, she will struggle to present herself in a way that appeals to other businesses, commercially. The CV should not be about how good Suzanne is, but focus more on why Suzanne’s knowledge and experience holds any value to a different business. Suzanne has never even considered that, and has no idea where to start or how to compete in an already challenging market.
- A resume writer doesn’t know your experience any better than you do.
Absolutely true! But have you ever considered that your experience doesn’t actually matter? Well, not all of it anyway. Too many people believe that a good CV is a document that contains information about everything you’ve done, and a great explanation on why you’re good in a few core areas. However, that’s a mistake.
Your CV needs to be written for the reader. To be able to attract and excite somebody enough that they want to give you a phone call, and consider you over and above other people, you need to present a compelling case. When you’re too close to your own experience, your own desires, your own needs and your own ideals, your CV writing ability is tainted. It becomes difficult to fully focus on what the reader wants to see, and a 3rd party is often the best answer to that universal problem.
- My Wife is awesome on computers. She’ll do it for you!
Just because someone can type, has no bearing what-so-ever on their ability to write a compelling CV. A CV needs to trigger an emotional response. It must appeal to the commercial benefit of the company, while also ticking the boxes for building a logical case as to why you should be considered. Above all, your CV has to provide some kind of answer to the employer’s issues.
The only people that are able to do this well enough are those with experience. People in recruitment and HR can often be the better choices, but ideally, the best people for the job are those that have intimate experience of the hiring process. People that have worked internally, with company management teams, side-by-side in decision making processes, and who have run recruitment campaigns to find the right people for a business. They’re experts in understanding what an employer needs to see from potential employees, because they are the employer.
Some other benefits of working with experienced resume writers:
- The only person’s interests they have in mind, is yours. They’re not working for a company, they’re not trying to find a better person for a role, and they’ve got no reason to be dishonest with you about any aspect of your job search.
- They speak to a lot of people and are plugged into the job market. Therefore, they’ve got knowledge and contacts that you’d otherwise struggle to come by.
- They can help you improve your communication skills, specifically around your value to an employer.
- The best writers have written hundreds of CVs. They’re experts in the field and can do so much better than you’ll ever produce on your own.
- They’re far cheaper than paying for a course or certification, and will almost certainly do a better of of opening up an opportunity.
To connect with me, go to my LinkedIn profile here and connect! Follow me on Twitter here, and check out our new website (live on 6th June 2016 www.careercartel.com.au ). Join our private members group on Facebook here, and ask any questions you need to get ahead in your career.